Wednesday, June 1, 2016

How This Data Can Help Your Business Serve The Community

As a small business owner, you know how vital it is to be aware of your community.

It doesn’t matter what you sell if nobody’s interested in buying, after all. That’s called Product/Market Fit, which is just a fancy way of saying that there’s a want or need for what you’re offering.

And for small business owners who often rely on local customers, understanding who you’re trying to serve—and what they want—is critical to running a successful business.  

Here’s the thing: communities change all the time. But by making yourself aware of trends, big and small, you can adapt instead of getting left behind.

Let’s take a look at some data that can help you understand your community better—and make sure you’re providing the services your customers will want to buy.

A Little Bit Older…

It’s a widely recognized fact that our population is aging—on a global scale.

According to a study carried out by the United Nations, our aging population is…

  1. Unprecedented. The average age is higher now than it ever has been.
  1. Universal. Although not every region’s population is at the same stage, this phenomenon is happening across the board.
  1. Irreversible. This is something we’ll have to get used to—our older population isn’t going anywhere.

And developed countries tend to have older populations than developing nations:

data-piece-aging-population

Soon, over a quarter of the population in developed countries will be 65 years or older—which is a pretty substantial chunk of your customers.

So, what should you do with this information?

Cater to your community, of course. Take a look at your business and consider how your plans for the future can accommodate an older customer base.

Here’s how.

A Little Bit Wiser…

Knowing that your community of customers will slowly but surely have more people over the age of 65 doesn’t mean you need to change everything about your business.

But you should be aware of what an older population tends to spend money on.

For example, did you know that…

data-piece-service-expenditures-by-age-group

That 65-and-up age group in the United States makes roughly 70% of their expenditures on services, rather than on products?

Which makes sense if you think about it. People 65 years old and up have simply had more time to buy the things they need. Plus, lots of services can be paid for multiple times, like a video streaming service or physical therapy.

So if you’re in the business of offering services that older age groups would appreciate, you’re ahead of the curve.

And if not, you can always consider widening your business model to offer services alongside your products. If you sell computers, for example, you can also offer home setup and installation packages. The list goes on and on.

But you don’t need to completely shift what your business is all about: that aging population will still invest in products, too.

According to the National Center for Policy Analysis, the 65-to-74 age group has been spending more on pets, hobbies, and education than ever before:

data-piece-top-5-expenditure-growth-categories

Even just marketing your products to a different—or wider—audience can help your customers see your business in a new light.  

The point of this data isn’t to convince you totally change what kind of business you’re running.

Instead, you should take in all this information—and do your own research, too!—and figure out how you can adapt your business to better serve the community it’s a part of.

The post How This Data Can Help Your Business Serve The Community appeared first on Fundera Ledger.



from Fundera Ledger https://www.fundera.com/blog/2016/06/01/data-can-help-business-serve-community/

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