Predicting the future is only really possible in the vaguest and least surprising way; predictions like ‘tomorrow will arrive’, though true, don’t exactly make you Nostradamus. The modern world is infinitely complex, and everyone out there has their own opinions and interests, so identifying those commonalities and especially trends in the market is harder than ever. Any business owner does, however, need to be able to make long-term decisions for the good of their business, so any method of getting and staying ahead is vital. But what about when things seemingly come out of the blue? Can we still make sure that we are abreast and ahead of developments that seem to leave the market behind?
Firstly, let’s consider the things that seem to have truly come out of nowhere over the last decade, and there is one instance that stands above all, TikTok. Whilst TikTok was gaining a large user base prior to 2019, it was indelibly tied to the pandemic when people who were cooped up inside were desperate for an outlet and found it in TikTok. If you’re wondering if the market was ready and waiting for TikTok, then you only have to look at how terribly most businesses still market themselves on TikTok to see that they not only didn’t see it coming, but once they knew about it they reacted with panic and irrelevant content. The average user of TikTok, however, was way ahead of this, instantly recognising the potential of TikTok, an entirely new industry sprouted forth from this free to use platform and yet today your average company is way behind your average influencer on seizing its potential.
Another example of an out of the blue development is one that we are currently living through in the AI revolution. It’s fair to say that ChatGPT caught many people and businesses napping and the scrabble to catch up has seen people go entirely too far in their first implementations of AI. Reactions from companies worldwide has ranged from ‘Okay, makes sense that they would do that’ all the way through to the DPD chatbot incident in 2024 in which DPD found out that they probably shouldn’t have handed over customer communication to a very manipulable chat bot quite so soon. Every company is hunting ways to add AI into their business with seemingly little care for the real-world, long-term viability of doing so. The penny is beginning to drop, however, that whilst AI can likely help every business, drastic actions like replacing all customer touch points with an AI chat bot is an unwise use of an incredibly powerful tool.
It is of course easy to look at these examples and those that haven’t really adapted to them with hindsight but how can you make sure that your company won’t be listed in a future article of ‘Worst cases of companies fumbling [insert future tech’]? Well, though it’s impossible to predict what is coming next one thing is sure, if you’re not looking forward you won’t spot it. So how can stakeholders predict the unpredictable, and react better to rapidly changing consumer behaviours?
If you’re sat back waiting for major market changes then you’re already on the back foot and should probably be knee deep in company strategy meetings as you’re reading this. Having a plan for the future is an absolute must but adapting that plan to new options and technologies is equally important if you don’t want to be left behind, or just miss out on possible growth. Being open to change has never been more important as industries can change overnight but it is important to ensure that you also keep any changes relevant to your ethos and not simply performative.
Oh no, you’ve found yourself behind the curve, maybe it’s AI that has left you behind or another major change in your industry and you’ve not even looked into it yet, what should you do? Well, first thing is not to panic, rushing to catch up usually leads to at best a ill-considered adoption of new technology and at worst it being a public faux pas. The level to which you adopt new tech will depend greatly upon your business and sector but as a general rule: make small changes constantly rather than large changes all of a sudden. For example, looking into AI taking over some small processes to free up creative time for staff is good; but seeking to fully replace half your staff because you’ve heard AI can do it all better is likely not going to have the effect you desire.
If you find yourself behind the curve or just feel like something could come along that sets you back then the good news is it’s never too late to start looking forward and future-proofing your business. Whilst there isn’t a one-size formula for how to start future proofing your business, and even companies within the same sector will require different strategies, there are a few essential things to start doing; the most important one is making sure that you are in constant communication with your customer base. This means listening to your customers feedback and acknowledging every pain point as an opportunity for improvement.
Feeling as though your business is on the back foot is never a comfortable feeling and as we mentioned earlier, it’s easy to panic in these instances and over react. Look to focus on your most stable customers and how you can ensure that they stay rather than grasping for growth and leaving your customers behind. Ask yourselves and your customers how you can do things better, and not only when they complain or leave a review. Asking an annoyed customer how you can improve is largely pointless as they’ve made their mind up, but regularly listening to your satisfied customers and still asking them how you can improve is a great way to ensure they don’t have to complain or leave your business is future.
To put it incredibly glibly, without customers your business doesn’t have a future for you to predict so ensuring that customers are put at the heart of your business is an absolute must. Here at FlexMR we are a bit obsessed with placing customers at the centre of our business and believe it is the best way to ensure that you aren’t taken by surprise by changes that can affect your business. Ways to do this differ for almost all companies but engineering any new processes, products or services around customer requirements is the best way to ensure that nothing detrimental comes out of the blue to upset your success.