The sea is changing, the landscape is changing. It has been demanded that we become more conscious and as we take on the rapid speed of technology, businesses need to recognise consumers are becoming conscious customers.

 

Customers to Consumers

Companies used to have a two-way relationship with their customers and customers were discerning. We then moved from customers to consumers.  Consumers have one thing and one thing only to do and that is to consume.  A customer is able to decide, do I or don’t I need this?  A consumer’s primary purpose is just to consume.

 

The power switched from a two-way relationship between the business and the customer to all the power being held by the business.  The way the business positioned itself as everything that they did was about helping the consumer consume more.

 

Now, this trend caused the consumer to start buying loads more stuff that they probably didn’t need or want. And as a result of that, people started to feel less happy and accumulate more goods.  All of this consumption leads to more waste.

 

Consumers to Conscious Customers

Individuals who consumers are not really thinking. They’re not mindful and not conscious. They don’t think about the fact that a company is producing products with planned absenteeism, planned and obsolescence.  Companies get people to consume more by telling consumers their products are no longer fashionable and no longer effective.

 

Conscious customers are mindful of how they spend money. This new group of individuals is unhappy with the state of the environment, the state of the world, and these consumers are conscious of how they spend their money.  These consumers want to make purchases that are actually for good and for purpose and make a difference in the world.  These conscious customers want products that are more environmentally friendly, more ethically sourced, and want to do good with their money.  The conscious customer is a customer who is mindful in the moment of spending their money, what the consequences of that spend are doing, not only to them in this transaction, but to the greater environment.

 

How can a Business Capitalise (Profit for Purpose)?

A company will need to think differently, to capitalise on this trend because there’s still some mileage to go in optimising for consumers, selling more people, more stuff they don’t need and just pushing that a little bit further. A company can capitalise on this trend by raising the awareness, being more mindful and having a presence in their communications, having honesty and truth, to have a purpose that transcends profit, maximisation.  These companies will continue to create and increase the value between the company and their customers.

 

Benefits of Conscious Customers

Conscious customers can be treated as sensible, clever, intelligent, wise decision making, entities who have the power to make their own choices and are given the right information to be informed.

 

 As customers wouldn’t we all love to be treated in this manner?