Insights

Turning "on" your demand frameworks

Kristin Gilbert, Jeremy Bartlow, Lindsey Leikhim

Jul 7, 2021

Henry Ford once said, “If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got.” Updating consumer demand frameworks every few years or so worked well for most of our clients, but recently some need more frequent demand refreshes. Market trends were already accelerating and then COVID-19 created a tipping point that further changed the trajectory of consumer behaviors and motivations in some industries. Now, some of our clients that have experienced significant demand shifts are left reevaluating what they have always done and are looking for more frequent demand insights. 

These clients are well-aware that consumer and market dynamics are changing rapidly. They also realize that their demand frameworks, often ones that we helped develop, may be in dire need of being “refreshed.” They need a current view of demand, but one that can also track alongside behavior shifts as we come out of the pandemic. And they also realize that different industries and categories will have different recovery or reversion trends. The problem many of our clients are facing is how to effectively stay on top of these changing dynamics. How can companies continue to activate against their growth strategies while also monitoring and responding to evolving demand? 
 
The lasting impact of evolving market dynamics are yet to be fully realized. The location of where people spend their time, much more at home, has dramatically affected everything from food & beverage consumption to home & garden, to online shopping and delivery trends. Online shopping and delivery services have accelerated considerably to the point where adoption is years ahead of what had been anticipated in many categories. Conversely, service industries including restaurants and travel have been especially hard hit. How quickly, to what extent, and with what changes, will consumer trends persist or bounce back? 
 
The solution is sometimes turning your demand frameworks “ON,” so that consumer shifts can be monitored on a more real-time basis. Here are a few examples our clients are pursuing to offer real-time insights: 

While quickly changing consumer trends can seem daunting to stay on top of, recent market dynamics accelerated the eventual path to “always on” demand frameworks for some industries and companies. Tapping into at least one of the options for frequent demand framework “refreshes” can help companies become better positioned for significant current and future demand shifts.  

Kristin Gilbert [email protected]

Jeremy Bartlow [email protected]

Lindsey Leikhim [email protected]