How Do You Answer The Question, "What Will My Customers Want Next?"

More than any other question I believe that my journey to search for an answer has become one of the most important beacons in my professional life. It's what makes my work worthwhile even if it means following a riskier, less understood, and more challenging path.

Today we can see that spotting trends and getting ahead of customer expectations is what makes businesses wildly successful. It's not simply the businesses that deliver a good service or the ones that are asking customers what they want and then trying to improve. It's the companies that take a leap and dare to go first. The companies that are creating new customer expectations by approaching human needs and desires in new and exciting ways. 

So it seems one of the first things to consider is not your company, your products and services, or even what your customers say they want. It's watching the trends that already exist in the life of your customers that impact the way they interact with your business. 

What customer expectations are being created by other products and services that will affect my business today and in the future? 

Learning from innovative businesses is a great way to start gathering competitive intelligence that will give you a better chance of addressing future customer expectations. But how can you make sense of all the innovative products and services out there in a meaningful and efficient way? 

1. Look for similar innovations related to your industry, the problems your trying to solve, and the value you offer. 

2. Next, consider even seemingly unrelated innovations that might still change the beliefs and behavior of your customers in unexpected ways that impact your business.

3. Finally, apply what you learn, take intelligent risks, and turn trends into innovation ideas and projects to prove their potential.  Don't be afraid to take a leap and go first!

Probably one of the biggest challenges to anticipating what your customers will want next is your habits and the culture of your organization. Mostly we're reactive to and distracted by a constant flood of information and tasks. Our leaders and company set the tone and expectation for what needs to get done and how it should be done. Unfortunately, innovation takes a backseat when your fighting fires and attempting to multi-task. 

Here are three final questions that can help you adopt the habits and culture that make trend spotting and anticipating customer expectations easier: 

1. What did I give them yesterday that failed to meet their expectations? 

2. What did I give them today that only met their expectations? 

3. What can I give them in the future that will surpass and redefine their expectations? 

Without knowing where your business failed to deliver it's very difficult to meet your customer's current expectations, and it certainly is impossible to surpass their expectations when your business is still delivering the same products and services. Seems simple enough but trying to ask what customers want next is a bit useless when you haven't focused on delivering the essential service you promise.

If you're ready the holy grail is not simply surpassing but REDEFINITION of customer expectations by anticipating their wants, based on their experience and interactions with other products and services, and being prepared to deliver value in new ways - in the process creating even more valuable customers in the future. Now where do we see this today? 

UberEATS - Uber is not simply meeting and surpassing their customers expectations, they redefined expectations of what their service can offer beyond simple and cheap transportation. This also expands the opportunities for the drivers beyond picking up the next customer. 

Karhoo - Taxis strike back! Is Uber really the best option? Karhoo doesn't think so. Their ride comparison app looks at taxis, community car services, and luxury services for the best prices and estimated times of arrival. You then pick whoever can offer you the best service. Now, why should I have to pay surge pricing or wait 10 min for my ride to arrive?

Deliveroo - Why shouldn't I be able to order takeaway from my favorite restaurants just because they don't do takeaway? Deliveroo solves that problem. It gives hungry customers the ability to get higher quality takeaway and helps restaurants expand their customer base, redefining both consumer and business expectations in the process. 

HelloFresh - I don't know how to cook anything interesting and I don't have time for grocery shopping every week, so I'll just order takeaway. Meet HelloFresh! They take care of delivering the ingredients and providing easy recipes straight to your door. It's encouraging their customers to redefine the way they think about food delivery and cooking one box at a time. 

Airbnb - In a few weeks I'm going to be staying in a strangers house so I can save money during my holiday to New York. Airbnb made it ok to trust strangers and stay in their homes. This would have been unimaginable 10 years ago! They're redefining travel and what it means to experience new places, but also what it means to let strangers into your home so you can pay your mortgage. Now all kinds of businesses are trying to take advantage of the sharing economy. 

welive - Before WeWork there were plenty of businesses renting out offices and offering co-working space. Then WeWork came along and they focused on perfecting the model and surpassing customers expectations on what innovative working spaces look and feel like with their ecosystem of conference rooms, events, global network, and discounts. They didn't stop there. With welive they now offer a new way of living for their customers. Their private apartments offer all the tailored home and community services you can imagine and beyond!  

Innovative companies like these are constantly looking for new ways to connect their customers, serve the expectations of younger generations, invest in their customer service, and take intelligent risks with their business models. They do this because they realize one of the most important questions they can ask is, "What will my customers want next?" Answering that question should become a natural part of doing business or improving your career. 

I was inspired to write this post after reading the book "Who Do You Want Your Customers to Become" and the article "How to Spot a Trend" in a British Airways Business Life magazine. Both of these are great quick reads for anyone interested in innovation. My goal was to provide additional frameworks, questions, and examples to help me make sense and improve this important skill in today's competitive environment. 

I write about topics that fascinate me in the world of business, education, creativity, innovation, leadership, and career development. What motivates me is helping my customers, friends, and readers find the inspiration necessary to achieve more for their businesses and careers. My endless curiosity helps me keep asking better questions and my eclectic interests beyond the world of work helps me find better ways of living. To follow this and more you can find me on Twitter @MiguelAngeloi.