How Technology Influences Customers Behavior

In recent times, the advent of technology changes every aspect of how we live our lives and how we respond to our environment. The business world is no different, as technology is rapidly changing the way we buy and sell. Businesses have moved beyond the four walls of their various physical locations to vibrant virtual marketplaces. The ease of doing business across the borders of nations has also significantly improved.

All these brought new opportunities for businesses around the world, but also came with their unique challenges. One of the significant changes widespread in the market places today is the rapid change in customer behavior and the complexity in the new definition of customer satisfaction.

Customer behavior is basically how customers respond to the market and its offering. It is how they perceive, receive, use products or services to satisfy their needs. Customer behavior is usually affected by factors, such as cultural, economic, technology, age, psychological factors, and more.

Technology has been a game-changer in the marketplaces. It has imposed on the market a new way of buying, selling, and relating to stakeholders. Customers always respond to these changes by redefining how they want to be served and the new meaning of satisfaction.

What we are used to

Until the wave of technology swept through every industry, businesses and brands were in charge of every aspect of their customer relationship, they determine in a significant way how customers related with them, how customers communicate and provide feedback.

Usually, the only options left for the customers to communicate besides visiting your physical location were email and telephone. Both own and manage by the businesses. So, the brands were in charge of the processes and the turnaround time. The customers could only wait for whenever you provide feedback, and sometimes you never did.

So, the impact of customers’ voices could be easily managed with little or no effect on brand reputation. A customer could have a failed financial transaction that took several months to resolve or were never settled, and the customer had to lose money. The bank will be cool and continued her business like it didn’t matter, and there was no outrage from any quarters.

At best, the customers could only threaten to move their businesses to other service providers, which they rarely ever did. So, the customers functioned in a system where even though so much was said about customers been the king, there was really nothing on the ground that affirms such a claim.

Technology has changed the marketplace paradigm, and power has moved to the customers. The claim that customer is king is taking centre stage as customers now deploy technology to enforce its authority in the marketplace. The availability of smart gadgets and social media platforms has helped them in no small ways.

The implications are enormous and demand a severe yet strategic response from the stakeholders within the system. If your brand must remain a player in the league of things, you must strategically adjust and respond to the customers’ terms in the new world of technology and social media. We will need to carefully evaluate these implications to design a suitable, customer-centric, and profit-oriented model to exceed the new definition of customer expectations.

The Current Challenge

Today, customers voice is loud. This is because customers’ communication model is different from what it used to be. Customer communication today is lateral, instead of the old vertical model of communication. The implication is that one customer is likely to tell several other customers about a horrible customer experience before the service provider ever gets to know about it.

Social Media has aided in creating a virtual community the allows customers to engage with one another. This has made it easy for customers to communicate among themselves, share information and experiences. This is why one bad experience with your brand can cause an uproar and bring down the reputation you have built in the entire business life.

A typical example happened recently when a bank in Nigeria debited customers for a backlog of stamp duty charges. Within a few hours, the issue became the trending subject on all social media platforms. The people that were not debited lent their voices to the campaign against the bank’s action.

The amazing thing was, the entire issue happened on the weekend. But the customers were able to use technology to connect and raise a strong front against the bank’s action. Within twenty-four hours, the bank came up with a response promising to bear the cost and refund all affected customers, which was effected before Monday morning.

Imagine that the bank hadn’t responded in time. You can only imagine the reputation damage, loss of customer loyalty, and loss of potential businesses. The media is the new powerhouse for the customers.

Also, notice that the customers didn’t need to wait till Monday morning to visit the bank; neither did they send a mail nor put a call through. However, a couple of them might have used those channels to vent their displeasure. Most of them took to their social media handles because it is the most effective place to gather sympathy and mobilize people for action.

Similarly, customers no longer need to wait until tomorrow to visit a vendor before inquiring about a product or an offer. They also do not need to see your location to get a product or service. Your competitor is a smart device away from your customer, delivering real-time value and showing that customer a new way to buy, sell, and engage. Below is the summary of the impact of technology on customers’ behavior

· Customers are prompt and are almost instantaneous in their dealings and expectations. So, they expect that you review your turnaround time.

· Customers default into your product consumers’ virtual community through social media, where they often discuss poor customer experiences and a few exceptionally good experiences.

· Customers no longer rely on you to get expert information and professional advice as they readily explore options likes product reviews and discuss user experiences among themselves.

· When they communicate with you via the new media or any online platform, they expect real-time engagement.

· They also want to initiate and complete any business relationship with you online without having to visit any physical location.

· They have an ever-increasing quest for technological innovation and trends. This is because customers generally want things done efficiently. So, they are always out for innovations and trends the make user experience easy and enjoyable.

This development poses challenges to brands and businesses; it places a demand on them, which they must respond to if they will remain relevant in their business space. Customers are kings and will remain ever-increasingly prominent in the exercise of their authority. The brand that will win is the one that will be wherever the customers are, listen to and speak the customers’ language. If you will not, your competitors will, and they are a smart device away from your customers.

Originally published at https://esosa.substack.com.