Why is it so important that executives are on top of the latest technology trends? There are several important answers to that question. First, executives need to show leadership by embracing the newest trends. Second, an executive who embraces new technology may run a company that lowers prices and improves productivity. Finally, a company that can develop new technology may be able to be the brand that customers associate with that technology for years to come.
Successful Companies Embrace New Things
A successful company is always looking for a new way to do things faster, easier or better. Executives who are always looking out for faster servers, better ways to communicate with workers or better ways to create a product are going to develop new ideas that are needed in the 21st century.
For example, embracing mobile devices as an advertising platform can increase the number of people that a company can advertise to as well as reach its target demographic more effectively. Doing so now while other companies are still trying to figure out how to reach people on mobile devices creates a competitive advantage.
Lower Prices and Improve Productivity
If an executive finds a way to make a product for half the cost that the product is currently being made, that creates an opportunity to increase profit. By lowering the price paid by the consumer in accordance with the decreased price to make the product, a company can improve revenues as well. Lower prices may also result in loyal customers who are always looking to get a quality product for as low a price as possible.
By embracing technology that may make it easier to make a product, it becomes possible to make more of that product or use fewer people to create that product. The result is lower overhead or more units of a good sold. Either way, this creates more money for the company and for its shareholders. In some cases, those profits may be shared with workers as part of a bonus or pension plan.
Create Technology That Leads to Better Brand Recognition
When a company can create the next big piece of technology or the next great innovative product, it becomes the brand leader. For example, Facebook and Twitter are the leaders in social media because they created a revolutionary product that transformed the way that business is done and how people communicate. While there other social networks out there, Facebook and Twitter will always be seen as the brands associated with that technology.
Apple and the iPhone will always be seen as the brand most associated with smartphones because they were the first to create one. It turned phones into mini computers that allow people to access information from wherever they happen to be. Because of this, the iPhone will always be the standard to which all other smartphones are compared to.
New ideas lead to higher profits, better brand recognition and create executives who are seen as better leaders. In such a scenario, the company wins because it makes more money, the customer wins because he or she gets a better product while the executive wins because that person can tout his or her successful idea.
