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Six key trends changing the way business is done

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Opinion holder entrepreneur You are the contributor.

The rate of new business formation has exploded during the pandemic. Entrepreneurs responded to the immense opportunities they saw when the economy underwent a dramatic shift. Recently, the World Bank announced that it is entering a period of his 1970s-style stagflation, with stagnant growth and high inflation. Those who know business history know that many great companies have emerged from economic crises. As the economy undergoes another dramatic shift, entrepreneurs will consider starting new businesses and those already in business will seek to transform their businesses to meet the opportunities ahead. Make no mistake about it. Here are six key trends shaping the future of business.

Rise of the millennial generation

Millennials have become the largest surviving generation in the United States. Companies that want to play a key role in tomorrow’s economy have to beat millennials. According to a McKinsey & Company report, the millennial spends $1 trillion annually and by 2025 he is expected to boast an income of $8.3 trillion.

To be successful, businesses must adapt to the tastes, habits and values ​​of millennials. You also need to adjust your strategy to capture the millennial segment that makes sense for your business.

Acquiring and retaining customers is key to attracting millennials, as well as hiring millennial employees. So, social media platforms, schools, and training should be used to not only acquire and retain customers, but to attract millennial talent.

A more demanding workforce pool

Population growth is slowing further, and the labor pool is shrinking as baby boomers retire. The impact of a shrinking labor pool is shifting more power to workers. We’ve already seen companies treat remote work as a new contract bonus. The big resignations further shrunk the labor pool as workers decided to start their own businesses. Companies are under tremendous pressure to adjust compensation, working hours and working models to remain attractive to their employees.

Companies are grappling with how to integrate remote and hybrid work models into their businesses. Not all companies can go remote or hybrid. But the success of companies like Dropbox, Twitter, and Slack shows that remote workers can build large and successful companies. Where possible, workers choose companies that provide this. This becomes even more important as people move away from cities in search of better and lower cost living conditions.

The big resignations also showed that many workers feel they are undervalued. This puts pressure on companies to offer better compensation packages. But better rewards aren’t the only form of reward people seek. Workers want a better work-life balance.

more diverse population

Millennials are the most diverse demographic in the United States due to both immigration and a growing minority population.

Companies must learn the cultural language of their target communities. Research by Erin Meyer shows the benefits companies can gain from investing capital in understanding how to navigate a cultural minefield. Failure to understand where your employees and target communities fit on the cultural map can result in ineffective management, effective creation and retention of customers, and inability to attract employees. there is.

Being able to communicate across cultures is an increasingly important tool for managers. Companies like Netflix have invested heavily in training their managers and staff according to the culture map to be more effective.

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Rise of the platform

The platform is an online marketplace that matches consumers with suppliers. Think Airbnb, Uber, Amazon. Today’s great businesses are Internet-mediated and match supply and demand in a very similar way.

Software has eroded virtually every type of business around the world. To succeed in this new era, businesses must be mediated through the Internet and software. It’s not just about having an online presence. As it stands, not having an online presence is an anomaly. You can even become a company trying to improve your search engine optimization (SEO) or measure and improve everything. Business needs to be rethought and disrupted to catch up.

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AI is eating the world

Not only has software been eating into the world for over a decade, so has artificial intelligence, disrupting countless businesses. You may not be aware of it, but you are in constant contact with some form of AI. Any task that can be automated should be automated, and AI is the way to go.

To take your business down the automation path, you must first understand the processes that drive your business and determine which aspects can be automated. By mapping and analyzing your processes, you can find the technology you need to transform your business.

It’s important to involve your employees because they are very familiar with the tasks that can be automated. If you don’t engage with them, they can make your solution useless and the whole process go wrong.

Emergence of big data

Data is today’s oil. This is a function of the Internet and the importance of software. The Internet naturally collects and disseminates data. Companies that are successful in deriving actionable insights from the massive amounts of data that their systems naturally generate can derive enormous value from that data, especially when it comes to predicting future business trends.

Data helps businesses understand their customers better, personalize their offerings, and become more efficient. No business can thrive without some kind of policy to make the most of its data.

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