Surfing the Inflection Point
Yesterday I called USAA to cancel the auto insurance on a car I recently sold. As expected, my customer rep tried to interest me in another product near the end of the call. What was curious was that the product was called a, “Starter Emergency Account,” and it was so new (he said USAA rolled it out only this week) that it wasn’t listed on their website yet. Given that USAA is available only to active duty and retired military personnel and their dependents….
Is this the part where we all panic?
I’m joking, but certainly there is a a lot of unease here in New York, sharp for those in the financial sector, vague and undifferentiated for the rest of us. Despite my stint at Standard & Poor’s, I’m not really a financial services guy and don’t pretend to understand the present situation any better than any other layman. Still, most people seem to agree we’re at an inflection point, as Mr. Gibson would put it, and I think a lot of the unease comes from there being no clear resolution to our present set of economic, political, and military challenges. The fact we’re about to have an election doesn’t seem to be helping either.
Still, there is one meta-trend I’m betting will provide opportunity for marketing folks like me if we can get out ahead of the curve. That is this: American Exceptionalism, if not dead, will take a very long nap for the next few years, and our national identity will shift accordingly. Bigger will not be better, greed will not be good and competition will not be king. Rather, sustainability, community and cooperation will underly the coming zeitgeist. That may sound a little hippy-trippy, but I don’t think people will associate these values with progressive politics. I think they will adopt them partly out of necessity and partly because it’s a natural and perhaps cyclical reaction to the last 20 years. The change will be subtle, and I think few will alter their actual political opinions. But how, where and why people spend their money will change.
For example, whatever the outcome of the banking crisis, I think we’ll see a renewed emphasis on savings (here is a good example ) rather than on high yield investments. Likewise, with consumer products, rather than selling big-ticket items based on their sex appeal, I’m betting companies will do well to emphasize how durable, cost efficient or easily repaired they are. And above all, the trend towards people connecting through – and relying on the advice of – online and mobile communities will accelerate as people will become more risk adverse and seek trusted opinions on purchases and investments.
And I think we market researchers are uniquely posed to start highlighting the beginnings of these trends for our clients. So while the current issues we face are certainly serious and the future uncertain, I believe market research will come though this current period renewed and just as vital as ever.
