Modern consumers are not stupid, and they don’t appreciate being deceived or patronized. Not only do they care about getting value for money, but also making sure that they’re treated well, that they have access to good support, and that what they get is what is advertised.

After years of being able to filter out marketing, reading into the public decisions of companies, and seeing journalism reporting on the movements of big industries, consumers have more means than ever of keeping ahead of the curve and understanding your story.

For this reason, it’s essential for modern brands to ‘shape up,’ and make sure that they regard their consumers as not just an expected invariable, but a force to be won over, and business to be earned.

Understanding what modern consumers look for in their brands can help you pivot your approach, refine your formula, or at least strengthen your marketing to boot. In this post, we’ll discuss all three of those measures, by talking about three essential consumer expectations that guide them. Without further ado, let’s begin.

Sustainability Efforts

Sustainability is key, as most consumers now want to support businesses that care for the future. ‘Voting with your wallet’ is no doubt a term and proactive approach you’ve heard of before. More and more consumers are starting to do this, more comfortable with investing in more expensive brand and products (or even packaging options) if it means they can readily assuage their environmental impact. It helps to know that you’re making a thorough effort towards this, such as vetting your suppliers or using metal recyclers to dispose of your materials ethically. This might sound obvious, but sustainability can not only reinvigorate your brand, but justifies a brand new marketing push.

Honesty in Marketing

Consumers understand when they’re being sold to. They’re always very aware of the pointed techniques used by copywriters hoping to apply impactful, engaging language to convince them to purchase more than they know what to do with. They know about the soft guitar tracks behind advertisements in order to make them seem friendly, and how the eye-popping, attention-grabbing YouTube advertisements they see are there to engage them before the ‘skip ad’ button becomes available.

How do you counteract all this? Be honest, direct, and respectful of their time. If you can do that, then consumers are more likely to respect that above and beyond any other approach. Give it a try for yourself, and see.

Ethical Staff Care

Consumers, fresh of the heels of the Covid pandemic, have also had trouble with their own places of work, or have had to adapt to new norms or understand the struggles that many employees have been through. For that reason, many consumers actually wish to know how you treat your employees, what your values are, and how this might extend to them as consumers.

For instance, one of the biggest online stores available today has a tough reputation for timing employees, limiting bathroom breaks, and asking for harsher and harsher targets to meet. Many consumers have vowed to avoid such a firm because of that. As small companies, we must do what we can for our staff, not for marketing purposes, but because satisfied, respected staff are its own reward. Conscious consumers appreciating this will be a nice tertiary benefit.

With this advice, we hope you can understand and cater to the needs of modern, conscious consumers.