Page 33 - Ragtrader Magazine April 2020

WWW.RAGTRADER.COM.AU BUSINESS 101 APRIL 2020 33 PRESENTED BY
Generation
Fordham lead partner Michael Sutherland discusses the rise and rise of the conscious consumer.
AS WE START planning for the financial year ahead, the number one rule in retail rings true: ‘know and remain relevant to your customer.’ So, who is your ideal customer and what might they want from you?
In 2020, the chances are, your cus- tomer base is made up of more and more Millennials. These are people born after 1981 and include Gen Y, Gen Z and now Gen Alpha. These individuals not only have their own values but have and will continue to influence the values of those before and after them.
This consumer group has four key fea- tures, broadly they are:
• Connected – have ready access to infor-
mation on smartphones (the average Australian millennial looks at their phone 200+ times a day) and are influ- enced by friends/networks/news feeds via Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and more.
• Conscious – about consumption and doing the right thing by the environ- ment, society and the community.
• Looking for simplicity – they like vari- ety, yet seemingly do not want too much choice.
• Looking for time saving – do it for me. This group wants to know the company behind a brand. What are the company’s values, and what does it do for society and the community? In a world of choice, what will make this group opt for a particular brand? More and more, it is a brand’s val-
ues that influence and attract consumers. In an environment of low wage growth, where there are already competing demands (experiences, travel, homewares, education, apparel etc.) on limited resources, custom- ers are choosing to make what they perceive to be positive decisions about what they buy and where they spend their money. Often, they want to offset what they feel to be the
negative effects of consumerism. Conscious consumerism has been on
the rise for some time, but social media has acted to speed up this movement. It
is often here that consumer activists share information and lobby for specific cam- paigns. The rise of the internet has opened the way businesses operate to ever more scrutiny and increased access to informa- tion on which products and services should be avoided in order to improve the overall well-being of individuals and society.
Further, consumers have the power to effortlessly spread the word about busi- nesses that are destroying the environment, underpaying staff or failing to promote ethical practices towards suppliers and staff. Often, these companies have tried to achieve a competitive edge over those who are employing fair practices in the market.
However, the current digital environment increases the likelihood that these busi- nesses will be exposed, with consumers then simply moving their business elsewhere. Put simply, the new digital environment tends to favour those who are promoting fair and transparent business practices, and this gives the consumer a great deal of power.
As a result, the conscious buyer’s values are gradually effecting a positive change on the way the entire world of business func- tions. In order to survive in this new world of conscious buying, businesses must become more value-orientated, and communicate their mission and values more widely.
However, in 2020, trust in govern- ment and corporates is at a low. It is not
enough to say one thing and do another. So, for business it’s not enough to have a Corporate Responsibility Statement on your website and not actually live what is being promoted. Consumers are great at smelling and calling out fake news. So, authenticity has become more important that it has ever been.
Being value-orientated might sound as though businesses have to take care of all the world’s problems and lose their focus on their market but this is not the case. Instead, businesses can decide what is their most relevant way to participate. Brands can use their communications power to highlight a social problem for example or could partici- pate through sponsorships and donations.
Going forward, brands will increasingly be called upon to define (and prove) what they stand for. Brands with purpose (often giving back to communities or the environ- ment) add meaning to a service or prod- uct to connect with the consumer at an emotional level. Conscious brands are the brands of the future, which can make the global economy fairer and more stable. ■
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