Consumer facing organisations have built businesses based on delivering great value to their customers through a deep understanding of their needs. 

Over the last 7 years a new breed of competitor has emerged that is able to offer a wider selection of choice while exploiting new markets and opportunities though new and emerging digital, technologies, channels and experiences.

Technology may have created some of these new competitors, however it is also technology that represents the greatest opportunity for Consumer facing organisations to adapt and protect their industry-leading businesses.

There are several main questions that Consumer facing organisations are always trying to answer, the key question being, how do they stay relevant and how do they stand out from the crowd? Below are six highlevel tips that in my opinion may help consumer facing organisations stay relevant:

The 6 tips to stay relevant: 

• Persona based experiences – We as individuals have multiple online personas, some of which is represented on social media i.e. your Facebook or Linkedin persona. So which persona can your business address? Can you deliver content to the right place at the right time and at the right speed?
• Locationless – Tracking indoor and outdoor LAAS. How are you tracking customers or employees in your physical environments? See my previous post (Digital Transcendence)
• Engagement – Transactions will happen in the present time, not at the till, not when the shelf or stock room is replenished. How is your supply chain or SAP environment connected to your CRM and Identity platform?
• Social – Consumers and brands will merge into Massive social eco systems open and closed. Do you have an Identity Platform to address the social tidal wave facing your Marketing department?
• FBL (Feed Back Loops)– Consumers will expect a rate my experience instantly i.e. Uber rate my driver, Ebay rate my seller.
• PIP – Payment forms such as Bitcoin, Whatsapp payments will morph into social community micro payment systems (Paypal of the 90’s). How compliant is your infrastructure?

We have all worked hard to ensure that the transaction and shopping/ engagement experience is engaging and relevant. However your strategy has to go one step further, by providing not only a choice of channel but more importantly, providing technology and business touch points that meet the emotional and financial needs of customers, this can only be achieved by harnessing the opportunities provided by the digital IoT revolution, developing capabilities and multi-channel customer experiences that interact with smart sensors and analytical platforms.