Justin Cobb is a successful entrepreneur with many years of experience under his belt. He understands better than most the kind of problems buyers are facing right now, both from a professional and personal perspective. “These are difficult times,” he says. “Buyers are dealing with a perfect storm of issues in the marketplace, whether they are shopping for personal items or ordering B2B supplies for a business.”
Prices are rising across all sectors. In the US, the cost of a basket of goods has risen by 7.1%, with food seeing the biggest increases. Justin Cobb comments: “These price increases affect everyone, from people shopping for their families or businesses buying supplies for staff and customers. Price rises have a knock-on effect on the wider economy, too.”
One of the reasons why prices are rising, Justin points out, is that inflation is climbing. This is happening not just in the US. It’s also happening elsewhere around the world. “Inflation hits buyers because companies are forced to put their prices up to cover rising costs. It’s a vicious circle and the more prices rise, the less affordable goods and services become.”
Price rises are not the only issue facing buyers. Unreliability in the supply chain is also an issue. This is something Justin has seen a lot of lately, but most especially since Covid caused such a massive backlog in the supply chain.
“Delays in delivering goods cause a loss of confidence and buyers begin to lose faith in the supplier. In the short-term, a buyer may give the supplier the benefit of the doubt, especially if there are well-documented problems such as mail service delays, but ultimately, if a supplier doesn’t find a way to solve these issues, the buyer will look elsewhere for their goods.”
Supply chain issues can quite easily lead to disappointment with a company’s service. Buyers want and need to know a company’s customer service is on-point. If they can’t get answers, Justin says, they are likely to become disillusioned with the brand.
“Buyers are very quick to voice their dissatisfaction online these days,” says Justin. “If too many poor reviews are posted by disgruntled buyers, it can cause irreparable harm to a brand. Sellers must realize this and take steps to prevent it from happening.”
Justin advises all brands to focus on customer support above all else, as any deficiencies there will snowball.
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