A Look into the future

Whilst recently in my local library I noticed a full section in the cookery area and was surprised at how many books related to quick and simple methods of cooking, for example, Can't cook won't cook, Quick Meals, Microwave a meal, T.V dinners etc. All of these had one theme, how to get a meal with the minimum amount of effort and time.

Although this is the case the consumers standards of satisfaction has not decreased and they expect, as a matter of course, all of the good looks that they have been accustomed to from their foods but also expect it to please their palates once eaten. In other words a traditional home cooked meal in record time. This need not be seen as a negative side to the business but should be seen as an opportunity to be grasped with a potential for increasing the business turnover and possibly the customer numbers.

Designing new products for your customers / consumers

>>A CUSTOMER IS SOMEONE WHO SHOPS WITH YOU<<
>>A CONSUMER IS SOMEONE WHO SHOULD BE SHOPPING WITH YOU<< One of the many disciplines required in running and developing a successful retail butchery business today is to have an understanding of consumer needs and not just your customer's needs. Continual loyal customers are in some ways like a part of the family, you can mostly anticipate their needs before they ask. The problem with this is that the excitement of the shopping experience for the customer reaches a low and the enthusiasm for the retailer to introduce new ideas becomes a task in itself as the daily display needn't ever change for these loyal carnivores.
There are many things to take in to consideration when trying to understand consumer needs and no one element of this can be considered in isolation. Whilst we all believe that we know our own business's and customers better than anyone else it is very important when we start to look at new product development that we start to ask the questions of what would suit existing customers and what would suit potential customers. This is the point at which a business needs to identify the opportunities regarding the requirements of the consumer needs so that any new product developments can be achieved to a suitable result for everyone.

The following are only some of the many points that should be considered.

• Changes in the market place
• Consumer trends. What are the changes, in the area that your business operates in, that have taken place?
• Q. What is the ratio of male to female customers now compared to last year and the before that and so on? New Products to suit?
• Q. What is the average size of the family in your area? New Products to suit?
• Q. Are both parents out working or just one? New Products to suit?
• Q. What is the average age of your customer compared to the average age of the consumer passing by your shop every day? New Products to suit?
• Q. What competition do you have out there and how can you improve beyond them. New Products to suit?
• Q. Is the local supermarket/fast food bar something that you could use to your benefit at lunchtime with children and adults? New Products to suit?

The answers to these questions can often be found by talking to staff, customers, local authorities and chambers of commerce and reading local newspapers.

During recent conversations with retailers regarding this workshop it became very evident that there is a belief that regular customers go in to the shops for their usual products and nothing else. In this case I would ask if this assumption is based on trials undertaken and if so why was it only targeted at their customers and not the consumers outside the business. This may sound simple but as often found we can?t see the wood for the trees.