“Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear.”
So go the thoughts of Paul, the hero of Frank Herbert’s Dune, when in extremis.
Just as fear can lead to paralysis, uncertainty can be the “little-death” of business action, innovation and proactive B2B PR. It could be making you pause before you invest in business growth through a B2B PR agency.
You only have to look at daily headlines relating to tech sector job cuts, the impact of the SVB collapse, the looming possibility of a Trump second term, the on-going climate crisis and the potential impact of fraught international relations on our daily lives (TikTok bans) to feel uncertain about our collective social and economic future.
But despite all this, the pace of positive change, innovation and action amongst many areas of business is astounding.
This good news may not get much attention at national level, but if you were to focus just on trade or specialist business media the mood music is very different.
Experience at the heart of business
Most organisations, both large and small are actively pursuing digital transformation strategies that are starting to gain momentum and will have a lasting permanent impact.
In the consumer branded product and service space, the concept of building a business strategy around the quality of experience both face to face and through every digital touch-point is gaining ground.
In design innovation, massive organisation in the public sector are actively embracing digital design to enhance the lived experience of employees and to improve service or operational delivery. The Royal Navy - a legacy organisation if ever there was one, is busy transforming traditions and services through digital design.
In adtech and martech, idea that privacy can and should be placed at the heart of digital marketing is spurring on the growth of new challenger technologies that can enhance marketing through insights and very smart contextual placement of advertising.
The ground is moving beneath the feat of the first generation of technology giants. Will they keep pace?
Is ChatGPT now a bigger brand than Bing?
The first break-through AI brand has emerged in the shape of ChatGPT. For all it’s apparent faults, it is clear that generative AI will become present in our daily lives through a myriad of apps integrating the technology.
Yes, it opens up a can of worms in terms of its impact on education etc. but no more so that the arrival of the internet. From a business perspective we are at the beginning of a wave of AI innovation which will stimulate growth as well as social change.
Tech on wheels
If you zero in on areas like automotive, you can also see concepts such as transforming cars into infotainment environments which has seemed very blue sky emerging as a hard proposition in a few years.
But it’s not just turning cars into iPhones with wheels – the idea of creating a digital chassis designed for data, integrating the functional architecture of the vehicle, with performance control and monitoring, with automation and driver/passenger experience, is well passed concept stage.
There’s a fascinating piece here in Wired on which businesses may team up with automotive brands to lead the field.
And if you think electric vehicles are a blind alley because the battery tech simply isn’t good enough – think again. The science behind energy storage and the materials used in the construction of vehicle batteries is about to take a massive leap forward making battery range not just comparable but well in excess of a tank of petrol.
There’s a great commentary on what’s around the corner here in the Telegraph, based on an assessment of scientific papers published by the industry.
The climate tech is there but without co-ordination
Climate change remains the biggest looming cause of uncertainty as the recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report highlights but it also suggests the tech to limit global warming is here already – the will to use it in a co-ordinated way is as yet missing.
An interesting commentary about the need to move beyond a “jazz” or freestyle deployment of solutions can be found here.
Look in pretty much any sector from quantum computing, to nuclear fusion, to health tech and you’ll find a similar pattern. The leap from theory to delivery is real.
So what's the real B2B story?
What do these stories spilling out of almost every industry amount to?
I’d argue that beneath the talk of recession and turbulent times, there is a lot of pent up investment potential and energy waiting to burst forth.
From a B2B brand perspective this means don’t freeze your B2B PR agency investment. Don’t fear what you don’t know and can’t predict. Focus on the real changes, the real opportunities and growth in your space.
Tell the world why your business matters and how it will change the market for the better.
And keep doing it with creative perspectives and insights that will win you eyeballs, conversations and contracts.
Find out more at www.simpaticopr.co.uk
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