The demand for luxury goods such as jewellery, beauty spas and haute couture, for example, has a synergistic relationship with consumer confidence.
When consumer confidence is low, the demand for essential goods like certain groceries may not necessarily increase, but the demand for cheaper alternatives to branded goods increases. In times of high consumer confidence, people are more likely to spend more on credit and take out loans to finance their lifestyles. Either way, this Index is a strong indicator of revenue and is something that SME owners should monitor closely in order to accurately forecast financials.
What this represents for small businesses across the board, is a golden opportunity to gain market share by providing alternative product brands and optimising the customer experience. In times of low confidence, consumers become more discerning about how and where they spend their money. They are less likely to tolerate bad customer service and will forego their loyalty to certain brands if those brands do not adequately invest in building relationships with the people they serve.
It is in times of low confidence that your business’s reputation will work for you or against you. Unfortunately, it is in times of hardship that many brands neglect the cornerstone of their business, which is customer service. In a contemporary world where people are reduced to reams of numbers and hide behind social media profiles, the value of human interaction and personalised service cannot be underestimated.
Remember that good customer service is not rooted in external philosophies but is something that resonates from the inside out. Treat your employees fairly and with respect, optimise their working conditions and in the hard times, make sure that they are being heard, and your employees will become your greatest brand ambassadors. When employees feel valued, they value the people that are their bread and butter, and those people are your customers.
Source: News Formal (newsformal.com)
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