Future-proofing your business

How do you future-proof your business? COVID-19 shocked the system and taught many of us how important it is to be adaptable and resilient within your business. Whilst this comes at a cost, future-proofing is crucial to business growth and confidence. A lack of investment here will generate future costs. Here is a multitude of ways this can be achieved, and here are some indicators that, at Pursuit, we’d advise looking at:

Creating a Culture that is willing to fall fast 

The culture within your working environment needs to be able to embrace change and when a failure occurs, healthily accept this as a learning and growth opportunity. The turbulence of the pandemic accelerated this need for a culture willing to fall fast. And the return on investment of being able to work in a team like this is forever multiplying. Think Kodak, whose team pulled together a complete rebrand and diversification following filing for bankruptcy in 2012; in 2021, Kodak reported revenue generation of $1.150 billion. Kodak fell, and they picked up the pieces and started again. Failure is inevitable, and growth is a choice. 

Marketing strategies are to be tested.

Your marketing strategy needs to be dynamic. With the growth of platforms such as TikTok, your brand cannot afford to miss out on the chance to expose and build brand awareness. The ability to stick with trends, target multiple customer segments and stay with the times is invaluable. In addition, giving insight into your brand and exposing your personality is crucial to remaining competitive in the current market. Take, for example, Ryanair, the European-based airline that has become one of the most successful brands on social media. One of their TikTok’s got 11.3 million views as a piece of content that took minutes to create on one of their aircrafts. Depending on the generation you are targetting, the way and how you communicate to them matters. These strategies must be tried and tested, and keeping your finger on the pulse with current trends is crucial. 

Digital offerings are your best friend.

Almost overnight, the digital shift forced by the pandemic was not a choice for businesses. Any business that was not online started producing digital offerings where applicable. Take, for example, Netflix and Disney, whose streaming services rocketed in share value, versus Primark, who had no online platform and lost out on revenue. Even now, businesses have provided hybrid digital offerings facilitating customers however they wish to engage. Being digital means being efficient, and every business cannot afford not to be. 

Workplaces should stay hybrid.

In a post-covid world, we’ve seen the benefits and challenges of remote work. But the increase in productivity and employee satisfaction has been invaluable. Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed that 84 per cent of employees wanted to keep up the “hybrid” system of home and office working. Employers are now giving their workforce autonomy to balance a hybrid work schedule. With this form of work, collaboration and relationships are improving. In addition, adapting is healthy for corporate culture and eliminates the unnecessary stressors that sometimes work causes, such as commuting. Whilst, the hybrid work structure has become slightly political in a post-covid world, many companies are now trialling a four-day work week, such as the professional body the Royal Society of Biology and mobile game developer Hutch. So opting for a hybrid workplace could make critical differences to your team and business. 

Respond to sustainability and customer needs

In an ever-changing world, generations demand more from the brands they buy products and services from. However, corporate philanthropy only goes so far. Customers are looking for genuine deeds, no tokenism and generations like Gen Z (62%) prefer to buy sustainable brands. Think Toms, the shoe retailer, and their One for One™ model. Keeping the customer front of mind is essential, and businesses must stay well informed about what demands the generation they target have. 

What may seem like a tall order is essentially building blocks for how to stay relevant and competitive to future-proof your business.