The Future of Business
The majority of business managers today are struggling with figures … sales are not well achieved, investments are not flowing as expected and customers are more careful about spending their money .. In a nutshell, it is the era of business turbulence and a new business equation is being formulated ..
If anyone claims that they know the solution, they would be trying to speculate, however; there are clear signs that we can read from the past 5 years, and this can help us anticipate the future .. Here are key business thoughts:
1. Self-Service & Business Automation
No matter what business you are in, thinking about the automation of your business products and services is where the future is heading .. Customers have started to move rapidly into self service businesses as it is more simple, easy to predict and operates at 24 hours.
Think about it .. having 3D printers for your real estate will enable you to operate 24 hours at no noise, no labor working hours restrictions and predictable outcomes. Having an online reservation portal will allow clients to conveniently access your services 24/7 and ensure the information delivered is absolutely correct. The human element will still be there, but interfere at the last stages of deal closing, if requested by clients.
Business and service automation ensures two very important elements that customers today are looking for: 24/7 service hours, and credible information that is trusted and audited.
2. The “Mood” Economy
Today’s and tomorrow’s clients are all running after good mood. Life is getting more and more stressful and if organizations want to attract future customers, it’s all about creating positive vibes and happy moments.
Concepts like employee engagement, consumer engagement and customer experience have all been developed in the last 20 years, in preparation of the new era of consumer spending and business market development.
Organizations who don’t care about their reputation will have no place in the future, and will shut down inevitably. With the availability of thousands of alternatives, customers will have very low tolerance to organizations acting irresponsibly, aggressively or in a rude manner.
3. Brand Volatility
Did anyone imagine that Huawei phones will overtake the Iphones? Do you know that today Huawei is the largest telecom company in the world with over 180,000 employees? What happened? Where did Sony mobiles go? Siemens Mobiles? ..etc
The fact is that today consumers don’t have brand loyalty any more, and the effect of “Brand Affection” on the purchase power is getting smaller and smaller. If business managers feel too proud of their brand, then they need to think twice .. they will lose customers faster than they think as the options are many out there and organizations are competing to create positive experience to consumers, while continuously developing their products.
So continuous development and learning is crucial for businesses to survive. Leaders who think they “know it all”, or they “know what is right”, or they “have done it before” should be sacked immediately. The future is for those who are able to learn, change, adapt and be humble when they think of consumers, markets and competitors.
Almost every day I meet with business people who complain about the changing economy, the performance of their teams and the overall business / sales performance .. The solution is up there, .. look, listen, learn, change, adapt and be humble and persistent to do this all over again, and again ….
Written by:
Engagement Expert, International Speaker & Pragmatic researcher
