Business War and Competition

Undoubtedly the economic crisis has wreaked havoc on millions of families around the world, this will bring unprecedented changes in how the American middle class, the most voracious of the world consumes. Of course, this kind of attitude will change the way companies will have to win customers and the type of business products and services that will have to develop and offer non-stop service this segment.

For example I can cite you the case from Direct TV.

This company developed a pre-payment system for satellite television service that is accessible to many sectors of the population of Latin America do not currently have bank accounts or have the resources to join the system on a monthly basis.

This type of solution is unthinkable in a society like the U.S. or Europe. To John Gerzema, president of the firm Young & Rubicon, which manages the largest database in the world about the attitudes of consumers, the end of consumerism as we know it is close.

These are some of the concepts delivered in an interview that he made the INC magazine. Let

Job losses, reduced working hours and problems of family budgets are under way to consider the definition of the good life.

People are finding happiness in things like “do it yourself”, self-improvement, faith and activities in their community.

This does not mean that consumers are dead, you are simply imposing conscious consumption. As a result people are buying the brands of companies whose securities are similar to those of the consumer.

Similarly rejecting the brands whose values do not match with theirs. For this executive, the concept of quality is changing: now it is associated with ethics, the things made by hand and not in series, the feel good about the things they buy.

Wal-Mart, which is a tiger to understand the consumer, is now making local purchases for many of their products.

Even small businesses is appearing, well away from the mega supermarket chains that sell vegetables and even meat but from healthy cows and slaughtered by craftsmen and not slaughterhouses.

The most striking finding of the changes taking place in USA has to do with that people are trying to produce what it consumes from having a small garden in your yard to raise chickens in the yard.

Many Americans want to do more things and want them for themselves. This of course is bringing a number of opportunities for who is willing to address this new consumer.

Eg Hyundai offered its customers the opportunity to return the car if the buyer was unemployed.

With this strategy the company grew 12% in a super-depressed market. Companies have to make gestures that go beyond words. Persuasion does not work. Customer service is more important than ever.

Companies that are identified with the new values of the people, not marketing, but because they truly feel, will be those that will benefit from this type of behavior.