Every business today wants to bid a goodbye to the year 2020. The COVID 19 pandemic and the ways in which the business had to adjust their operations were difficult for most of them. However, the year brought about several changes in the current market; they need to change their trajectory to get ready for the challenges in the coming year.

Bernard Marr, from the Enterprise Tech, says that there are several trends the business must stay aware of fir the upcoming year. Here are the top trends that can help drive every business.

The Value of Data

Data volumes have grown exponentially over the past few years. The businesses that are outperforming in the market today have leveraged this massive amount of valuable data to understand their customers and to improve their decision making.

Businesses are now using cloud platforms that can help them to access data from anywhere and at any time. This data also needs to be protected and secured, just like any other business asset. Improving data literacy among employees is another way to improve overall business performance.

Work From Home has Become Real

The lockdown orders from the government forced most of the companies to shift the office routine to the work from home style of working. A quick adaptation in the business operations gave some major lessons to the business to such an extent that most of them are rethinking about their business model for the future.

Some of the companies also observed that the work from home style had increased productivity as compared to the usual office routine. However, this style was not ideal for some businesses. Thus, ion the year 2021, most of the businesses needs to reimagine their own workplaces to gain maximum business performance.

Innovating the Business Models

The year 2020 transformed several industries to stay afloat in a highly competitive market. The hospitality and events industry is one of them. The restaurants which served the best foods at their tables are now offering take out and home delivery options for their customers.

Quickly adapting to the market changes is one of the best ways to thrive amongst the competition. Although changing as per the market shift is not a new approach the business must acknowledge, the year 2021 inspires to innovate your business model.

Centralization of the Finances

Business expansion amongst the middle of an economic turmoil has become dangerous for most of the businesses. The uncertain market conditions have made it difficult for small businesses to raise capital from the market.  Trends such as crowdfunding, blockchain, and other decentralized finance options will rise in the coming year.

Automation

Automation is going to be another top trend in the year 2021. Small and medium-sized businesses will evaluate their business processes to see the people that can be replaced by an automated system. This will specifically happen when people are not adding any value to the business.

Some of the most common changes the industries have already made include supply chain, warehouses, trucks, ships, autonomous vehicles, as well as chatbots that have replaced people from the machines.

Bernard Marr claims that white-collar automation will be a trend as a business are considering what automation systems can easily replace people.

Shift from Global to Local

Apart from the pandemic, there were several international events that occurred in the year 2020. The stressed conditions between U.S and China were one of them. Moreover, the Brexit also came into action in the same year. These conditions also affected the business relations, and many companies started to rethink where they were sourcing their goods or services. The disrupted market and the challenging conditions are diverging the business to shift from the global market to the local ones.

Social Presence

Most of the companies started to reach their customers through social media channels. The trend will continue to be on the hype in the year 2021. There is expected to be a big push on developing an authentic presence over social media.

Jobs that Serves a Real Purpose

People are now looking for jobs that have a higher meaning and serves a positive purpose for the business. Especially, the young generation who are entering the workforce wants to connect to the industry with a purpose. Companies that do not have a clear or meaningful purpose or meaning will struggle in the coming year.

The Virtual Platform

As people have started demanding products at their doorsteps, the business is starting to go digital. Stores are now using virtual reality, augmented reality, and mixed reality to give their customers a complete shopping experience. The “try before you buy” option is taking a full fling as people are now able to try makeup, eyewear, and cloths virtually with the comfort of their homes. The virtual platform thus is certainly going to be one of the hottest trends in 2021.

Source – Forbes