Future Customer Scans are About Changing Preferences

In my family, vinyl is back. The music lovers are buying back the albums they gave away when the CD came around. Spotify is OK when they're mobile, but for real enjoyment, they're turning the tables! Who'd have thought?

It's the same with our kids. They wear brands that we don't want to be caught dead in (granny brands), and we, the parents, have to shake the feeling of being uncool when we applaud their choices.

I bet that you can tell me an example or two of changing preferences as well.

And how about the changing preferences of your customers? Do you know who your future customers are and what they need?

If I'd Asked What They Wanted, They Would Have Said 'Faster Horses,' said Ford

Current customers are clueless about their future needs. That's a real bummer because now you have to look... uhm, where? 

Well, that requires a somewhat complicated answer. Because you'd have to gather information from multiple perspectives and then find emerging patterns in the data.

For instance, information from these forward-looking sources:

• Tech and industry futurists like Mike Walsh or Amy Webb

• Trend forecasts from TrendWatching and similar

• Sci-Fi literature and movies

• Innovation labs and think tanks, like MIT media lab

• Academic journals, like Futures

• Youth and fringe behaviors and habits

• Futures scenarios

• Ethographic studies

And then you'd have to connect the patterns you've found to your industry trends, your current customer profiles, and the upcoming tech innovations that may affect your industry and customers.

For instance, you'd have to factor in ChatGPT and other AI apps, and their effect on customer needs tomorrow.

Here's an example:

I researched for Heijmans to find out who might want to live in a new neighborhood. I looked at future trends like jobs, the types of work available, people moving in and out, and how well everyone gets along.

Instead of just knowing about today's residents, Heijmans can plan the project to fit what people will need in the future. This helps them avoid building for the past generation and generate higher ROI and satisfaction in the future.

Everyone Can Play the Piano, But Only a Few Can Make it Sing

Future customer scans are a helluva job if you don't know how to do this. It takes a lot of time, and it's riddled with uncertainties about seeing the right things right.

But, when you succeed, you get these competitive advantages:

1. Low-Risk Innovation: You'll be early with innovations, giving you time to test and adapt before launching full-scale.

2. Ahead of the Rest: You'll be better prepared for shifts in demand and changes in consumer behavior while your competitors are wondering what's happening to their diminishing revenue.

3. Higher ROI: Your tested innovations are more likely to succeed in the market and have a longer lifetime.

4. Steady Performance: Your marketing will resonate more deeply with your new audience, avoiding dips in your engagement rates when generations of customers shift.

Key Future Customer Scan Components

What's Included?

• A comprehensive, easy-to-read report of findings with strategic implications

• A complete reference list so you can dive into source materials if you want

• Clear visual aids such as graphs, tables, and charts to illustrate findings