New world, New rules
New world, New rules
The small and medium business playbook to deliver a winning customer experience
The small and medium business playbook to deliver a winning customer experience
The small and medium business playbook to deliver a winning customer experience
The small and medium business playbook to deliver a winning customer experience
The small and medium business playbook to deliver a winning customer experience
The small and medium business playbook to deliver a winning customer experience
Welcome to a hyper-convenient and hyper-connected world where anything is possible at the click of a button.
The anything, anytime, anywhere way of life
When was the last time you exited a website or an application because it made shopping feel like a hassle? Just this morning on your way to work? Yes, we thought so. Small and medium businesses compete in offering convenience to customers because that’s exactly what we experience everyday shopping (be it online or offline), from the payment methods of our choice to the delivery options that suit us.
The result: A hyper-convenience revolution where any slight inconvenience could cost your business cart abandonment. Who are the ones leading this? Your new brand advocates, the Discovery Generation, who are following your brand on social media and your online platforms.
Meet the Discovery Generation
They are online shoppers whose purchasing habits are largely based on inspiration and openness to digital discovery¹. Brought up on a diet of social media, influencers, tech and green living, your new type of digital customers are fueled by hyper-connectedness and are experience hungry.
Top five behavior trends of the Discovery Generation
Certain traits make the Discovery Generation stand apart from other digital buyers. Here are the top insights that have accelerated during the move from an offline to an online economy.
Who I want: small local or international growing businesses
The Discovery Generation are ethically and socially-conscious consumers. They want bespoke, relatable products made specifically by and for their region - with a back story they can relate to.
Where I want: flexible delivery
Same-day or express delivery? Self-service collection (to secure lockers/locations)?
It’s all about having flexible options that work with their needs and new hybrid working way of life. What they need is for brands to have clear costs and full transparency to make it easier for them to decide on clicking checkout.
What I want: smart personalization
77% of consumers have picked, recommended, or paid more for a brand that offers them personalized service or experience2.
Everyone likes individual attention. The Discovery Generation prefers personalized, curated products and experiences. They want brands to know them better than they know themselves - understanding their needs and predicting what they’d like even before they have thought about it.
Why I want: inspiration-based shopping
68% of digital consumers discover new products largely through online inspiration and influence¹
What this means is no one shops with the intention of buying a particular thing anymore. Across social media, video and messaging, these channels and mediums have become crowd favorites in Discovery Commerce - influencing the openness to new brands and products.
How I want: buy now, pay later
“Buy now, pay later” (BNPL) is becoming an increasingly popular way for shoppers to pay for purchases. Replacing traditional financing options with its enticing weekly, bi-weekly or monthly installments and sometimes 0% interest, it provides your consumers with more convenient, flexible payment methods.
Game strategies to win over the Discovery Generation
Now that we know what our new brand advocates want, like and expect, here are three simple ways you can provide the seamless, frictionless experience to win their hearts.
- Go paperless
More than just a move for the environment, going digital with tools and apps like the FedEx Ship Manager™ at fedex.com can help your small and medium business streamline its end-to-end shipping process. You’ll be able to customize paperwork and all documents will be in a single repository, which means you can serve customers faster and better.
- Learn at your own pace
Logistics and shipping can get overwhelming, but sometimes that comes from the lack of understanding on how things work. So empower yourself and your team by using online portals like the FedEx New Customer Center, and take charge of your own shipping education, at your own pace.
Exceptional experiences = smarter, digitalized logistics
Not as complex as you thought, right? The Discovery Generation have dictated the rules. All you have to do is simply ensure that your shipping and logistic processes can power your business to deliver the experience they demand.
If you’re interested to learn more about small and medium business can do just that with smarter, digitalized logistics, here’s how to do it:
Sources
1. Facebook Business and Bain & Company, Digital Consumers of Tomorrow, Here Today Report, 2020
2. Influencer Marketing Hub, 70 Personalization Stats for Smart Marketers, 2021
There’re more trends and strategies from where that came from
We’ve only just started. The rest of the guide deep dives into how small and medium businesses like yours can win over the Discover Generation.