Digital Changes Will Continue in the Coming Years
2020 changed how we interact with and use technology. From remote work to digital streaming to online purchasing, technology has become an even greater focal point in our lives…and there is no reason to believe that will change in the coming years:
- A McKinsey report stated that 90% of executives believe that COVID-19 has fundamentally changed the way we will do business over the next five years, and 85% believe that those changes will have a lasting impact on customers’ needs and wants.
- ClickZ reported that by 2025, it is expected that nine dollars of every $10 will be spent on the digital experience versus phone or an actual human voice.
- Google is increasing the relevance of Google My Business. The new focus will be tied to Google Maps with added responsibility placed on local business owners for curating, creating, and managing content on their profiles. And they are changing the name, too – welcome to Google Business Profiles.
There were so many things we could take for granted before the world “shut down” on Friday, March 13, 2020. For decades, we adapted to slow-but-steady modernization. It wasn’t too long ago that children were what we used to change a television’s channel. Then came the magic of the remote control, which changed the channel with an invisible light. In recent years, we learned to speak to Alexa, Suri, or our Google Assistant to turn on our TVs, change channels, or search the internet for answers to whatever random question popped into our heads.
Then came 2020 and a rapid change in Post-COVID consumer expectations. Going out became a masked luxury for many, leading to brick-and-mortar locations seeing dramatically less foot traffic. Amazon experienced a 40% growth in the opening months of the pandemic; profits by the end of 2020 were double that of the prior year. Other companies like Shopify, Flipkart, and Etsy also boomed – all online.
Our lives are now automated in ways we didn’t dream of even half a decade ago. The future is now for those who embrace the digital era. Today’s technology innovators are establishing themselves with their unhesitating knowledge of communication and toolsets that can help keep any company or organization up-to-date and prepared to adapt to both finding and serving new and established customers. Home-service businesses need to take advantage of new forms of community outreach, efficient local advertising, GBP, and organic Search Engine Optimization. Customer (and even employee) engagement is as important as the services and goods provided.
Those companies that have been resistant will be forced into it, and any business that remains stagnant will be forgotten.