Since the Covid-19 pandemic hit, consumers have had to change some of their buying behaviour by purchasing food and clothes online as much as they can. For business, the competition is tougher than ever and it’s no longer acceptable to provide customers with subpar products or services.
The question businesses need to ask themselves in order to stay relevant and top of mind for consumers is whether or not their business’ sales strategy is aligned with current consumer trends.
What are consumer trends?
In this context, ‘trend’ does not refer to a specific fashion style or a new cool feature on Instagram, but rather consumer values. These values inform why a consumer would show interest in your product or service over others.
According to Delia Dumitrescu, a trend analyst and lecturer in Media and Cultural Politics, consumer trends are formed by three basic core values which are “A new behavior. A new attitude or opinion. A new expectation”.
With time comes change. As consumers find ways to adapt and adjust to change so do their interests in the brands and businesses they engage with and purchase from.
This means you need to stay informed about the changes in the market. How consumers shop and what their priorities are. This gives you the advantage of staying ahead of the game and being their first choice because you understand their needs and you have a solution.
Why should you be aligning your sales strategy with consumer trends?
Knowing what your consumer needs and understanding their expectations gives you the advantage to close the sale because they trust you and believe in your ability to deliver. According to V12 data, 75% of consumers are likely to purchase from brands that recognise the three basic core consumer values.
When sales and consumer trends align, revenue increases, and brand loyalty is stabilized.
This is why it’s crucial for businesses to have sales strategies that are aligned to consumer trends.