The 24 hour customer

In the modern marketplace, consumers are increasingly factoring in the time-value equation when making purchasing decisions. They assess the expected value of a product against its cost and the time required to utilize it.

A product is deemed worthwhile only if its perceived value surpasses the total cost, time included. Consequently, time has become a critical element in consumer choices, and for a product to be successful, it must offer a net positive value even after considering the time customers will invest in it.

Companies, including yours, may desire customers to engage deeply with their products. However, with limited hours in a day and a plethora of digital distractions, capturing consumer time is challenging. To reach the coveted "Motivation Quadrant," old business strategies won't suffice; instead, innovative approaches are necessary to gain and retain a motivational edge.

Embracing the constraints of limited time and attention can actually be beneficial. Insights from Silicon Valley show that certain dynamics can drive people to willingly invest time in activities like browsing the web or using products such as Nike+. Conversely, products that demand excessive time can deter customers. Recognizing and leveraging these dynamics is crucial in our time-constrained, always-connected world.

Achieving a position in the motivation quadrant is considered the pinnacle for businesses aiming to effectively market their products and services.

It's a challenging feat to not only reach this quadrant but to maintain a presence there, as customers are constantly evaluating whether a product or service is worth their time.

To secure a spot in this coveted quadrant, businesses must consistently enhance the value they offer. This involves creating a product or service that acts as a time magnet, captivating customers and encouraging them to invest their time.

To position a product or service in the motivation quadrant, it's essential to provide customers with opportunities to gain peer recognition, achieve status, and follow their personal interests.

Employing certain strategies can help establish this position, such as introducing elements of mystery akin to reality shows that keep viewers guessing who will be eliminated next, offering tools for self-assessment to track progress against others, and personalizing products to center on the customer.

Habits are behaviors that we perform automatically, often without much conscious thought, and they play a significant role in our daily lives. Businesses strive to make their products habitual for consumers, aiming to create loyal, long-term customers by integrating their products seamlessly into daily routines. This strategy helps ensure that customers continue to use their products without considering alternatives.

Research indicates that approximately 45% of our daily activities are habitual, involving repetitive actions that require minimal decision-making.

For businesses, there are two main types of habitual products: subscriptions, such as magazines that renew automatically, and mental habits, where a brand becomes the go-to choice out of familiarity, like using Google for searches without thinking about other search engines.

To make a product habitual, three prerequisites are necessary: a cue that triggers the habit, such as the smell of cookies baking; high frequency of use, making it easier to choose a product repeatedly rather than evaluating options each time; and immediate positive feedback, like the taste of a cookie, which reinforces the behavior. The faster the feedback, the stronger the habit becomes.

Convenience products are designed for consumers who value time over specific features, appealing to those who need to quickly complete tasks, often due to procrastination or last-minute obligations. Research indicates that consumers are willing to pay a premium, sometimes 25 percent more, for the expedience these goods offer.

To effectively market a product or service as a convenience option, it's essential to emphasize time-saving aspects in its design, purchase, and delivery. Simplifying the customer's journey by reducing the number of steps to purchase, use, and repurchase is key. For example, Garde Robe's service for New Yorkers exemplifies this by delivering a catalogued wardrobe to clients' hotels, bypassing luggage check-in lines and saving precious time.

In the 24-Hour Customer matrix, products in the lower-left quadrant are deemed value-driven, where customers prioritize price over features or value analysis when making quick purchase decisions. After choosing a value product, customers prefer to minimize further time and attention on it. To thrive in this quadrant, companies must focus on being the industry's low-cost leader, offering the most affordable prices.

Value products typically offer basic features that meet customers' essential needs. They are simpler, more convenient, and less expensive than their high-end counterparts. Companies can create these products by finding a "good enough" version of a premium product, eliminating unnecessary features while maintaining the primary function. They might also deconstruct a standard product and rebuild it with cheaper components or employ strategies like time-sharing to lower costs.

To effectively position a product in the value quadrant, companies should aim to increase category variety and simplify the buying process, making it as effortless as possible. Walmart, for instance, has successfully implemented this strategy with its "everyday low prices" and convenient one-stop shopping.

The Time-Value Tradeoff framework offers a new perspective on customer behavior, potentially uncovering untapped product opportunities. In a world where time and attention are valuable commodities, businesses should embrace these constraints to gain a competitive advantage instead of resisting them. It is crucial to reevaluate what matters to customers, how they perceive value, and your role in an economy that operates around the clock.

Mere minor adjustments in marketing strategies are not enough. Businesses should:

- Analyze their product portfolio through the time-value lens to assess where their current offerings stand and how they align with the company's strengths. Ensure messaging is consistent across different units. - Create a customer ecosystem by partnering with complementary vendors and brands, similar to Apple's end-to-end user experience, to become a one-stop shop that saves customers time. - Calculate the time and money customers spend annually on research and purchasing within your industry. Customize information to save them time and increase relevance. - Explore potential "white space" innovations that can revolutionize the market with time-relevant, personalized offerings of high Time-Value. Utilize new technologies for managing time and attention, such as default settings, familiar interfaces, automated actions, and time-sensitive versions. - Prioritize ideas with high growth potential, alignment with the business, and stakeholder support. Understand adoption requirements and switching costs. - Recognize that access to time-relevant, personalized data may soon become a key differentiator. Help customers focus on their priorities as they manage their time, attention, and information. - Explore new opportunities, such as identifying gaps in a customer's time sequence, finding trigger events for the first interaction with your brand, discovering discrepancies between customer goals and your offerings, and modifying time boundaries through techniques like time-slicing or time-shifting. - Utilize technology as a catalyst for growth strategies. - Succeeding in a 24/7 economy requires adherence to new rules. Companies that cling to outdated practices will miss out on essential customer data for delivering timely and relevant solutions.