As a result of this column you and your organization will: Understand why today’s customers are never satisfied and want it right here, right now and precisely tailored to their needs. Invest in real time systems and technology that can respond to changes in customer expectations in the shortest time. Develop flexibility and responsiveness to the relentless customer and competitor shifts in the marketplace. Many business organizations that lock themselves into long-term plans may not be around when the future arrives. What happens to planning when unexpected changes occur overnight? What happens to service when consumers expect to be satisfied the instant they decide they want a product or service? People expect to be able to… Withdraw cash from ATM’s at any hour and in basically any location. Make a telephone connection any place on the planet within seconds be it from a car, from an airplane, or from the golf course. Fax and e-mail information to colleagues friends and family around the world instantly rather than waiting for overnight delivery.

Refined, high-powered databases increasingly allow marketers to tailor goods, services, and promotions precisely to customers’ individual preferences.

Today’s customers want it right here, right now, and they want it precisely tailored to their needs.

In all industries, the companies that will win the competition for customers will be those that invest in real time systems, information, and telecommunication technology that can respond to changes in customer expectations in the shortest period of time.

Interestingly, technology is both the cause of this problem and the solution to it as well. Technology has caused consumers to expect instant gratification and also provides a way to meet those expectations.

For example, The Custom Foot Shoe Store chain lets women design their own shoes with a three-dimensional foot scanner.

Meanwhile, national real estate franchises have developed Web-based listing service for property buyers. House hunters simply type the names of cities and neighborhoods that interest them, along with their target price range.

They receive information about schools and other community features, trends in real estate values, videos and photographs, and detailed descriptions of houses that fit their profile and budget. People are able to search for a house, day or night, from anywhere they have access to a computer.

According to research, today’s average consumer has less time to browse, down 25 percent from five years ago. Actually, one of the real needs is for fewer choices, not more. Capitalizing on this point, Procter & Gamble realized that its customers did not want 35 kinds of Bounce fabric softener and parents didn’t want separate Pampers for their male and female babies.

The line separating products from services is rapidly disappearing. To successfully market products, organizations have to build strong relationships with customers. These relationships are based on giving customers attentiveness, convenience, and comfort…in other words, service!

In the shift from products to services, specialized knowledge and human understanding rise to the forefront. Service has long been a person-to-person activity. Financial services, healthcare, consulting, dry cleaning, and auto repair all have one thing in common; they require specific expertise and an exchange of information.

When the future is unpredictable, long-term forecasts are of little value. Winning organizations will need to be flexible enough to respond to relentless shifts in the marketplace, in customers’ expectations, and in the behavior of competitors.

More valuable than the most intricate research and planning will be a real time culture, founded on flexibility and the relationship between companies and customers.

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