Market changes and so should you
Someone truly said– “The only constant thing is CHANGE”. And when it comes to the market, probably, it is the fastest-changing thing which people have to deal with. But, we human beings, are programmed to resist any change. This is our one security alarm or a part of our defense mechanism. But, sooner or later, we realize change is mandatory for survival, and hence, we adapt ourselves. This is happening since “the earth was a ball of fire”, I mean, for always. The sooner we recognize the change is mandatory and adapt ourselves is better.
The final key reason why businesses fail is being too rigid and orthodox about your methods that you’re left behind in this fast pacing era. You may have done a great job for someone for the past 10 years, past 5 years, or past half a year, and the client is more than satisfied with your value enriched services but what if the market changes and that service is no longer valuable? Unless you adapt to this change, you’ll perish.
It is difficult to recognize the requirement of an upgrade of services or even products. When things go smooth and everything is just at the right place then it is difficult to take a decision for any change in the name of an upgrade. Obviously, no one wants to experiment when things are rocking. The best time to upgrade is when competitors start growing (taking away your business) or/and customers started demanding a change/upgrade or/and you are sure that your new idea/upgrade will enrich the user’s experience.
Prepared to be flexible
In the long term, you’ll have to be ever ready to switch your ways considering the surroundings. You might be charging an exact amount of price, that your father did 3 years ago. But reality check, inflation, the rise in income level, and other economic factors are affecting the cost of production. Another case might be that you’re selling absolutely nothing. Are your prices too high? And if not high, does your product lack value?
In general, flexibility is such a nice thing that it can create a difference between life and death. Always remember – Strongest don’t survive, flexible does. One of the efficient ways to prepare your business for any change is by keeping the training center in your business. Let your employees familiar with the latest technology, skills, knowledge, and make them very much comfortable with spoken and written English/Language of your market. But, there is a clear warning here… upgrade your employees only when you know that they will stay to serve you. Hence, keep your employees fully satisfied. And to do so, you need to earn big dollars. And to earn big dollars you need to offer something which sells like anything with some good margins of profit. In other words, it’s all about keeping your business in a positive loop.
Ensure your staffs’ productivity
When your business prospers and begins to produce massive profits with a high return on investments, it’s time to make sure that your staff represents the same value to your business that they did about a year ago. This again brings us back to the concept of staff training, once you start training them, not only will they be improving their performances but they will be loyal to as well. Not training them and running the things old fashioned way will outgrow their potential. Similarly, old systems and old processes need to change because they won’t be compatible with the current technological advancement and ever-changing market trends.
Employee productivity depends on several factors. One of the top important factors is employee satisfaction. And employee satisfaction is directly linked to the fulfillment of their and their family’s needs. The top needs of any family are… enough money to live a comfortable life, housing support, social security, medical protection, life insurance, children’s education, leisure time, and a respectful environment. Another important thing that contributes towards employee satisfaction is a healthy working environment (politics fee environment, supportive staff, caring management, happiness in the work itself), future growth, stability, and most important… a feeling of “My Company” in the employees.
Automation can increase productivity exponentially
When it comes to productivity then there is no replacement for automation. Keep looking out for technology to make the production via machines; use the software, use robots, use artificial intelligence, use “internet of things”, use outsourcing, use whatever you can, wherever you can, whenever you can. Most companies that progress fast keep the research and development team. This team is not only responsible to keep a close eye on the latest technology which can be used in the business but also do in-house experiments, research, and develop new technology that is helpful for the business.
The more intelligently you run your business, the more your employees will love you/your business. After all, this will give them a feeling of pride in working in a smart company. A company can be called as a smart company which is able to use the latest technology, develop in-house technology, use latest human psychological methods to take the max output of human resource, and keep a wave of positivity in the business.
It all ends with the target audience
Well, if you have a firm hold on your target audience, no one can stop you from prospering. And make no mistake, the target audience tends to change with a change in the market. So make sure you keep upgrading your products and services in accordance with these target audiences. Learn from leaders of your industry, how are they reacting to the change. Because being rigid will do no good and it will make your business stagnant and eventually it will die. But we want your business to prosper and outgrow the completions. So, learn how to adapt.
If we look closer to investigate why the target audience change, we find that it could be any reason like – the industry has grown up and the level of user experience and expectations raised, there is some alternate of your product is available, etc. Hence, it is critically important to keep an eagle’s eye on market pulses. And even more important is the understanding of the change and then change/upgrade in the business.