The Importance of Being a Forward-Thinking Brand

YLE Blog June 29, 2019 0 Comments

What does it mean to be a forward-thinking brand? Next time you’re walking around the mall, think about it; you see two clothing stores, the first one looks elegant, bright, change rooms are big with 360° mirrors, the employees are friendly, and they’re receiving customers at the door. While the second one has similar products, but it seems like any other store, there isn’t anything really “unique” about it. There are fewer employees, the changing rooms are small, and no one helping you choose outfits and just looks “blah.” Which store would you choose?

Chances are you’ll probably enter the first store without even thinking about it. Why? Because the first store is unique and is more attractive.

Being a forward-thinking brand means you’re always showcasing what makes you different. It says your company foresees what a customer is looking for and gives it to them before they even ask. And it ultimately means you’re a step ahead of your competition.

A forward-thinking brand is different. Here are four ways to distance your business from the competition.

Improving Your Workflow

A good business owner knows the market is always changing, and if you want to get an edge on your competition, you need to train your employees to develop and widen their skillset(s). With this, you are making sure they will be able to perform their tasks efficiently and demonstrating you care about them and appreciate their work.

A workplace environment which prepares its employees for future changes or scenarios by engaging them with the goals the company wants to achieve, will obtain a workforce who is invested and productive.

High-quality training will increase communication between people, ensuring more of a “group effort” in different campaigns/projects and drive more positive results. The most powerful thing you can do when training is giving people the appropriate tools to avoid as many misunderstandings as possible.

Forward-thinking here translates into preventing difficulties in your workplace, which will allow you to continue your path to success without having to take a step back.

Image source: “How I interact and collaborate with other roles as a UX Design Intern at Google,” by Sophia Chiu via (Medium.com)

Investing In Technology

The twenty-first century brings a world full of technological advances, some of which could benefit your company — updating your software to speed up the automated processes or using apps to expand your company’s online visibility thereby making making your services/products easily accessible.

Image Source: “12 Must-have iPhone Apps,” by Michel Muchmore and Jill Duffy via (pcmag.com)

The key to your company’s survival in today’s “dog-eat-dog” market is adaptability. Embracing a rapid change environment where you’ll have to determine which tasks are no longer working and outsourcing a way to make them work once again.

Adapt your rules and company framework to the “twenty-first century” and it will pave a path to success. When you become more flexible in this rapidly evolving era we live in, it will allow you to keep innovating and pushing barriers that were set previously. You’ll become an expert in your market, which will build trust with people and create loyal customers.

Let Go Of What Drags You Down

There are indeed some projects that keep your company moving forward while others are taking more resources without giving any profit back. Not every proposal has the same value when it comes to your company’s interest. Sometimes saying no will benefit your business goals.

Letting go of “unnecessary baggage” will determine which projects give you the most in return, and will then shed light on the ones that deserve the most resource investment. It’s a great meeting to have with your managers and employees, as they’ll provide valuable feedback since they’re the ones working on these tasks and know the end results of each one.

Keep Your Goals in Mind

Your company’s short-term, mid-term, and long-term goals should always be something that’s on your mind. The first step to identify what you want to accomplish, drawing a path that will lead you to achieve it and thinking about possible challenges along the way, and solutions for those challenges.

In your next board meeting, create “what if?” scenarios and consider different factors that would affect your businesses position in the market like economic growth, industry competition, policy changes, and supplier contracts. For these scenarios, you’ll also need to consider future and current trends.

Dedicate a team specifically to research these trends and tendencies in each department of your company to make sure your future plans go in the right direction.

Image Source: Pexels photo by Rawpixel.com via (pexels.com)

Forward thinking will ensure the future success of your company. You’ll be able to predict the difficulties and obstacles that your company will have to overcome beforehand and have the time to plan the right approach to conquer them.

The ability to adapt to the latest tendencies and trends in 2019 will allow your business to reach its goals in the time you’re supposed to hit them.

Here at Your Listing Expert, we’ll always keep you ahead of the game by researching market tendencies, bolstering your Unique Selling Point(s) so everyone will understand and creating a unique marketing strategy that will allow your business to grow into what you want it to become!

https://www.strategy-business.com/blog/Five-Steps-to-Formalizing-Forward-Thinking-in-Your-Organization?gko=b9c61

https://strategiccfo.com/forward-thinking-driven-business/

https://www.morebusiness.com/the-importance-of-being-a-forward-thinking-employer/

https://www.hfpersonnel.com/2017/03/10/value-of-forward-thinking-in-workplace/

http://www.agentheadsets.com/blog/company-tips-news/the-culture-of-a-modern-forward-thinking-business/801767656

https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbeshumanresourcescouncil/2018/10/26/the-future-of-work-five-must-haves-for-forward-thinking-organizations/#6350677a3903

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/benefits-working-forward-thinking-company-michael-jablonski