Customers now think critically too! Factor that in!

Isn’t this perfect? Mother Nature in action! We keep trying to rein in all the ever-changing business factors. And guess what, so do our customers! The future will require us to think critically (creatively and broadly) and as of right now, customers are having to do that very same thing. “Can I get my customer service issue fixed or am I wasting my time? What can I substitute when I can’t find something (day care, urgent care, a flexible part time jobs, brown gravy, strawberry jam, a shower curtain liner, etc..) Customers have changed. Lots of practice on critical thinking for all! Just like this Quinn’s Mother Nature sculpture, fast changes are teaching your customers critical thinking too!

Let’s talk about:

• Lorenzo Quinn’s Art
• Critical thinking, not just analytics
• Customers are having to think critically RIGHT NOW

Lorenzo Quinn’s The Force Of Nature

In response to the destructive nature of hurricanes, Italian artist Lorenzo Quin (now living in Spain), created the eight foot tall sculpture “The Force Of Nature”. This sculpture has been seen around the world England, United States, Monaco, Singapore, etc…. Quinn has captured the energy of mother nature during a hurricane and wow, how that can be applied not only to today but all the changes we can expect in the future.

 

Critical Thinking, It’s Not Just Analytics

With all the focus on analytics, are we missing something when it comes to customer service, business or even our customers daily life? If you look forward, as described in the book AI 2041 by Kai-Fu Lee & Chen Qiufan, we are about to embark of decades of fast changes. Will just churning data be enough? Without really looking at things differently, creatively, beyond today’s parameters, businesses will not thrive. And the same applies to customers. They too will have to pivot constantly and be happy doing so. As Quinn depicted about hurricanes, we will need to learn think critically over and over again.

Customers are learning to think critically RIGHT NOW

How about that! Customers are having to think critically, learning every single day to creatively deal with changes. No need to wait till 2041!

• Reporting a product/service issue to a company- Service used to be clear cut. If there was an issue, it was easily fixed. No more. Long wait times on calls, might require several call backs, minimally trained staff on the other end, and the best part, no resolution to the issue. So, customers are thinking critically in places they didn’t have to before. Should I TRY to get service or just move on?
• Finding what you need? I decided to replace some curtains (not the end of the world issue) and sure enough, you can’t find a good inventory of them anywhere. And prices are rising!! I decided to put off this project. That’s new! I used to be able to find whatever was needed. Now customers are having to substitute, persistently pursue the issue or move on. This is NEW! Factor in that your customers are now thinking differently.
• Constantly changing issues – Covid waves, stock outages, school changes and on and on. Going on, 2 years now, your customers are no longer fixed. They are changing their thinking and decisions every hour or every day.

So, yes, your customers are not robotic any more. Factor in that they are constantly being creative about their life too!

 

As Quinn’s sculpture reminds us, everything is changed by the “Force of Nature”. Continue to prepare your business to think critically not just analytically and make sure to realize that your customers are doing the same! Mary Furrie, Furrie Consulting, helping clients think critically about service and their business.

Photo credit: https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2015/08/force-of-nature/