Innovative business strategies that are driving new age businesses

By: Mr. Agnelorajesh Athaide, Chief Mentor & Business strategist- Business Opportunities Club (BOC)  

The onset of technology and its rapid adaptation across sectors, has transformed the business and personal lives of the modern 21st-century citizens. Simultaneously, these innovations in technology have also given rise to a now robust and thriving start-up ecosystem that has already become a major contributor to the national economy. With the emergence of new technologies, there is an onset of a new arena of businesses that is expanding beyond the boundaries of time and geography, reaching out to a global base of consumers. However, there traditional businesses who are slow to adopt these new innovations and as a result are facing a downturn or are at the risk of completely closing shop. Under such circumstances, it is important to identify and adapt the transformative business practices in order to succeed and stay relevant. Here are the top 5 business strategies that are driving new age businesses:

Changing workplace dynamics:

Gone are the boring days of a 9.00am to 5.00pm work hour jobs! With the advent of the young entrepreneurs and passionate startup founders, there has been a major shift in how companies work. There is a major focus on understanding employees’ needs and making them comfortable and making them feels a part of the company. Boring cubicles are being replaced with open office cubicles and no doors/ no cabin offices, which helps create an approachable and open work environment, putting a focus on merit and professionalism over corporate designation. Apart from that office structure, work places today offer active employee engagement activities which acts as a retreat for people to get away from their mundane work whenever they want to. These new structural reforms are a way to have every employee act like an entrepreneur and take ownership of their own actions rather than feeling on outsider who are just doing their job.

Employees come first:

Companies are slowly realizing that to be successful it is very important to look after the employees. Earlier companies used to focus on getting business, retaining their clients and keeping them happy, while the employee engagement and wellbeing was left to the HR, with little to no effort made to create a connect. But with the entrepreneurial culture coming in, this mindset has seen a major change. Employees now are appreciated, acknowledged and offered severl perks and benefits, with an aim to not just retain them but to also motivate and enhance their productivity. Keeping the employees’ agenda in mind helps a company to grow exponentially and fast since there employees are happy and a lot productive.

Constant Interaction and engagement with target audience:

Marketing has seen a drastic change and has moved to a whole new level both geographically and demographically. With social media, companies and brands have the power to understand their customers’ tastes and preferences and on the basis of that can drive narratives and conversations around what customers want to hear and speak about. This builds a trust and loyalty in the minds of audiences which immensely helps the brand in the longer run. Every business wants to have a loyal base of customers which they can rely on to support them. This can be done by constantly engaging with the audience.

Utilizing New Age marketing tools:

With the inception of new age businesses there has been an influx of new age marketing tools which companies need to understand and utilize to maximize their reach. Tools like Digital Marketing which includes the whole gamut of the online world like social media and website; PR, Content and many more are what is driving the new age marketing. It is high time that brands start understanding the importance of these tools since these marketing channels can reach a huge number of audiences at a fraction of cost compared to traditional marketing tools.

Building on Online Reviews:

It is a known fact that customers can be classified into two types. There are the ones who are satisfied customers who are likely to recommend a brand to another. Then there are ones who had a bad experience. The latter are more than likely going to go and write about their bad experience in the form of an online review. According to a research posted online by Local Consumer Review 91 percent of people regularly or occasionally read online reviews, and 84 percent trust online reviews as much as a personal recommendation. And they make that decision quickly: 68 percent form an opinion after reading between one and six online reviews. We can clearly see how important it is to have online reviews. And it is very important to stop fearing bad reviews, and see any review as a feedback and an opportunity to engage with a consumer. Responding to reviews to give a personal picture of the company and their products and services is vital. Many positive reviews will offset the occasional negative one.

Summing Up

Essential procedures coupled with Innovation and new technology aid the creation of an efficient economic structure where older processes are streamlined and replaced by innovative strategies. As the saying goes old has to always make way for new things. And that is the underlying key to creating a nation driven by New Age businesses.