The Future of Global Business Trends
In the global economy, businesses can experience a growth at unprecedented levels. This isn’t because of the Internet; although, it does help tremendously. Rather, it is because globalization has become easier than ever before.
Businesses regularly look for new ways to streamline their operations and expand into new markets around the world. Global business trends are constantly evolving, but much of the current trends will not dissipate anytime soon.
The following outlines some of these current business trends:
Supply Chain Management Trends
Many companies now consolidate shipments instead of sending goods in several waves by air or boat (costs can go up exponentially if there’s a shipwreck). Consolidating this way saves money on freight fees and allows for the more streamlined supply chain management.
Logistics and supply chain management trends also indicate several other ways companies can save money on freight fees. For example, instead of wasting time waiting for a product to be moved from the factory to the delivery station several states away, companies are looking into different modes of transportation such as trains or trucking.
Companies also used to struggle with finding accurate data on customer demand and inventory levels; however, technology has made this task far easier. Now businesses employ what is known as “just in time” (JIT) manufacturing and distribution practices — these often coincide with 1-2 day lead times which result in high customer satisfaction rates and low costs overall because there’s no excess inventory lying around to be stored or disposed of later.
Marketing Trends
Social media marketing is no longer an experiment. If you’re not using social media to market your business, then you’re behind the times.
The Internet has changed marketing because now no advertising medium exists in a vacuum; rather, they all interact with each other (e.g., Facebook can be used as both an informational resource and an advertising medium; same goes for YouTube). This means companies must take into account how their marketing efforts across different advertising platforms will affect one another when developing their campaign strategies.
New technologies like virtual reality (VR) are also changing marketing because they allow customers to experience products or services before ever having to commit any money towards them. One example of this is The Void which features VR attractions that immerse players in a virtual world. This provides customers with a much better idea of what the actual product will look and feel like once they’ve actually purchased it (and there’s no need to return to purchase it later).
Another trend is that customers are using ad blockers when browsing the web (or they simply ignore online advertisements altogether). Businesses must integrate different ways for customers to opt-in to receive advertisements instead which often leads to more personalized messaging and increased click-through rates.
Technology Trends
Virtual reality, automation, robotics, 3D printing, nanotechnology; are just some of the technologies quickly developing around us. While some may think this spells bad news for job creators worldwide, it doesn’t necessarily have to be this way if businesses are willing to experiment with these new technologies.
This is especially true for businesses that already have a customer service line because they can take advantage of automation and robotics in order to improve the overall customer experience. Instead of having a human being pick up the phone, companies can implement an automated attendant which will answer calls in a very timely fashion, knowing exactly where the caller is in the queue (and all this happens without ever making customers wait).
In terms of 3D printing technology, this presents some interesting possibilities for businesses looking to provide personalized products or services based on their clientele’ needs within a certain budget. This helps bring customization back into vogue since production costs would be significantly lower than when outsourcing product creation overseas.
Another example is using robotics for tasks that are dangerous to employees. This means robots can mow lawns, clean floors, conduct inspections of hard-to-reach places (such as on top of roofs), etc. Even though some people might be under the impression that this will put a lot of people out of work because robotics could usurp their jobs, it would open up opportunities in other sectors because if businesses didn’t need so many human employees to perform certain tasks, they could hire more people who have skillsets specializing in areas which require creativity and intelligence.
What’s Ahead?
The world is changing at an unprecedented rate and technology is leading the way. Businesses that want to flourish must keep up with these changes or face irrelevance and do nothing to keep up with the latest global business trends. Because if they don’t, someone else will and they’ll eat their lunch.
In the global economy, businesses can experience a growth at unprecedented levels. This isn’t because of the Internet; although, it does help tremendously. Rather, it is because globalization has become easier than ever before. Businesses regularly look for new ways to streamline their operations and expand into new markets around the world. Global business trends…