The internet, globalisation and new technology are slowly disrupting every industry, even yours.
The other morning I was early for my training so I nipped into McDonalds for breakfast which was a new experience for me.
£1.20 bought me a breakfast wrap. Egg, sauce, wrap and salt but darn tasty. I didn’t need to queue at 7.30 in the morning and parking was easy and free and that’s in the middle of Milton Keynes. And the guy was efficient and pleasant even wished me a great day.
Across the road was a Burger King who probably offered exactly the same thing at the same price with the same service. In the distance I saw a Wendys and a Subway who served the same kind of commodity.
Are you selling a commodity, what are you offering over and above price, choice, customer service, reliability or free parking? These are now signs of a commodity. Even wow customer care is expected and commoditised.
I work heavily in the mortgage advice sector and this is slowly edging towards a commodity as it’s difficult to distinguish between lenders and brokers. I was subjected to a lender mortgage interview recently and it was painful, condescending, computer staged and process driven. Awful and I’m sorry for those lenders who enforce this upon customers. A real “computer says no” moment.
That’s an example of a commodity.
Mortgages are, in essence, very simple financial vehicles now and computer algorithms are already capable of giving the public advice, people won’t be needed. So where and how can the people provide something more than this, some real value that’s not expected.
And if you think your sector is doomed to be totally disrupted by technology and the internet, accept it and move on to something that won’t be. As training consultants and coaches we no longer sell basic training, we give this for free on the internet but charge for individualised consultancy and problem solving initiatives.
The world is changing rapidly, are you moving with it or against it?
