The Era of Instant Gratification & How to Thrive In It

57.6 billion and 22.4 million. What do these numbers have in common?

According to data from the National Technology Readiness Survey*, the on-demand economy in the U.S. generated a total annual spend of $57.6 billion in 2015 and had over 22 million consumers purchasing on-demand products/services in a monthly period. The consumer of 2017 is one with extraordinary expectations; from product/service diversification to delivery to support, we can all agree that 2017 is the year of customer experience.

Evolution of Consumer Behavior

It begs the question, how did consumer behavior evolve to this point? The answer: how interconnected we are in today’s day and age and the inescapable digital presence we all carry. The Internet made things easier, more convenient, and more readily available to consumers. It’s embedded these expectations into our everyday lives. Ultimately, leading to shifts in the way we see and define work and ourselves. Entrepreneurship is now synonymous with the everyday individual as professionals seek to diversify their revenue streams. Think business analyst from 9 to 5 and freelance consultant from 6 to 9. About 49% of consumers purchasing on-demand products or services in a monthly period are millennials. They see their professional careers very differently from the baby boomers and Gen Y’s. They like to work from home and they like to work flexible hours, further feeding the on-demand economy. Our Starmatic™ Schedule Management Service facilitates that transition for companies looking to expand to external resources. There are no geographic boundaries in today’s professional world and the Starmatic™ Schedule Management Service helps you harness the power of a geographically dispersed workforce.

On-Demand Economy Snapshot

We live in an on-demand world and the repercussions of disruption are still being felt as companies pivot to take advantage of their respective markets’ want for better services and products. That’s the beauty in disruption; you can never truly predict what changes will be felt further downstream. There’s been a shift from consumer focused on-demand offerings to B2B offerings as businesses begin to further emphasize the need for business agility, reduced cost of ownership, and scalability. Look at Uber with its Uber for Business expense-account integration; allowing users to switch between their personal and work accounts and giving corporate representatives the ability to book rides on behalf of the user during business travel. Lyft followed a similar path by offering Lyft Events, a means for office managers to book rides for a group of employees at events (think company holiday party). Companies are actively seeking out partnerships with providers that can offer a platform by which they can better interact with their customers, can scale on demand, lower their cost of ownership, and create better in-house efficiencies. Arise’s Starmatic™ Schedule Management Service and its SaaS offerings can help you better manage on-demand scheduling and set you up with the infrastructure you need to build that competitive edge.   

Takeaways for 2017

The On-Demand Economy has created new markets of opportunities in both the consumer and business facing segments. Technological advancements have bred this culture of instant-gratification and have helped fast-track the creation of the platform companies that now cater to the on-demand realm. Ultimately, it created a demand for businesses to become more agile, more efficient, and faster to scale. Starmatic™ Schedule Management Service helps your company transition into and build the infrastructure needed to be agile, adaptable, and on-demand ready.

 

About the Author

Jose Ortiz, Business Operations Analyst within the Emerging Leadership Development Program (ELDP) at Arise, is passionate about leveraging the power of data-driven and customer-centric marketing strategies to drive extraordinary experiences and disrupt the status quo.

Prior to joining Arise, Jose interned at IBM as part of the Digital Strategy division, where he was charged with optimizing the digital IBM user experience for premier IBM products/services. Most importantly, this is where he first developed his passion for Digital Strategy and the ever-evolving frontier that is Digital Marketing. During his first rotation at Arise, Jose was tasked with being the Associate Project Manager for the company wide website revamp of Arise Virtual Solutions. Throughout his tenure with the marketing team, he sought involvement in every facet of the department ranging from writing copy for the site to link building to SEO optimization. He always seeks a challenge and has an insatiable curiosity. He sees Marketing as the perfect marriage of the creative and the analytical, and hopes to develop his career in the marketing profession.

Jose graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with his Bachelors of Science in Business Administration, with a dual Emphasis in Marketing & Entrepreneurship, from the Kenan-Flagler Business School.

 

*Statistics provided by the National Technology Readiness Survey