What You Can Do Now To Futureproof Your Business
By Business Desk
Thursday, November 8, 2018.
Nobody knows what the future holds, and things tend to be uncertain for everybody these days – yet people are still choosing to follow their dreams and launch businesses. This is fantastic, but taking the steps now in order to future proof your business later on is something that your future self will be terribly glad you did.
Below, we have some ideas that will help you to futureproof your business, so take a look and see if there’s anything you should be doing. Start now and you won’t have to panic and rush to sort everything out later.
Start Thinking Like Your Customers
If you’re going to future proof your business, you need to start thinking like your customers. Ask yourself questions, such as:
What do your customers expect from your business?
What are you doing that customers aren’t too fond of?
Who are your customers?
What problems do they face that you can solve?
Find effective ways to gather feedback that will help you to figure this out. You can create surveys that are designed to collect anonymous feedback, for instance. You can also use your service as a customer would, or get somebody who you trust to give honest feedback do it for you. They can simply use your website to check out with a service or product, or call the customer service team and see whether protocols are met and whether they feel like a valuable customer. Doing this can be scary, but it will help you to discover your strengths and weaknesses and improve them to no end.
Make Sure You Leave Customers With A Memorable Experience
You must leave your customers with a memorable experience if you want them to keep on coming back for more. You should have something that makes you stand out, so think outside of the box. Know what your competitors are doing and what is working for them so you can work on doing things even better, differentiating yourself and giving customers the experience that they want with you.
A memorable experience could be something as simple as following up with an email making sure everything is going ok with the product they have purchased, or even sending a handwritten thank you note for their custom. Personal touches are always a win, as many businesses tend to lose their personal touch over time!
Assess Your Past Strategies
Take a look at past strategies that have worked for you, and try to look at them objectively. Figure out what is no longer useful; as things change so quickly, methods are bound to become outdated eventually. If you’ve been marketing using billboards, for example, it could be time to examine whether they are actually gaining you any new custom these days. If you aren’t good at looking at things objectively, it could be a good time to call somebody else in to help you, like a mentor. Being willing to stay flexible and change where needed is imperative if you’re going to future proof your business and thrive later on down the line.
Identify And Manage Your Risks
You won’t be able to figure this out completely, but you can definitely take some steps to better prepare yourself for what’s to come in the future. Start by taking a long look at some possible failure points. This could include things like business processes, legal compliance, security, and more. For example, are your business processes outdated or taking up too much time? Automation or outsourcing could be a good idea. Data security is often something that entrepreneurs fail to consider before it’s too late.
Knowing that your data is protected and encrypted will give you peace of mind and ensure customer information and other important data doesn’t fall into the wrong hands. When it comes to UK business, it’s a good idea to read all about hard Brexit and learn how that may affect you. For example, staff and employment requirements may change, which could determine how you hire staff in future or how you treat your employees. EU funding is likely to cease, too, which could be a big issue for certain businesses and startups. Businesses dealing with or that are dependent upon cross-border transit may face additional issues, too. Being aware of all of the issues that Brexit poses and then preparing for them in advance will protect your business and put your mind at ease.
Predict The Future Of Your Industry
If you’re going to effectively predict the future of your industry, you have to anticipate what people are going to want from you. Use your imagination and knowledge of trends in your industry to come up with innovative ideas that can consider setting you apart even when your competitors have caught up. Know that innovation is key to your future success, always.
You should be prepared to fail, too, but keep going regardless. Learn from your failures and see them as a positive thing rather than something that should be avoided at all costs. If you’re too afraid of failure, your risks may not be big enough or get you the results you want. Taking smart risks is always important in business!
Assuming you have a strong team of people behind you, you should give employees freedom to experiment in their roles, too. Go to conferences and tech events, or send your employees there for you. Then, ensure you reward them for their work. Retaining your current employees and keeping them on board for as long as possible is going to be more beneficial to your business than having to hire and train new people down the line.
Conclusion:
Things are changing faster than ever these days, and a business that is already successful can not guarantee that it will survive in the future if prep is not taken into consideration now. You can future proof your business using the ideas and pointers above. This will ensure that you stay ahead of your competition the whole time.
What are you going to do to future proof your business? Leave your thoughts and ideas below!
