Chapter 7: 72% of Adults Seek Change Post-pandemic, is Your Business Ready?
Video Series
Americans are hungry for change, 72% of adults said they want some form of change in their life when the pandemic and other upheavals of 2020 are over.
Only 18% of people said they want to go back to exactly how things were in 2019.
But change can look different to different people. As a follow-up, we asked what type of changes people are looking to make. The top responses surprised us. It wasn’t about making more money or becoming an influencer. The change people are thirsting for revolves around gratitude.
Appreciating what they have was the most frequently cited by those seeking change. The expressions of gratitude appear focused on what is around you today. People are more present in this moment of their lives than in the past. They also indicated a desire to spend more time with friends as well as with family. And looking to do that in less crowded spaces than in the past.
The pandemic, recession and social injustice have forced a reckoning of what people value and want to achieve when given a choice.
Gratitude plays out in action as well as thought. Society is already seeing shifts in cooking and shopping behavior – enabling more time or experiences with those closer to you.
The exact changes will vary depending on cohorts, circumstances and how the events of 2020 resolve themselves. However, common themes have emerged that will redefine the frameworks that insights, marketing and strategy professionals rely on. Needs, jobs to be done, decision journeys, opportunity maps and dig sites will all need to be re-evaluated based on the future state we are rapidly moving toward.
In Chapter 7 of Navigating to a New Normal we explore the emerging macro-trend - gratitude.
Part 1 / Gratitude: The Change People Really Want
Americans are hungry for change. Not the kind of change promised by politicians. Spiritual change.
72 and Change
Digging into the data and talking to participants in the qualitative portion of the study, we find that the change isn’t about the election. The dominant theme that’s emerging reflects the new macro trend that could shape our lives for a generation: gratitude.
Re-assessing Priorities
IMPLICATION: How does gratitude show up in business? Are communications reflecting notions of gratitude? Does the team understand what gratitude means between the business and the customer?
The New 21st Century Workforce
IMPLICATION: What are the needs of this new 21st century workforce? Is the business ready to meet this new highly decentralized workforce? What does that mean for communication? For transportation? For snacking?
My Place in the Community
IMPLICATION: People are looking to connect in ways that are meaningful. How can your business help foster connection between individuals? What role can you play in your local community?
Part 2 / Gratitude: Changes In Action
Change takes on different meanings for different people. The exact changes will vary depending on cohorts and circumstances. However, common themes have emerged that will redefine the frameworks that insights, marketing and strategy professionals rely on. Needs, jobs to be done, decision journeys, opportunity maps and dig sites will all need to be re-evaluated based on the future state we are rapidly moving toward.
The New Scope of Socializing
IMPLICATION: For restaurants, bars and other hangouts, how do you create greater sense of intimacy and privacy? There may be an opportunity for cafes to develop evening programs that speak to this new desire to drink less but socialize more.
Spending and Saving
IMPLICATION: How are you preparing for a return of in-person shoppers? What experiential components can you add that will make it worth their time and money to visit you. How can your online presence better integrate with in-person? And what are you doing to make your customers feel safe?
The Joys of Cooking
IMPLICATION: What you thought you knew about home cooking occasions is changing. Get to know the new needs and build toward the future home cook instead of trying to reverse back into pre-pandemic eating styles. And if you are an away-from-home location, how will you make it worthwhile for your customer to return?
The Future of Hygiene and Safety
IMPLICATION: There are many questions to explore around new hygiene habits. How do you promote cleanliness without infringing on someone’s sense of liberty? What does cleanliness mean for your customers? How will your brand showcase it’s hygiene practices?
Part 3 / Gratitude: Changing The Future
The hunger for change among Americans goes beyond cooking and changes in shopping behavior. There is a thirst for long-term, sizable change both in society and the individual. Appreciating what they have was the most frequently cited by those seeking change. The expressions of gratitude appear focused on what is around you today. People are more present in this moment of their lives than in the past. It has forced a reckoning of what people value and want to achieve when given a choice.
Speaking Up
IMPLICATION: Employees as well as your consumers are looking for action, not just empty words on matters of inequality. Companies that say what they will do and then do it are going to not only help make the world a better place, they will win the hearts and minds of employees and customers while doing it. That’s a true win-win.
Refreshing My Life Plans
IMPLICATION: How can your business help your employees as well as your customers adapt to their new life plans? What can you do to support education goals? Faith and spirituality are built on a foundation of gratitude. How might that impact your consumers? What will the relationship tensions mean for the future of family structures?
Changing the Future
IMPLICATION: If people are looking to be better versions of themselves, how can you help them in a meaningful way? How can gratitude show up in your organization and with your brand?
What’s Next?
This macro trend is just taking root. A seed germinated by a combination of all the things that 2020 has brought, along with a disruption of what is authentically true in our post-truth America.
Navigating to a New Normalcontinues. We invite you to join us in exploring the future and making sense of the world as it’s changing around us. You can also catch up on earlier chapters of Navigating to a New Normal.
Chapter 4: The Scary, Risky Evolutionary Need to Connect
Chapter 5: Listening: Black Lives Matter
Chapter 6: Are We There Yet? Finding Our Way to Normal (VIDEO of Presentation)
Chapter 1: Welcome to the Bottom of Maslow’s Hierarchy
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Note: Data included in the post is as of end of September 2020
