The times, they are a changin’ Get ahead of the curve by becoming familiar with three new technologies sponsored by BUSINESS TIP One of the hardest things for a business to understand today is how, by how much, and why their customers have changed. There is no doubt that the changes that have taken place in the past 10 years have been more profound than any in the past thousand years as related to commerce. To ignore this reality and try to do business “the way we have always done it” is a fast track to irrelevancy and bankruptcy. I would like to explore here some of the major factors that are influ- encing your customer and more importantly, how you can use this information to keep them coming back to your business. Humans change core beliefs and values very slowly but they do change what we often call “habits” relatively quickly and easily. Think of your own shopping patterns. Are you buying the same groceries you bought five years ago? You would most likely say “no” because your circumstances have changed in the past five years. You may be eating heathier (or the opposite!), you may have shipped a voracious eater off to college, or you may have added a new member to the family. Think about what you now have for dinner and lunch and how that likely differs from five years ago. Think where you are buying your food and even what food you are buying. Likely it is very differ- ent due to the reasons above and for even more reasons. But what is likely enduring is that you have standards for the quality of the food you consume as well as how you consume it. You have probably not stopped using a fork and knife and switched to just eat- ing with your hands (or maybe you do if you have a burger now and then!). Our core behaviors, learned as children, are harder to change and remain more constant. The way we shop changes as we grow; where we shop also changes with our lifestyle and influences of our society. The mobile phone has been one By James Dion, Founder and President, Dionco, Inc. 30 TileLetter | March 2019