Today is the unofficial beginning of the year, the day after New Year’s Day. Yesterday was the official beginning of the year, but we all know that nothing happens until the second day of January, when everyone comes back to work. Not only is this the first workday of the new year, it is the first day of enterprise of the second decade of the 21st century.

According to the predictions made by prognosticators of the past century, this day was supposed to look much different than what it does. For instance, we were all supposed to be driving flying cars by now. Communication was supposed to be conducted by mental telepathy where computer receptors attached to our heads read our brain waves and sent messages via a stylish antenna protruding up the back of our necks. We were also supposed to be surrounded by robots that automated all of our jobs. Work was supposed to be a thing of the past, so today should feel much like a day off for you. My guess is, it does not.

Now we would have to admit we have made some very great strides in technology that has impacted business during the past two decades. Who would have guessed 20 years ago that we could control just about anything we wanted with a mobile phone? But sitting at my desk on January 2, 2020, what should I believe is actually the science of the future for my business and what is merely science fiction? The answer might be found in marketing. You see, technology is generally driven by the wants and desires of the people who make up your marketplace. It is there that pain and problems are turned into opportunity when someone comes up with a fix for the frustrations people are feeling. And let’s face it, we are living in an age where people have come to realize that just about any little inconvenience can be fixed with technology. This is where marketing comes in. Effective marketing has to start with the opinions of those people who are prime consumers of your products and services. If you are listening to what your marketplace is telling you, you will begin to see the trends of the future in their complaints. It is the job of marketing to first listen to your customers. They will tell you what they want from you. And then, when you have solved their problems with your product or services, it is marketing’s job to promote the fix. He who can do this will own the future. He who ignores his customers’ complaints, acting like they are all a bunch of whiners, will find himself lagging behind the trends of the future.

So here is an exercise for the first business day of the second decade of the century: find out where your customers are feeling pain, frustration, annoyances, etc. and figure out how your products and services can alleviate some of this for them. Brand your solution. Promote your brand solution using the technology that best communicates with your marketplace. If you do this today, you will be marketing your way into the future.