Leading market intelligence agency Mintel has released their 4 consumer trends for 2018, and there is no doubt these trends will affect small business owners and the way you do business. They believe consumers are feeling uncertainty and in 2018 will be “attuned to trends across Transparency & Trust, Value, Self-care and Automation.”
We want to make sure you are at the forefront of business and planning, so for each of the next four weeks we will address one of these trends and outline the impact it can have on your business.
Trend No. 1 – Trust Funding
“In a post-truth world, consumers are putting their dollars where their trust remains intact” says Carli Gernot, Mintel’s Manager of Trends. “As consumers grapple with news that may or may not be “fake,” with corporations acting in ways that foster mistrust, more people are reprioritizing who and what they trust.”
Trust has always been an important factor in how consumers choose whom to do business with, but now more than ever business owners must address the key areas of trust and ensure they are providing customers with honesty and integrity.
The Elements of TRUST
How does this impact Small Business?
In business, trust can incorporate reliability, competency and consistency, as well as integrity, sincerity and commitment.. so it’s worth asking yourself.. “Do I have these core traits in my business and my brand?”
Trust can affect everything from your sales process, to repeat business, to creating raving fans (you can watch more about Raving Fans HERE).
Being reliable, competent and consistent are core operational necessities of your business that require good leadership and operational structure. Business owners need to have systems and structures in place to ensure that your personal level of reliability and competence flows down through your business, and in turn builds trust with your customers. These things don’t happen by accident and they don’t happen automatically.
The traits of integrity, sincerity and commitment are really about being authentic. Are you as authentic in your business dealings as you are in life? Does your personal belief system carry over to your business through your employees? Ensuring that is does requires good communication and making sure that your brand reflects your values.
According to Carli Gernot, a good way for a business to retain trust is to operate with empathy. In the future brands will need to court consumers with transparency, honesty, and facts; at the same time, they will need to find new ways to prove their positions.
So as you are planning for your business to grow in 2018, check that you have factored trust into the equation… in your brand, your operations and your communication with consumers. Do what you say you will do, and exceed your customers’ expectations. In this new world of transparency, it can put you ahead of your competition.
If you are already an Action Centre client, be sure to talk to your coach about incorporating this into your 2018 planning, and we have a Business Mastery workshop coming up that will help. If you’re not an Action Centre client, don’t worry, we can help you too! Check out our Power Your Business page for workshops and downloads to help you in business in 2018.
You’ll find having an Action Centre business coach is just like having a marketing manager, sales team leader, trainer and recruitment specialist - wrapped in one - all for one nominal investment. We are the business partner you need without sharing your profits - with over 60 years of collective coaching experience to keep you on track and accountable for your own success.
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