We are in the midst of massive change in the way business is conducted. If you think I am yanking your chain, pay attention to the holiday shopping season that is getting underway in earnest next week. Compare the brick and mortar store sales on Black Friday to online sales on Cyber Monday. Most are predicting that Cyber Monday sales will surpass that of Black Friday. There was a time when big items were bought at retail stores and smaller items were purchased online, but with the way all products are now routinely delivered direct to your home, the size of the item purchased is no longer a barrier to web purchases.

I am a person who likes things to remain as they are. I like continuity. There is something secure about things you can count on. However, that is not reality, especially in the present world. Writer Jack Canfield of Chicken Soup fame said, "Change is inevitable in life. You can either resist it and potentially get run over by it, or you can choose to cooperate with it, adapt to it, and learn how to benefit from it. When you embrace change you will begin to see it as an opportunity for growth.”

Let’s identify some of the changes that are currently happening. I’ve already mentioned the way we shop has been turned on its head. The stay-at-home-shopper, where everything is ordered on Amazon and delivered the same day, are here. The second way business has changed is based on the good economy. People are jumping from one job to the other. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, last year, 40 million people voluntarily quit their job (this is not people fired or retiring.) This is 25% of the labor force! That is almost twice as many people compared to those who changed jobs ten years ago. It has been estimated that the average worker will change jobs 10-15 times in their career. That means every 3-4.5 years, they will jump to another job. The third culprit to driving business change is technology that is speeding up everything we do. Life can be managed from a smart phone with a high-speed connection.

What happens to continuity when everything changes? It appears that the only permanent part of business these days is continuous change. So how do you adapt to all of this, especially if you are in charge of marketing for your business? You adapt. Here are some ways that marketing needs to adapt to these changes.

Make your web site an e-commerce site

If you are selling a product, by all means, you need a way to purchase online. You may not think that is possible because you are manufacturing large products. Think again! That’s what the retailers said about large Christmas gifts that are routinely sold online.

Consider how delivery plays into marketing

Fast delivery is almost a human right for consumers! If you can deliver overnight, or the same day, it should be marketed as a competitive edge.

Connect with your customers more often

Employees are on the move, so you must stay up-to-date on where they are going and who is taking their place. The smart marketer pays attention to business profiles, such as LinkedIn, which will tell you when someone is changing jobs. You have to stay in touch to remain relevant. Any time a new person takes the place of your customer, especially in a B2B relationship, you have to woo the new person. You also need to call on your old connections to gain new business. Marketing is key to helping you make these connections. This is where marketing technology can help you. You can use technology to push awareness marketing to both the new and old customer. You just have to make sure these forms of marketing communication are both consistent and frequent. You cannot afford to go on a communications vacation for several months. People are changing jobs too often for that type of marketing hiatus.

Make your most pertinent information mobile

What information do your clients need from you most often? If this can be made easily available on a phone, such as on your mobile home page or on an app, you will have an easier time connecting with your target market. Make it easy for them to find what they want and get in contact with you. People simply will not take the time to dig through every piece of info on your website to find what they want. How do you know what they want? Pay attention to your web analytics, especially those that show your Entry and Exit pages. The Entry will tell you how they found your site and the Exit will tell you what they found right before they left your site. If these two are the same, you are doing something right in helping them to easily navigate your site. If not, determine what you need to do to make the Exit info easier to find.

Change is inevitable. In today’s business atmosphere, the changes just happen much quicker than they used to. Get used to it. You either adapt or get run over.

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We asked the experts to find out if Black Friday or Cyber Monday is the better day to shop — here's what they said, By Monica Chin, October 31, 2019, Business Insider

Why Are Workers Quitting Their Jobs in Record Numbers? by Roy Maurer, December 12, 2018, SHRM.org