NEWS EXTRA: NMBS CONFERENCE 2026 CONNECTIONS COUNT MORE THAN EVER
Businesses must focus less on transactions and more on building meaningful customer relationships if they want to remain relevant in an increasingly digital world, consumer behaviour expert Ken Hughes told delegates at the NMBS Conference.
HUGHES SAID THAT companies are now competing in a “race for relevance” as technology starts to transform the way customers interact with brands and make purchasing decisions. “With the birth of the Beta generation, we now have seven different consumer demographics to serve, seven different customer groups whose needs we need to satisfy. From Traditionalists (born after WWII) and Baby Boomers, all the way through to Gen X, Millennials, Gen Z, Gen Alpha and on to the Beta babies of today, meeting consumer needs has become a much more complex task for every brand.
Change, he said, is coming at us from all sorts of directions: Technological, Economic, Social, Regulatory and, most critically from customer expectations themselves.
“To survive and thrive every brand needs to exert a greater force against these changes, otherwise we will be crushed by them. To survive and ensure our businesses are future focused, we need to have the courage to embrace new directions. We need to collaborate and have an excellence in execution to have better connections with our customer. The old business models of the early 2000s are not serving the modern consumer of today,” he said
Nothing kills businesses more quickly than arrogance, Hughes added, citing Kodak thinking digital photography would be a fad, and Nokia assuming it would always be the biggest mobile phone company in the world. “Arrogance kills entire brands and industries, and it could kill your business faster than you think,” he said, adding that, as customer expectations change, alongside the business and service landscape, so must the way businesses operate. He said that, with each
10
generation having been shaped by different technologies, cultural moments and expectations, businesses can no longer rely on the strategies that made them successful in the past. Instead, they must continually evolve to meet changing customer needs. “What made sense in a
previous generation may now feel outdated or even confusing to younger customers,” he said. Hughes pointed to the rapid development of technologies such as artificial intelligence, robotics, autonomous vehicles and quantum computing as evidence that change is accelerating rather than slowing down.
“We are operating in a rapidly changing world,” he said. “Businesses must continuously adapt to meet changing customer expectations or risk being replaced.”
Using examples including the decline of standalone sat-nav devices following the rise of smartphone navigation apps, as well as the disruption created by companies such as Uber and Airbnb, Hughes warned that businesses that focus too heavily on what they currently do rather than what customers need can quickly become irrelevant. “The lesson from history is that arrogance and complacency are dangerous,” he said.
According to Hughes, today’s consumers expect convenience, speed and simplicity as standard. Whether ordering products, booking services or accessing information, customers increasingly demand frictionless experiences.
However, he argued that convenience alone is not enough to build long-term loyalty. He suggested that the quality of relationships remains the single most important factor influencing satisfaction and success, and that the same principle applies in business.
“Customers don’t just want products and services. They want to feel seen, heard and valued,” he said. “People are increasingly choosing connection over convenience when given the opportunity,” he said. “Ultimately, relationships drive loyalty. Customers return to businesses where they feel valued and recommend brands that create memorable experiences.” He described modern consumers as “Blue Dot customers”, individuals who see themselves at the centre of the experience and expect products, services and communications to be tailored to their needs. Examples include Uber, Deliveroo and digital services that offer personalised experiences on demand. “The question every business should ask is: how do we make this about them?” Hughes said.
Meeting expectations, he added, is no longer enough. Businesses must create
memorable moments that exceed expectations if they want to stand out.
“Small, thoughtful actions can have a huge impact,” he said. “It’s these moments that create emotional connections and generate stories customers want to share.”
Another key message was
the importance of building communities rather than simply accumulating customers. “Customers can leave at any time. A community creates a sense of belonging. Technology should enhance human connection, not replace it,” he said.
Artificial intelligence offers significant opportunities to automate routine tasks, remove friction and improve efficiency, but its greatest value lies in allowing people to spend more time building relationships. Hughes predicted that AI will increasingly influence purchasing decisions on behalf of consumers by automatically searching, comparing and selecting products, which could mean that traditional differentiators such as price and convenience may become less important. “If customers feel connected to a brand, they’ll choose it even when alternatives are available,” he said. “If they don’t, AI may simply choose the cheapest option.”
For businesses, the ultimate objective should be customer lifetime value rather than individual sales, Hughes concluded. “Connection is everything. The businesses that win won’t necessarily be the ones with the best products. They’ll be the ones with the strongest relationships.” BMJ
www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net July 2026
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