What Research Says to Pull Out of the Crisis

What Research Says to Pull Out of The Crisis

In previous emails, we explored the concept of keystone habits. According to Charles Duhigg in his landmark book, The Power of Habit, where we learned some habits matter more than others from his research. These particular habits really matter, and over time, have the power to change everything in your life and business (100).

Today I want to take this concept deeper and explore the most important keystone markers that would be of value to meet in the 2021 business environment. All my information on what to pay attention to comes from the most recent Forrester report, "Out Of The Crisis, A New Order Takes Hold."

From Forrester’s research they concluded that companies need to be focusing on "how customer-obsessed resilient, creative, and adaptive, you are jumping to the next growth curve in your industry" (2).

So, what does this mean?

Let's unpack this. The report suggests what you can do today to stay viable. The first element to do is make sure you understand the changes in your industry.

The report then highlights what I call keystone markers to be looking at in your company no matter if you are a huge corporation or a solo-entrepreneur.

Keystones

#1 Keystone Marker: Digital

Most companies were forced to go digital in a bigger way over the past year. This trend isn't going away. To make sure that you stay viable, you want to have the systems in place to be digital and stay digital. You want to smooth out all the annoying tech issues you can and make sure that your digital systems are working at top performance.

#2 Keystone Marker: Trusted Supplier

For many businesses, having access to a trusted supplier is critical. This is a global issue affecting businesses around the world. According to a recent financial report from Merril Lynch, more companies and supply chains are emerging in America.

If your business is dependent on material or supplies, ensuring good relations and the ability to deliver will be high priorities.

#3 Keystone Marker: Customized AI and Automation

They found that 60% of B2B businesses are honing the use of AI and automation. Having AI working in your business is not going to be enough. It will be important to use this technology to meet the needs of your customers.

#4 Keystone Marker: Meaningful Interactions with Your Customers

The most significant message of this entire report's takeaway is for businesses to make meaningful interactions. One of the side-effect of 2020 is the amount of stress everyone is dealing with. Many people are incredibly stressed. It will be necessary for businesses to be sensitive to that fact and come from compassion to best serve their clients. This will mean the service you provide makes it as easy as possible for your clients to get their needs met.

#5 Keystone Marker: Increased Need for Security

Fraud is increasing by 33% globally. You will want to make sure that you put systems in place to ensure security for your company.

#6 Keystone Marker: Shift from Marketing to Client Retention and Loyalty Programs

The name of the game right now is retaining customers since it is easier to keep customers than finding new ones. You will want to look at your customer service, your products, deliverables, and your emails. What you want to be analyzing is how to best serve your current clients in their current circumstances and then focus on attracting new clients.