Businesses need to not only be thinking about the present, they also need to be looking forward, which is why many businesses have five-year long projections. Here are some examples that businesses need to start thinking about.
The Increase In Remote Working
You will be aware that over the last year or so, many workers were forced to work from home due to office closures around the pandemic. This trend seems to be one that will stick, due to the increased opportunities for business to recruit wider, and save costs on space whilst still getting the same work done.
What Employee Recruitment Will Look Like
The way in which a business will employ people will also change in time. Currently, the trend has shifted from handing in a paper-based CV physically in store to using online job posting sites such as LinkedIn or Indeed to hand in a digital version. It’s possible that in the future, recruitment could change to be built into social media, with some people getting jobs from tweets and direct messaging on Instagram.
Contactless Payments And Digital Payments
In the last decade we’ve seen contactless payments start taking over the payment industry. From buying products at a shop to getting on the bus. It’s possible now to buy simply by waving your card, phone or even smart watch. That’s not to say that there isn’t a place for cash within society, but the demand for it has certainly dwindled.
Digital payments will continue to rise, which has been heightened due to the COVID-19 contactless demands. More online payments will take over, with even smaller independent shops that only show up at events accepting digital payments.
Future Finance Systems
Of course, whilst customers themselves may pay for goods and services differently, it’s important to know that businesses will work with finance differently. We’ve seen big changes within the finance system in recent years, with cryptocurrencies rising for a time with billions of pounds being spent buying it up from companies as assets.
What many businesses are starting to become aware of, is how sustainable finance can be. It’s not enough for them to be aware of global sustainability issues such as global warming, climate change and resource depletion. Businesses need to be proactive in actually dealing with them.
There are different ways they can do this, but the financial sector is actually one of the biggest industries that can make a difference. There are online courses that leaders can take to learn more about the pressures, trends and opportunities that are in the current financial system. They will teach sustainable finance skills as well as discovering what needs to be done to best plan for the sustainable future, including social and environmental challenges.
Technological Advancements
Businesses need to be ever thinking of the future of their business, and one of the most important ways in which they can do this comes from how they deal with technology. Often, technology will come into a business to help speed up processes that otherwise take up human time.
One of the major changes coming to businesses, that they are starting to get ready for, comes in the shape of artificial intelligence. Some businesses have started using some form of artificial intelligence within their business, with customer service being the main industry. For example, web chat bots help shoppers and customers navigate through their issues, gathering useful information before sending them to the right department.
This has only been the beginning for artificial intelligence, where businesses will continue looking to both software and physical means to improve their working practices.
Changing Consumer Demand
Consumer shopping trends are forever changing, either because of society or culture changes or just new innovations. When this happens, it means that businesses need to be prepared to adapt and get ahead of what consumers want.
If businesses can predict effectively what the next big trend will be, then they will be able to make a tidy profit, if executed right. That’s why businesses do well during seasonal trends when they get winter products for winter and summer products for summer. They have the knowledge to make this happen, so can accurately get to work and be successful.
The Future Of Marketing
Marketing has come a long way from poster advertising and billboards. The future of marketing belongs to the digital world, with advertising campaigns through pay-per-click, SEO and social media.
Social media has been one of the biggest changes to the marketing world, as it neatly gathered almost the entire population into one place that gives almost direct access to advertisers and marketers. That’s why marketing has become such a lucrative and essential industry, as a lack of marketing will mean your business won’t reach anyone.
Search engine advertising has likewise become important to businesses, as they all look to appear at the top over each other. This can again be done with paying for sponsored posts, or by looking to raise the popularity of your website by making it attractive to the search engine algorithm.