The business world is continually changing, and so if your firm doesn’t adapt and move with the times, there’s a risk you’ll get left behind by your competitors. When you’re immersed in the day-to-day running of your organisation, it can be hard to identify areas where you may be falling behind. So, to help you pick up on potential problems, here are three things that could be holding your company back.
- Not taking advantage of new training techniques
Traditional workplace development programmes often involve employees reading manuals and attending face-to-face training sessions. There is still an important role for these techniques. However, a rising number of forward looking firms are also taking advantage of more advanced solutions to enhance the skills of their personnel. For example, GP Strategies’ organisational learning consultants can recommend a variety of high-tech solutions to their clients. The company, which specialises in organisational learning and development, offers training materials in a range of different formats, including innovative e-learning resources designed to work on tablets, smartphones and desktops. Web-based training solutions offer much greater scope for creativity than traditional printed materials and they make it possible to transform theoretical content into interactive scenario-based simulations. This can enable workers to enhance their knowledge and skills in a more engaging, intuitive way.
Perhaps the most advanced learning solutions now being harnessed by businesses involve augmented reality. This technology can be used in a range of different ways. For example, it can enable employees to generate 3D images of particular pieces of equipment simply by pointing the camera of a mobile device like a tablet at printed documents. These solutions, which can be especially useful in highly technical industries, instantly bring theoretical information to life, presenting it in a way that’s easier to understand.
If you’ve not explored the training opportunities afforded to you by advanced systems like these, you may be missing out. Cutting edge, interactive learning resources could help you develop your employees’ abilities much more quickly and effectively.
- Failing to make the most of social media
There are now myriad marketing techniques available to companies, and one channel that can be both inexpensive and highly effective is social media. Brands that fail to engage with their target audiences through sites such as Facebook and Twitter risk losing out to their rivals. Running competitions, creating relevant and interesting posts, responding to questions and getting involved in discussions on these sites can dramatically expand your business’ reach and bolster your brand – and you don’t have to spend much money on these campaigns.
For the best results, make sure you target your resources on the sites that your audience are most likely to visit, and take care to keep your brand message and tone consistent.
- Not responding to changing customer requirements
Consumer tastes and needs are constantly evolving and you can’t rely on attracting the same people in the same ways indefinitely. This is why it’s so important to conduct regular market research. By doing ongoing fact finding to provide you with insights into customer preferences and requirements, you can keep your products or services – and your marketing material – relevant and appealing. There are a number of ways to reach out to consumers to discover what they’re thinking and feeling. For example, you could conduct focus groups or encourage people to fill in questionnaires. This may take some time and money, but it should help you achieve your sales targets.
By re-evaluating your approach to issues like training, marketing and customer research on a regular basis, you can help ensure your business doesn’t get left behind.
