As a Service Provider, Are You Ready to Capitalize on The Growth of Side Hustles?
In a time of crisis, consumer behaviors change quickly, giving way to new trends out of necessity or opportunity. During the COVID-19 crisis, one area that has seen remarkable growth is the side hustle market.
Disruption creates space for entrepreneurs – and that’s what is happening in the United States as well as in other major economies around the world.
Even before the pandemic side hustle had become a growing trend, nearly 45% of workers in the U.S., 25% in the U.K., and 17% in Canada have participated in the side hustles.
The trend is prevalent among millennials, with nearly one in two relying on the practice to boost their income and it’s only growing as more people plan to start a side hustle in 2021 (Bankrate; Forbes).
Unsurprisingly, having an e-commerce side gig is by far the most popular side hustle globally, as more than 50% of go-getters in the U.S. sell something online as their side hustle such as dog-walking and cat-sitting service, professional services such as tutoring, freelance writing, mystery shopping and much more.
Keys to Service Providers Long-Term Success
The competitive landscape is changing rapidly, forcing service providers to show continued strength and find new sources of differentiation. The good news for these providers is that they have a strong brand reputation and a substantial base of loyal customers, however, many new companies are entering the market to disrupt the status quo.
Service Providers have an opportunity to capitalize on this emerging trend by creating a digital-first customer experience, meaning embedding digital in all aspects from customer care to omnichannel sales – and transitioning from a household-centric to a customer-centric organization will help improve retention and unlock opportunities for offering new products and services.
This massive growth in the gig economy brings new revenue opportunities for telecom providers and emphasizes redefining relationships with its customers – delivering value through internet services.
In our opinion, service providers’ responsibility is to put the growing side hustles market at the heart of their enterprise strategy.
Successful side hustles could potentially turn into paying small and medium-sized business (SMB) customers that eliminate the need for telecom providers to buy customer bases and open doors to provide other services to help these SMBs of the future flourish.
