Keep Your Business Relevant
Because change is the motto of the present age, we are pressured to keep evolving and innovating. New trends are always on the rise and it could be hard for us if we do not learn to keep up. A decade ago, flip phones were very popular and everyone has bought one but today, these phones are obsolete in a world full with touch-sensitive edgeless phones. Flying cars will no longer be an imagination and who knows, *Transformer *vehicles may not be impossible few years from now.
This could be a very essential factor to be considered in our businesses. If we do not catch up now, we will struggle in the near future.
So how do we make our businesses stay relevant?
a. Market research should never stop.
We get too busy in our day to day functions – focusing on sales and operations - that we often forget the importance of consistently conducting market research.
Instagram started as a new location-based, check-in app called Burbn by Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger. When they first released the app, they immediately re-evaluated the market and received feedback. *"If felt cluttered, and overrun with features," *Systrom said. They also realized that they were late to the game with big competitors ahead of them so they revamped the app, removing almost all of their features except simply posting, commenting, and liking the photos. They re-launched with a new brand and the rest is history.
If they have not looked into the market and changed their strategy, they would have not made such a huge success with their app.
b. Hire young minds!
The CEO of US Liability Insurance Group of Wayne, Penn. - Tom Nearny told - The Philadelphia Inquirer in 2014 that they have always hired fresh graduates every year and said, "It helps me learn how they see things, how they hear things, how they understand our culture. It helps fuels things. I’ve just been amazed at how much talent there is.”
Young minds produce brilliant ideas. They do not only bring energy to the team but they also come up with the newest innovations. A new trend comes up every minute and the best ones who can spot the most in-demand and up-to-date concepts in town are the social media savvy generation. It is good to see what they can bring to the table.
c. Keep innovating with the products/services you offer.
Complacency is the number one enemy of success. There is always something new arriving in the market which will be better, stronger and bigger than what you can offer. When we stop developing our products and services, we stop growing. Steve Jobs once said, “Innovation is the only way to win” and we can see how well that worked for him and the Apple empire.
d. Take part in the digital world (and keep updating!)
Online presence is now a must for all businesses. Every company should at least have a website and a social media account because the first thing every consumer does is check online for the products and services they are getting. But it should not just stop there. We need to keep learning new ways to boost customer interactions online through updating our presence on these platforms.
Maintaining a website could be a tedious job, especially with the operational work that needs to be accomplished but an article from LifeHack.org suggests that a “two-year old website may be too old”. In two years, North and South Korea have already made peace, Artificial Intelligence is already in function and Donald Trump has become the US President. Our website should be consistently developed into giving livelier and easier access to the visitors.
At the end of the day, these will remain guidelines unless we take action. It’s time to make it happen!
Written by Mary Garcia on behalf of www.wegetdesign.com