According to McKinsey & Company, “2021 will be the year of transition”. Businesses are able to look forward to reshaping their futures post-pandemic. The pandemic has brought many challenges, and business trends have developed to solve these challenges. This article will explore some of the trends that will shape the next normal for businesses, especially when an entrepreneur is considering to start an LLC.

Remote working 

Due to the pandemic, remote working has been at the forefront of business trends since early 2020. Although remote working has proven to be effective, it is not completely successful as of yet. According to Techcrunch, leading investors do not believe that current services and tools solve remote working completely. Security, over Zoom, has been a concern, as well as front-of-office collaboration and personal remote process automation. Many businesses have started tackling these issues and there is huge expected growth in 2021.

Sustainability

Green energy has become a very attractive investment, seeing China, some of the Gulf States, and India invest in it. The US he began transitioning away from coal to green technologies such as batteries, carbon-capture methods and electric vehicles. Growth opportunities in the green economy seem to be substantial, especially across the energy, mobility and agriculture sectors. According to BlackRock, a global investment company, “contrary to past consensus,” they expect that the shift to sustainability will “help enhance returns” and that “the tectonic shift towards sustainable investing is accelerating.” 

The future is robots

Due to the pandemic, businesses have had to find ways to safely deliver products to their customers. Robotic delivery has been the answer by minimizing human contact. Large corporations such as Amazon, Google and FedEx currently use delivery robots. Businesses are able to latch on to this trend to reach more clients and become more efficient and safe. 

5G

The need for higher speed internet and well-connected homes has been the driving force behind the advancement of 5G, regardless of the conspiracies around it and its ‘connections’ to COVID-19. Companies like Verizon have announced the expansion of their 5G network in late 2021 and Ericsson, in China, has been rapidly deploying 5G. The expansion of 5G has been an opportunity for businesses to use it within their services. 

Higher value-added activities

Developing and emerging economies are seeing to be focusing on higher value-added activities in the global supply chain. Expanding service industries contributes to higher incomes which allows consumers to spend more money on goods and services which are considered to be non-essential. Examples of these industries are retailing, finance, education and hospitality. Seeing that e-commerce has become a popular way of doing business, businesses have latched onto this trend to reach more customers. An example of this is the partnership between Starbucks and Alibaba. The partnership allows Starbucks to expand its delivery services to 2,000 stores in 30 cities across China.

Sustainable finance

This type of finance considers environmental and social factors when investing. There has been a sharp growth in sustainable debt with the market reaching $1.7 trillion at the end of 2020. Sustainable finance, a growing trend, will most probably have business owners include net-positive social and ecological effects when pitching to investors. 

Virtual health care

Telehealth practices have been offered by healthcare institutions to lower the exposure of COVID-19 to their staff and patients. Although it is a common perception that primary care physicians and providers need to physically see their patients, studies have shown that 80% of these primary care services are able to be provided virtually. Since the start of the pandemic, telehealth visits have increased by 50%. This growth in telehealth care has provided an opportunity for businesses to advance and compete against other corporations in their industry. 

AI incorporation

It has been shown that Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become the focus for almost 50% of startup applications. Recent trends show that AI is advancing to become part of household technology and many other products, services and offerings. According to MassChallenge, AI will drive the meaningful next wave of disruption similar to software. This advancement has offered businesses the opportunity to improve on current technology and solve issues in the sector to compete with competitors. 

The Takeaway

Many of these mentioned trends have grown throughout 2021 and will continue to do so in the future to safeguard businesses from another catastrophe. For many businesses, worldwide, these trends offer a huge opportunity to launch themselves into success. Many entrepreneurs may choose to take advantage of these trends on American soil, should they meet state requirements. For this reason, choosing Florida LLC formation services may well be preferred, as pointed out by The Really Useful Information Company (TRUiC).

Carlsbad, CA-based entrepreneur Krishen Iyer is a thought leader when it comes to business and marketing strategies. One of his primary areas of focus in running MAIS Consulting is making sure businesses are able to achieve the success they need and deserve. Companies that are focused on reaching their intended audiences often perform better in this area than those that don’t have a similar focus, and Iyer can move those companies forward by working with them to boost email marketing conversions.

Marketing With Purpose is Vital, Says Krishen Iyer

Most marketers today have email programs that push advertisements and information out to people who have subscribed. These emails are also often targeted to those who have purchased similar items, signed up for something related to the company’s product or service, or otherwise indicated a level of interest. But are these marketers really marketing with the kind of purpose they should have? Before answering that question, they should be testing the emails they have and seeing whether they boost conversions.

Many of the marketers of today are not fully invested in what they should be doing to move their brand or company forward, believe my thought leaders in the industry. Krishen Iyer agrees that most marketers don’t test their emails and the ones that do often aren’t sure why they’re really doing the testing at all. They lack the level of passion they need for success. But Krishen Iyer knows there is much more to the issue than just random testing and hope. Passion, study, and determination are all important, too.

The Proof is in the Testing

Doing the same things over and over will yield the same results, but many marketers simply continue to follow through with what worked for them in the past. Unfortunately, that’s not a recipe for success. Audience demands and requirements change, notes Krishen Iyer, and when marketers don’t change with them, it can quickly become a recipe for problems and issues that may slow the success of any business. Fortunately, email testing can help to increase marketing conversions, when it’s done the right way.

Email is completely customer-centric, and Krishen Iyer understands the value of that level of focus. As an entrepreneur and consultant for businesses big and small, he helps empower companies to do more with what they have available to them. By building up and rebranding multiple companies, Iyer and his team at MAIS Consulting mentor their clients and work with them to achieve their desired outcomes. Marketing those companies is a big part of that, and without passion, that marketing falls flat.

However, testing emails and finding what works for marketing can make a significant difference in the success of the company and the value it adds to its customers. Strategic growth is one of the goals of nearly any company, and when there is a strong focus on that growth from the right angle, it’s difficult not to succeed. Testing emails is a large part of that since it becomes much more difficult to grow without an understanding of what is truly working and where the company is facing struggles and concerns.

Krishen Iyer Suggests Moving Beyond an Individual Campaign

The more that marketers test things like email campaigns, the more they can determine whether that campaign is a successful one. But Krishen Iyer also suggests that marketers need to move beyond individual campaigns. Testing teaches marketers what works for a campaign, but also what works for a segment of their email market. That gives them additional insight, and they can now use other, similar types of email campaigns for that same market segment.

Not all marketers think about doing that, and that inability to look to the big picture is often what holds them back. Krishen Iyer is a big picture kind of person and uses his knowledge to move MAIS Consulting to the forefront of its industry. He teaches companies that consult with him to do the same, so they can start advancing their goals more directly. When email testing is involved, and marketers use the information they collect to expand into additional campaigns, there’s much to be learned from the experience.

The insights gained can be added to email programs that are more extensive, with permanent streams where the content will change but the basic tenets and structure won’t. A winning result won’t come with just one email that saw success, but with a stream that’s consistently seeing success. The losing result can be replaced with something else, and the winning result can be kept on because it provides a degree of success that’s worthwhile.

Krishen Iyer sees not only the value of email testing to boost marketing conversions but the value of providing that kind of evaluative effort to other areas of the company, as well. Over time, that means that strategies that win continue to be used, and strategies that are less successful are dropped. The result is that the company continues to work its way toward better growth, higher quality, more success, and an increased level of value for its clients, all of which Iyer and MAIS Consulting can offer.

While we’ve seen a continued push from the government and some entrepreneurs to get their employees back into the office in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, recent figures from Remit Consulting have shown that this has yet to translate into any actionable change.

With an average of 16.6% occupancy last week, there has been no significant increase in the number of office workers returning to their desks, with this number up just 0.2% in relation to the previous seven days.

Given this and the potential for remote working to become increasingly commonplace in a post-Covid labour market, it’s reasonable to presume that many business-owners will be considering relocating or investing in an office fit-out in the near-term.

We’ll explore the latter idea in a little more detail below, by asking how you can successfully budget for your office fit-out.

Do You Need an Office Fit-out?

Even in the best-case scenario, the cost of office refurbishment and a comprehensive fit-out can represent a significant investment (especially in the current economic climate).

With this in mind, your first step should always be to determine whether or not you actually need an office fit-out, as there may be more suitable and affordable options in certain scenarios.

For example, let’s say that you’re switching to agile or hybrid working in the wake of the pandemic, and therefore want to focus on introducing hot desks and open-plan workspaces. As part of this process, you may also want to factor in social distancing measures by affording each employee more space in which to work, creating the need to reimagine your office interior completely and improve its ergonomics.

However, an office fit-out may not be the best or most cost-effective way of achieving broader goals, such as boosting the wellbeing or productivity of your workforce.

In these cases, you should consider less costly and incremental changes before commissioning a full office fit-out, such as creating a positive workplace culture, improving communication from the leadership and emphasising employee recognition.

What Factors Impact the Cost of an Office Fit-Out?

If you do decide to go ahead with an office fit-out, the next step is to consider the various factors that can impact the total cost. We’ve outlined some of the most important below, so that you can create a more realistic budget and manage your expectations accordingly:

• #1. The Type of Work Required: Not all fit-outs are created equal, as while some require a few cosmetic tweaks, others demand new flooring, additional partitions and similar structural changes. This will have a direct impact on the cost per sq ft, so you’ll need to have a clear understanding of your requirements from the outset. Similarly, you should consider your choice of ICT and AV systems, which offer flexibility in the case of agile working and allow for superior design and aesthetics.

• #2. Your Finish and Furnishings: Fit-out costs per sq ft are also impacted by your choice of furniture and fittings, which in turn depends on your office occupancy levels and core number of employees. Typically, the cost of office furniture ranges from £400 to £700 per individual, so you’ll need to include this as a key part of your budget. Another important factor is your choice of finish, as the cost difference between basic and premium interior finishes can be deceptively high.

• #3. Your Timeline: If you’re switching to a new office space or looking to introduce hybrid or agile working as soon as possible, you’ll also need to create a relevant and realistic timeline for the completion of the fit-out. Of course, projects with shorter timelines may drive increased labour costs, while you’ll have less opportunity to spread out the workload and manage your spending over an extended period of time.

Of course, other universal factors include the age and nature of your building and whether or not it has raised floors (which are ideal for the optimal distribution management and power supply).

You’ll also need to include any budgetary factors that are unique to your circumstances, so preparation is key when creating your budget.

The Last Word

By determining the precise motivation for your office fit-out and understanding the individual factors that impact the eventual cost, you can hopefully make informed decisions as an entrepreneur.

Most importantly, you can determine just how viable it is to conduct an office fit-out, before creating a realistic budget that’s manageable and capable of delivering a return on your investment!

The delivery industry has become very dynamic in the last decade. The internet has reduced demand for the letter post, while the delivery of parcels keeps on growing. Postal companies are changing more and more to parcel delivery companies. Apart from this important shift, Brexit and Covid have generated even more changes.

As a consequence of Brexit legislation and administrative changes, in the last year part of the logistics shifted to other zones, not only in England but also in Ireland. At the same time e-commerce deliveries are growing fast, so fast that the packaging demand has lead to rising packaging prices, in part because of the Covid production restrictions.

Proper packaging is indispensable in preventing the contents from damage by the elements and loss during shipment. It also gives the recipient a good impression of the products they are purchasing.

Benefits of proper packaging for your company.

The myriad benefits of choosing good packaging before mailing your products for a business are:

• It boosts the morale of the recipient on receiving the package.

Proper packaging takes a key consideration into the aesthetic appearance of the package to be delivered. The envelope’s texture, colour, and design can go a long way in getting the recipient excited to open the contents. It is a no-brainer that with meticulously designed A4 envelopes, your documents and message will receive the intended urgency of opening by the recipient

• Proper packaging is an ingenious marketing strategy

Using bespoke packaging materials, you can brand your company’s logo and motto on the envelope. Branded envelopes serve to inform the recipient of your company’s presence, and subsequently, it gives your message the envisioned gravity acting as your company’s informant. Additionally, with proper packaging, you can be guaranteed that your company’s logo and any information on the package will be visible to everyone who comes into contact with it, from the staff working at mailing centres to the family members. It is worth noting that even for confidential documents, the packaging is available for all eyes to see.

• Prevents damage to the contents or loss during shipping.

Packaging is the surest way to ensure that the contents are not lost or damaged by mishandling or the elements during shipping. The packaging material chosen is dependent on the sensitivity of the contents enclosed. For instance, the packaging of pharmaceutical materials will require an enclosure to prevent any medicine deterioration by moisture or air for water and oxidisable drugs.

• It also ensures the contents find the right user in the correct address

The primary detail in packaging material for shipment is the address where the package should be delivered. Consequently, an excellent packaging material should ensure good readability by not fading during shipment until the content reaches the intended user at the location addressed.

Proper packaging of documents can confer the required privacy to the document and prevent any damage to the contents. When choosing a packaging material like envelopes or boxes for personal or professional shipments, consider purchasing from a trusted supplier that can meet your needs and let your packaging stand out.