It’s Personal! Customer Service In The ‘Selfie’ AgeBy: Jevin Sackett

It may be hard to believe, particularly for those under-30 years of age, but there was a time in the not-too-distant past, that we all lived in a world where the daily reality included:

• Only one phone company and expensive long-distance calls

• A grand total of three network choices proffered for TV viewing

• A world in which would-be photographers had to purchase a camera, then film, and then bring that film to a third party–and wait to get it developed

• And a world in which job seekers had to manually search through the “Help Wanted” ads in their local newspaper

In ways almost too numerous to count, the business world of 2015 bares almost no similarity to the one that existed as recently as 20 years ago. Of course, technology is–and remains–the main driver for the majority of the changes

in the way business is conducted today; however, technology has also resulted in one other significant trend

within the business world.

One of the most significant changes that technology has both caused–and enabled–has been demand for

personalized products and services. Today, it is virtually impossible for any member of the ‘millennial generation’ to conceive of a time when it was the norm for everyone to have the same choices—or in some cases, no choices

at all—in everything from telephones to televised entertainment.

In addition, in the era of Instagram,

Facebook, Twitter and other forms of social media, the ability to interchange ideas and images with

anyone, anywhere at anytime is now a

given. And implicit in that fact is the ability

for consumers to create, share and

enjoy personalized communication and entertainment on a

24/7 basis.

However, halfway through the second decade of the new

millennium, clients (be they consumers or

businesses) now not only appreciate–but expect–to receive

products and services designed to meet their

individual needs. As I’ve noted in previous columns, the Internet means that customers have a wider array of

choices than ever before, and easier

access to that plethora of available choices.

Still, even at this late date, some industries are just now awakening to this new reality. Take, for example, the

cable television industry. It’s estimated that more that $70 billion is spent annually on TV advertising. That’s an impressive figure. However, it may also be deceptive.

One of the latest buzzwords within

the business world is “cord-cutting”,

which references a rapidly growing

consumer willingness to walk

away from ‘bundled’

programming packages offered by

the cable TV industry in favor of,

you guessed it, more personalized

options.

For decades, cable companies—who have

near complete domination of their

assigned regions due to lack of competition—

have been able to ‘bundle’ dozens of

channels, and sell those packages to their

customers. Other than opting for satellite

television, consumers were left with little or no choice: pay for channels you have no intention of watching, in order to get access to those you will, or walk away from your

favorite program or network.

That was then, this is now—and ‘now’ is the age of the Internet. As a result of new technology, a rapidly growing number of TV consumers are cutting their

proverbial cable cords—ergo, the phrase ‘cord-cutting’–and seeking alternatives to the expensive cable option; after all, in any business other than cable television, the notion of customers paying for goods or services they know they will never use would be—correctly–seen as patently absurd.

And there is good reason for the cable companies growing

concern over a diminishing customer base—as seen in the rapid growth of the alternative option to cable TV. Web video

advertising is slated to grow by an impressive 30 percent this year, and while it is valued

at about $8 billion dollar (a fraction of the

giant cable market), unlike cable, all of the indicating arrows for

web-based advertising point upward.

This new era of personalized consumer demand is, perhaps correctly, being seen in historical terms as one of great narcissism. From ‘selfie sticks’ to Twitter—and for better or worse–the primary focus of this era seems to be pleasing

the face we see in our mirrors.

However, the bottom line is that businesses failing

to provide the quality,

personalized goods and services expected by

today’s demanding consumers do so at their peril–and risk learning first-hand

the economic consequences of customer ‘cord-

cutting’.