Fjord Trends: Collective Displacement
After Covid-19 as individual I had to make a lot of changes and now, I’m working remotely from home since march 2020. Suddenly intimate spaces from our home took on a new professional function. We had to design a small office space at home. And, I have to confess that I’ve been working beside my pets that bark sometimes when I’m in a call. Therefore, I move around the house with my computer, sometimes I’m in the kitchen or the living room. The forced closure of supermarkets changes my habit and rise my hidden impulse for online shopping. I became Amazon addict looking for all kind of things I thought I needed. And I say, I thought I needed because I realized I don’t need so much stuff. Oh! My God, Am I becoming a minimalist?
I’ve changed the way I dress; my closet is full of things that I don’t even wear anymore. Let’s say, I’m in a daily comfy fashion style. Different colors of Birkenstocks are my best friends and I’ve learned to wear makeup no makeup like a professional model. I’m wondering if I need to do some Mary Kondo to my closet?. I’m also worried about my pets, how will my dogs feel when I return to the office again? My pets are now used to see me every day at home. And I wonder would I come back to wear formal clothes and a lot of make up again? If everybody’s habits have changed, how can a brand and businesses, ensure to stand out in such circumstances?
Now organizations must find new ways to deliver experiences at a distance, in a different spatial and social context. The pandemic has displaced the way we work, learn, shop, play and relate. Some of these shifts might be permanent while others might be temporary but, for now we have changed our sense of belonging by creating a feeling of collective displacement. I read about collective displacement in Fjord Trends, and I felt some kind of spiritual connection. This year Fjord totally got how I feel. And let me tell you, I’m a huge fan of Fjord Trends.
As an experience designer at the Innovation Studio at Accenture, I help the world’s leading brands transform their customer experiences across the entire customer journey. And this year has been like no others. I have been in a period of uncertainty, that sense of collective displacement that Fjord talks about is true, believe me! In the blink of an eye, the way I move in the world has completely changed. My home became a school, a gym, an office space, among other things.
I heard people are moving to the countryside looking for fresh air. Almost overnight, I was taking my therapy lessons online. Doing things communally has gone, now I finally understand that the liberty I took for granted won’t be given back to me until the virus is fully under control, sacrificing access to the people I love. My social meetings with my friends are now on zoom. I can see how social media had already rewritten some of the rules about social meetings. Displacement seems to be a reality to me.
Companies must now deal with the fact that the customers like me have dramatically changed, I don’t go to the mall anymore and it’s been a while that I don’t go out for a coffee, I manage to make my espresso at home. Brands must adapt to new routines with fresh ideas to get me to buy again. I strongly believe that with an innovation mindset, it’s possible to deliver new customer experiences becoming visible for people in a fresh new way. Online shops should offer now a high-quality browsing displaying products that make us feel we are discovering new things again. Shopping groceries has become automated for me, stores can get me or loose me in a microsecond of a click additionally, I’m looking to get some joy on my shopping.
And now let me show you what Fjord suggested us about collective displacement.
Think
The customer you knew yesterday is not the same one you have now. Continue to study the context of your customer base, because it will likely remain unstable for some time to come.
Say
Businesses have a role to play in giving people hope. Consider your brand’s tone of voice in the context of what’s happening right now. Choose a hopeful tone and messaging in all your communications that can vary with local context.
Do
Reimagine how you could deliver valuable physical experiences like texture, access to advice and the shelf experience. How can you encourage exploration and offer inspiration in new ways?
Yes, Covid-19 has made things very tough for all of us, but we can come through this, we should take a look to the opportunities that are in little details to transform the way we design and co-create creating new products and services.
