How Brands Should Be Adapting To New Consumer Behaviour

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13.2.2024
If you caught our last Insights article you will already have discovered how the consumer landscape is changing and what this shift in trends means for many co

If you caught our last Insights article you will already have discovered how the consumer landscape is changing and what this shift in trends means for many consumer brands. But how should you as a brand be adapting to new consumer behaviours?

Changes in consumer tastes, values, lifestyle, and expectations, as well as changes in spending patterns and a decline in disposable income, are affecting purchasing decisions and influencing the consumer landscape - altering what, when and how customers are buying, and it’s important to understand how you can react to that. 

As a consumer business, your brand is what will help you to remain competitive, openly aligning with the values, needs and desires of your customers. The brands that manage to do this successfully,  and who actively communicate and engage with their customers, are likely to reap the rewards. 

People value their time and money, and they increasingly want to work with and buy from companies that they identify with - businesses that engage with them, and that they feel shares the same values and ideologies.  

In fact, a recent study showed that  89% of customers are loyal to brands that share the same values. And if they sense that a brand is only focussed on selling and not interested in their views, and in connecting with them on a more personal level, they tend to lose interest. 

It’s also worth noting that 59% of shoppers prefer to buy new products from the brands they trust, and brands can also make incremental changes that can have a larger overall impact and reflect their customers’ desires. From revisiting their production processes, packaging and supply chain, to offering more sustainable or healthy products and brand extensions, businesses have the opportunity to analyse where they can make changes.  

Today, modern consumers are engaging with their media at a much faster pace than in the past, and across more devices. Recent studies estimate that consumers are being exposed to thousands of marketing messages a day. Understandably, they only engage with messages that are relevant to their needs and wants and that they can quickly and easily identify with, highlighting the importance of good branding, relevant messaging and strategic marketing campaigns. 

A strong brand will help any business to stand out from competitors in a noisy marketplace. In fact 77% of marketers feel branding is a crucial factor in future growth. Successfully developing and managing your brand is vital in order to form loyal, long-lasting relationships with consumers. This is not something that happens overnight - it requires insight, patience, consistency, belief and above all commitment.  

Using audience insights can help you to engage and remain relevant, as the value of a brand is ultimately determined by how people perceive and connect with it. As consumers we are not always blindly loyal, and brands need to work hard to earn the faith of their customers. Brands can achieve this by being agile in how they communicate, creating chances for meaningful contact, as well as being dynamic, transparent, and flexible to constant change. 

Trust and authenticity is one of the most important factors for consumers.  A study has shown that 94% of consumers are more likely to be loyal to a brand when it commits to full transparency.  This feeling of trust and transparency is built through effective campaigns, and utilising the right communication channels. Delivering an honest, personalised approach and a message that resonates with your audience should always be your primary focus.

Remember:

  • It is important that your brand and products deliver a great value proposition.  
  • Successful brands are always consumer focused - always trying to determine what problems they can solve, as well as what needs they can satisfy. 
  • Consumers increasingly want a relationship with the brand that extends beyond the product - they want to understand the values of the brand, and that these align with their own. 
  • Consumers prefer interactions with brands to be meaningful, personal and authentic. Achieving this personalised level of engagement while maintaining brand consistency can be challenging, but also rewarding. Forbes has reported that consistent brand presentation across all platforms can increase revenues by up to 23%. And this begins with a solid brand foundation.

At BRND WGN we can help you to develop meaningful brands, strategies and campaigns that keep you relevant to your customers. Through insights and experience, we help companies to create successful campaigns as well as engaging content, which includes web development and integrated UX/UI design. This enables brands to not only get noticed, but to connect deeply with their audience, and build a significant foundation of trust with their buyers for years to come.