Four Business Imperatives That Will Impact Your Brand’s Success in 2019

Change and aggressive innovation are no longer the hallmarks of only the most advanced tech companies. In a climate where startup costs and barriers to entry have never been lower, we're seeing entrepreneurialism contribute to unparalleled disruption in every industry. It's a Darwinian era, and companies have to get busy living or get busy dying.

The rapid pace of change and disruption can be overwhelming and can make it challenging to decide what to prioritize. By embracing these four business imperatives, you will significantly enhance your brand’s success in the year ahead.

Live your brand’s purpose

Living your brand’s purpose is more important than ever. It's the guiding force for making decisions across the whole enterprise. Tomorrow’s companies know this. Traditional companies have marketing departments that sit in a silo, and they are often the only ones who care for or even consider the brand on a daily basis. Tomorrow’s companies put the brand at the very heart of the enterprise, and everyone — from the CEO to the intern — knows the company's mission and values, or what we call the brand purpose. Brand purpose should be present in every interaction a consumer has with a company across what it makes, does and says.

Make diversity a business imperative to drive innovation

Innovation continues to be the steadfast solution to business disruption. Businesses need to do everything they can to ensure the most innovative thinking and ideas are being generated within their walls. Since studies have shown that companies with a diverse workforce are better at developing innovative products and services, leaders need to be the driving force in making sure their teams are diverse in terms of gender, race, background, experiences and interests. Reflecting the world we live in will foster innovation and help leaders manage during cultural moments like the #MeToo movement. It’s not only the smart thing to do, it’s also the right thing to do.

Embrace experience commerce

Retail commerce continues to morph into multifaceted experiences that appeal to and connect emotionally with multiple mindsets. Real-life shopping experiences are being reimagined, combining nascent technology such as augmented reality with music, art and entertainment to deliver a hyper-personalized shopping experience that delights, inspires and activates audiences to buy. This trend counters “the Amazon of everything” by creating brand experiences that cannot be replicated online. It also caters to our human need for physical-world connection, community and Instagrammable environments.

Tame the data beast

According to Forbes, we have created more than 90 percent of the world’s data in just the last two years. Our increasingly connected culture produces more valuable data that can help marketers generate better insights or target consumers with more relevant propositions. However, these massive data sets can also be cumbersome, cold or inaccessible — restricted to experts’ use only. There’s now a need for more intimate, relatable and accessible data that democratizes access for the teams that need it. Collaborating with these dot-connectors will help drive transformative data insight.