Two key skills that will help to assist in achieving business success in 2010. Firstly the ability to understand the environment in which you operate and secondly, being able to plan effectively for what challenges and opportunities might be ahead of you. As we race through Jan and into 2010 here are four buisness tips to achieve success in that you need to consider.
1: Adapt to the marketplace; it is a dynamic environment
What you have learned through 2009 and prior is helpful in making decisions in the future. We call that “experience”. Your experience would be very helpful in making decions about the future if future events were to occur in the same way as past events. However, if we learn just one thing from 2009, it is that future events (think GFC) often come as a surprise and can act in surprising ways. From this we are able to learn that the marketplace is a dynamic environment and that our experience, whilst useful, does not make for certainty when it comes to navigating future events.
2: Your customers habits (wants and needs) change
The consumers of 2010 are different from the consumers of 2000 in a few key ways. Firstly, “wants” have evolved and become more sophisticated as technology has developed. Consumers are no longer satisfied with poor performance, slow devices or the like; our expectations have been raised! So what are you able to release that will make us go “wow”, even if just for a few minutes?
Secondly, the rise of green products and products being positioned as green has changed how consumers make decisions. Whilst some would argue that there is still more to do, slowly consumers are starting to align to Carbon Neutral business. So maybe the type of energy you buy or the flights you book could impact on whether consumers will do business with you.
Thidly, with obesity levels at alarming levels, businesses are starting to shift their product offerings to meet changing consumer desires for healthy foods. Here the opportunity for businesses is not simply to be marketed as healthy, although that is working for now but will hopefully be a short-term situation, but rather to actually provide healthy alternatives.
3: Your Competitors tactics will evolve – suddenly or slowly
Have you thought about what your competitors might do in 2010? How will your competitive advantage from 2009 be either maintained or enhanced in 2010? Competitors may rebrand, launch new product lines, compete aggressively for market share through price discounts. What systems will you have in place to pick up these changes and how fast are you able to find out about these changes in tactics and respond? Success in 2010 will require a timely and smart response to your competitor tactics.
4: The Laws you operate under will change
Something will happen around carbon and emissions trading. Laws will change that will impact both the cost of how you do business and what business you can actually do. What plans do you need to make now to ensure that changes to the law in 2010 will provide you with competitive advantages and not make your business model redundant.
So as you plan for 2010, prepare well for the dynamic marketplace, seek further insights into your customers wants and needs, keep an eye on what your competitors are doing and stay across the impact of changes in the law.
Image source – Klearchos Kapoutsis
