The future is an unknowable place, but we can look forward to it and chart our own vision for it. Unlike the mast, the future can be malleable, provided we take the right steps and make sure we’re headed in the best direction. That said, it’s also true that no one entity, no matter how enduring or popular, can shape every single market force that will end up defining their success.
Brands are starting to understand this more and more, as they (and we) have been rocked by an international pandemic, which closed businesses for a time, and many didn’t make it through. While it’s tough to prepare for the un-preparable, and unexpected, it’s important to make sure that we do all we can to leverage new modes of thinking in order to plan for the future to the degree that is reasonable.
In this post, we’ll discuss four essential elements defining the workplace, the market, and the world at large, those that could be predictors for how you may wish to integrate worth into your firm. Without further ado, please consider the following:
Automation will begin to define the future of manufacturing, as it already has. We’ve seen more and more complex machines rolled out that can measure volume, weight, and take instructions from machine learning developers, allowing said machines to more easily produce in a safe, sanitised environment, without the variables of human hands getting in the way.
Automation over the next twenty years is also expected to rapidly change logistics, from how long-haul truck drivers are hired to how inventory sorting is made. In some stores, staff kiosks are being replaced with terminals that the customer can directly engage with. This is happening in fast food joints, sure, but also in banks, public utility buildings like libraries, and more. With an eye on the future, we can keep up with how automation will interfere and even revolutionise our own industry, including what additions we may deem necessary for that.
Sustainability is an essential measure that we all need to get on board with, because as of the time of this writing, Cop26 is currently taking place in Glasgow, a summit where leaders from around the world converge to discuss environmental protections and pledge their participation in programs. They will also seek to leverage the power of corporations towards this goal.
While we might not be a large enough entity to define ourselves in this way, it is important for businesses around the world to begin thinking of their climate pledge, including what changes they can make to restore order going forward.
Might you reduce your packaging necessities, or sponsor charities as part of your branding strategy, or raise awareness regarding your own already-integrated sustainability efforts? For instance, using metal recyclers, biofuels, and more can make a massive difference regarding the systemic nature of your environmental effort. This is only going to get more and more relevant as the years pass on, so it’s worth paying attention to now.
As markets expand, and globalisation becomes even more interlinked, global competition is now our playing field and battleground. For this reason, it’s essential to make sure that we’re able to ship worldwide, or to provide our online services in more languages, or as we grow into an intermediate firm, think about the utility of expanding abroad in some capacity. It’s also important to consider how you can celebrate the culture of your brand, as well as the country in which it resides, as the more you can situate yourself, ironically, the more interesting and sought-after you become from people interested in your brand.
Global competition decrees that you also take inspiration from those abroad, and constantly search for ideas and keep up on the trends emanating from foreign markets. This might sound like a stretch, but it isn’t really. Think of how many European tech firms take inspiration from the happenings in Silicon Valley. Our interconnected world is a thing of beauty, and may inform your direction going forward.
How well your online web presence reinforces your social media activity is key. It might have once seemed as if social media was to overtake website functionalities or even render them obsolete. The opposite has been proven as true, of course, as companies that better equip their websites, storefronts, account management platforms, and more to a range of devices, particularly for smartphones, will be at the forefront. Continually adjusting your web presence to work on a range of devices of this nature will be key.
With this advice, we hope you can define how your business could and should be thinking about the future.
Cover Image | Pexels
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