External factors are causing a huge tsunami of changes that impact most companies in any industry around the world.
There is no doubt that 2020 made a huge impact on people’s lives and represented the turning point when we all became aware that life would no longer be as we knew it.
And these changes came to show us that the ’20s will shape the next 20 years, in which technology will be the main axis permeating our daily lives, both on the personal level and in the management of companies, at all organizational levels, regardless of the industry to which the organization belongs.
Without technology, it is hard to compete
At the management level we have confirmed that the value of companies depends on the imperative orientation of the service to the needs of the consumers, on the speed of adaptation we have to these changes, and on the differentiation we offer in terms of product or service. And without technology in the process, it is hard to compete in today’s marketplace.
The exposure to these factors has caused the elaboration of business plans for 2021, and from now on, to change dramatically in the way resources are allocated, which is a challenge at a time when income has been negatively and massively affected.
The changes that will take place in 2021
Here are some of the changes that will take place in 2021.
Leadership
No manager can be held accountable for not anticipating the impact of COVID-19 on their business. However, they did have an obligation to establish a strategy for transforming the business and implementing changes in their organizations at least since 2018, a decade after the start of the financial crisis that marked the beginning of a social and economic structural change. For this reason, a significant departure is expected of those managers who had not initiated change in their organizations prior to the pandemic.
New job opportunities
The need to have the right talent to continue the digital transformation process will force companies to demand new professional profiles with experience in data analysis, e-commerce, digital security and user experience; and other professionals who have the strategic capacity to establish the technological ecosystem and to understand data management and the integration of the different platforms, which are essential to consolidate the technological transformation process. Also, factors such as work flexibility, working out of the office or project-based relationships will be demanded to a greater extent by these new profiles.
Operational efficiency and automation
The implementation of processes that allow the establishment and definition of employee tasks will be intensified, thereby minimizing duplication and eliminating those that do not add value within the organization, with the aim of maximizing operational efficiency, which can reach levels of improvement higher than 20–30%.
Higher demands on marketing
The general decline in income, the more difficult economic environment and the emergence of new competitors, along with the great boost of digital channels, will make it necessary to concentrate efforts on the acquisition of new customers and will reinforce the value of loyalty programs. Therefore, the management of the marketing budget will shift towards media or channels that have a greater control of the return on investment.
The challenge of the intermediaries
Digitalization tends to eliminate intermediaries within the value chain; and due to the obligation of companies to increase efficiency, intermediaries will be affected in cases in which they cannot demonstrate a clear and defined value contribution. For example, in the case of marketing management, the greater weight of digital investment will accelerate operational internalization in those companies in which the digitalization process is already underway, thus reducing the role of intermediaries. These, in turn, will suffer in their profits.
M&A
The erosion of margins in mature and large-scale businesses will force large groups, for example in sectors such as advertising, media, banking or tourism, with less capacity to reduce costs efficiently, to strengthen the initiative on mergers and acquisitions, in which small and medium-sized companies will have a relevant role enabling the transformation of larger organizations.
A new age in the way of doing business
There is no doubt that the extension of the use of blockchain technology within the logistics chain, transactions and payments, advertising, content or personal identification will allow an improvement in process efficiency; the application of AI (artificial intelligence) will intensify within the areas of customer service, financial markets prediction or in the development of video games, gaming or people recognition.
Industries such as biotechnology, health or energy will lead sustainable development and will be references of technological transformation for companies in different sectors.
2021 sets the beginning of a new age in the way of doing business, managing companies and developing talent. A year in which a strategic vision takes on greater importance in a complex context of economic imbalances and increased competitiveness.
And the results of this adaptation will be evident over the next few years.
