With the world changing so fast every day are you adjusting to change with it?
Today’s post is by Mark Davis; Sr. Vice President of Operations and CTO at SafeSourcing.
In yesterday’s blog we took a look at some emerging trends and what they may mean to your business and how you adapt to those changes.
Social Networks – For many people who saw the beginnings of Myspace and Facebook they likely chalked it up to a new fad that, like so many other technologies, would eventually fade away. Much like the people that thought the same thing about Rock and Roll music, it is safe to say that Social Networking is here to stay. It’s undeniable power and influence is shown in no better way than in the recent Facebook IPO which raised $16 billion for a free service whose only real revenue comes from ads that run within its framework. Being able to advantage of focused demographic and geographic segments gives businesses the opportunity to focus their marketing like never before to a group that is as captive as any other they could reach.
Paper Free – You get the emails from the companies you deal with every day about going paperless for your accounts and you should not expect that to end any time soon. The social responsibility in being more Green is one thing, the sheer cost of companies continuing to deal in paper for customer statements, purchase orders, invoices, newsletters and other external and internal communications is forcing companies to evaluate their strategies for how they communicate with their employees, customers and partners. A major part of these strategies is how to eliminate the cost of paper and mailing.
Consumer Diversification – If you were to look back at the advertising in the 1950s you would have seen a very limited view of messages geared to groups outside of Caucasians. At the time this represented such a huge percent of the population that it didn’t matter that other groups of people were more or less ignored in the message. In today’s age and in a strong trend of growth, marketing and advertising executives are begin to realize that their messages need to change and adapt to reach more of the population with a more diversified message. Businesses are following suite as they begin to adapt their branding and product mix to fit a wider range of cultures many times offering communication in more than just English.
Expanding Sales Channels – Throughout the past two days we have discussed two of the new channels companies are using to expand their sales strategy; Social Media and Mobile Technology. As the population and the continued splintering of where they invest their time continues over the next 10 years, companies will need to expand from the traditional sales channels in order to continue increase top line revenue. Many mid and small companies are looking more at Group Purchasing Organizations to help them stay competitive in costs with their larger competitors. Other companies are realizing the added benefits of joining organizations and getting certifications in areas that help them become better companies.
For assistance in finding the partners to assist with developing strategies in these areas within your organization, please contact a SafeSourcing Customer Service Representative.
We look forward to your comments.
