There is no doubt that society is continually changing.
The tastes and fashions are a great example of this change. One of the most significant changes is the growing popularity of social media. Social networking sites have become very popular among the younger generation. The young consumers have grown used to mobile phones and computers. They prefer using digital technology to shop online.
The following are the list of social changes that created service businesses:
1. Rising consumer expectations
Customer expectations are any set of behaviors or actions that individuals anticipate when interacting with a company. Modern customers have much higher expectations, such as proactive service, personalized interactions, and connected experiences across channels. Your customers want consistency. Consumers value great service. Customers are willing to give a company more than one chance to deliver good customer service. When making a purchase, consumers are more likely to rely on online reviews than recommendations from friends and family. Customers are more likely to praise companies than to criticize them.
2. Ubiquitous social networks
Social Media is shaping the way in which information is transmitted to the public. It also impacts how we remember events and it becomes a huge part of changing our life. As we connect to any social networks, we can easily access and determine everything and also, easy to promote services that further expand the state of a business. The reach and influence of social media is a treasure in the business industries. As consumers spend more time on social media, the platforms also become the go-to source for product/service and brand information.
3. More Affluence
Many of the social changes are reflected in the affluent market, customers categorized as affluent have a distinct set of needs and pay a premium price to satisfy these needs. The affluent consumer is more knowledgeable and is more concerned with maximizing value for the purchase, the value increases with service, and customer service is an important part of the purchasing decision.
4. More people, short of time
Companies have taken advantage of the limited time of consumers to shop and buy products and services. Consumers spend hours shopping that is why most companies had come up with a solution and convenient way by establishing service businesses particularly online shops like Amazon.com. Consumers will no longer spend hours shopping.
5. Increased desire for buying experiences vs. things
The buying experiences impact all areas of the business wherein it is our behavior towards things. In the service business, the experiences become the way to deal and offer with customers. Through the buying experience, we conclude on how to improve or develop any services that a business offer. Changes in society are making people value the experiences they have and the way they feel about products and services. For your brand to keep up, you need to focus on the experience. Help your product adapt to this change by pairing it with an amazing experience, then promote that experience.
6. Rising consumer ownership of computers, cellphones, and high-tech equipment
Mobile technology like smartphones, laptops, mobile applications, and GPS devices keep colleagues in contact and help business owners stay in touch with customers. As we become more digitalize many of the benefits of using mobile technology center around improving communication. Like cell phones keep businesses and employees connected and customers both at the office and on vacation. It gives individuals the ability to communicate instantly and respond quickly to business situations. Laptops have become powerful computing devices that offer access to all of the applications needed to run a business, including accounting software, a Web browser, or a database program.
7. Easier access to more information
It has a big impact or effect on service marketing since a lot of people today are engaged in social media. Service businesses can put information about their business on the internet and people will be able to easily access this information. It can be one of the opportunities to service businesses so that their business will be familiar to customers. As new technologies have come to market to make it easier for businesses to provide customer service, they may also be increasing the number of channels through which they interact with their customers.
8. Immigration
Immigration is the movement of people into a country permanently. In Service Businesses, the impact of immigration is that businessmen are transferring to another country for good to put up a business. Immigrants expand consumer demand for goods and services. In the medium to long run, immigration can be expected to lead to more investment. Both effects result in greater demand for labor and thus increased wages and employment in the economy.
9. Growing but aging population
A longer life brings opportunities for older adults and their families as well as for their communities. Commercial businesses can be successful in innovating on these opportunities and achieving business expansion when they better understand the market dynamics and spectrum of older adults as consumers and view them more as assets rather than as burdens to society.
Social changes are hard to predict, but they can affect business plans. Understanding how people's changing needs and wants can affect a company will help keep up with trends and remain competitive in the market.
i might link to this article with one of my future posts if that's OK with you...