Building Relationships With Millennials, One Life Stage At A Time

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by Ashley Deibert, Columnist Friday, March 31, 2017 Depending on who you’re talking to, the mere mention of “millennials” will inspire a cringe or an eye-roll. The so-called “me” generation, which lives in the age of “participation trophies,” both gets a bad rep and has advertisers falling over themselves to reach them. At age 34, I am (technically) a millennial. And it never ceases to amaze me how advertisers tend to treat us as one-size-fits-all. Comparing an 18 year old to a 34 year old is like comparing apples to organic pressed kale juice. Even comparing two 18 year olds to one another can be a losing strategy, which is I guess that’s to say that if age is hardly a discerning filter, then stereotyping an entire generation is just lazy. But targeting and strategizing by life stage is a different story. As with any generation, millennials’ life stages are comprised by predictable benchmarks and transitional moments that give brands crucial information about what’s important to consumers at different parts of their lives. Brands that segment millennials not by age but by these core life cycles will find more success than those that don’t.  Here’s a look at standard life stages and what consumers at these stages are thinking about, prioritizing and dealing with. Stage 1: Educated and Dependent (18 - 23) Still living at home, still dependent on their parents for support but knowledge of the “real world” has begun to settle in. For the first time, these young adults are managing money, a car payment and, of course, a job. They are also still in exploration mode: trying new experiences, meeting new friends and ingesting a wide range of media. They aren’t very brand loyal yet because they’ve never really had to be, which means there’s an easy opportunity for brands to win them over. Take Mic, a media company specifically for millennials. They partnered with Discover to launch a new channel called The Payoff, aimed at helping millennials manage and control their personal finances. “Whether embarking on a new career, building credit or sizing up a big purchase, there is a lot to learn and to navigate for young consumers when it comes to their finances," said Jennifer Murillo, Discover's VP of brand communications in a press release. And of course, knowing their audience well, the Payoff launched with a multichannel approach—allowing their audience access through a video series, a podcast, interactive online experiences and even a newsletter. Stage 2: Independent and Empowered (24 - 29) Freedom! Millennials in this group are living on their own and their career is off and running. With room to grow financially and personally, they are starting to form some long-term media habits and brand choices. They have also dabbled in every media avenue presented to them — social, traditional, and digital — decided which ones best suit them. That doesn’t mean they won’t be up for trying new experiences—if the brand is fresh and relevant. Take Audi, for example. This century-old brand knew that combining brand experiences would be a smart route. As part of its Emmy Awards sponsorship, Audi and Airbnb offered fans the chance to book three-day getaways at a residence in Death Valley, Nev. The guests could drive a 2017 Audi R8 during their stay, which also included chauffeur service from the airport, meals prepared by a personal chef and, of course, nightly entertainment. The experience, Audi VP of Marketing Loren Angelo said, sold out in seven seconds.  Stage 3: Settled and Responsible (30 - 35) With a career hitting its stride, a first home purchased, and maybe even a family in the picture, this stage calls for more stability. Most millennials at this phase are settled both personally and in their brand choices, which of course doesn’t mean that companies should expect to retain their love indefinitely.Positive brand and customer service experiences are crucial to this group. Fail to evolve with your audience’s needs? You could find a competitor swoops in all too easily. Viacom, a company whose major channels like MTV and VH1 have reinvented themselves more than once, continued its evolution with a renewed focus on millennial moms. In 2016, Viacom and YouTube parenting channel “What's Up Moms” joined forces to create relevant parenting content. Together, they produced a video series that aired both on Viacom’s traditional TV networks and on their digital platforms. By delivering desired content in the format that fit their target audience, it was an obvious win for Viacom.  There you have it. Brands must find ways to target millennials at their core stages, as their demographics, and media consumption habits evolve. Consumers are forever in the driver’s seat, and millennials won’t hesitate to change course when a brand misses their mark.

Premium Big-Priced Theatrical Movies On Small Screens Won't Work

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Friday, March 31, 2017 by Wayne Friedman, Staff Writer The movie industry needs to get a grip on things -- especially for future business with its younger consumers. At its annual Cinema-Con trade show, movie-studio executives mulled the idea of selling new theatrically movies through “premium” video on demand services on big-screen, high-quality TV sets -- priced at $30 to $50 for each showing -- 17 days after opening in movie theaters. Apparently, these smart business executives missed the news about the exponential explosion of entertainment choices -- on TV, digital platforms and music subscription platforms.  Young millennials might not be interested in paying much for things. Think of all the cord-nevers and cord-cutters when it comes to traditional pay TV packages. Is someone missing their supply-and-demand algorithms? New so-called “premium” video on demand” (PVOD) from movie studios would offer a 17-day window after their showing in theaters -- all to protect theater owners business for a little over two weekends. That time frame helps those businesses retain a majority piece of their revenues. Two decades ago, all this might have had a chance -- when there was less groaning about home entertainment costs for the average entertainment consumer. Now, in a growing digital world, there are tougher choices to make. Forget about the higher U.S. box-office     revenues. For a long time, the bigger issue is actual ticket sales -- which has been flat since 2004. Going forward, there is a marketing issue to consider. How does the movie industry distinguish itself as high-quality entertainment above other forms of entertainment, all TV and digital media content? Yes, there will be lots more “Star Trek,” “The Avengers,” and “Transformers” franchises for millennials to consider -- and to attend. But what about the next generation of customers? They might believe entertainment should be cheap, easy and available on their big screen TV sets from traditional TV or newer digital TV sources. There is plenty of TV content, for example -- over 400 scripted TV -- tons of stuff consumers can’t get through now. And more stuff on Netflix, Hulu and Amazon. You want to charge them $30 for one movie on a small screen?  Goo Luck!

What The Death Of Broadband Privacy Means

By Tali Arbel The Associated Press, March 31, 2017 5:55 AM EDT

Now that both houses of Congress have voted to block Obama-era broadband privacy rules , what does that mean for you? the absence of clear privacy rules means that the companies supplying your internet service — and who can see a great deal of what you do with it — can continue to mine that information for use in their own advertising businesses. And consumer advocates worry that the companies will be an enticing target for hackers. Here's how that could play out and what it means.

NEW YORK (AP) — Now that both houses of Congress have voted to block Obama-era broadband privacy rules , what does that mean for you?

In the short term, not so much. The rules, which would have put tough restrictions on what companies like Comcast, Verizon and AT&T can do with information such as your internet history, hadn't yet gone into effect. So if President Donald Trump signs the measure, as the White House has indicated he will , the status quo will remain.

But the absence of clear privacy rules means that the companies supplying your internet service — and who can see a great deal of what you do with it — can continue to mine that information for use in their own advertising businesses. And consumer advocates worry that the companies will be an enticing target for hackers.

Here's how that could play out and what it means.

WHAT CHANGES NOW

Not much, at least immediately. For now, phone and cable companies remain subject to federal law that imposes on broadband providers a "duty to protect the confidentiality" of customer information and restricts them from using some customer data without "approval."

But it doesn't spell out how companies must get permission, how they must protect your data, or whether and how they have to tell you if it's been hacked.

WHAT THE RULES WOULD HAVE CHANGED

Under the Federal Communications Commission's rules, Comcast and its ilk would have needed your permission before offering marketers a wealth of information about you, including health and financial details, your geographic location and lists of websites you've visited and apps you've used.

Republicans and industry officials complained that the browsing and app history restrictions would have unfairly burdened internet providers, since other companies such as Google and Facebook don't have to abide by them.

That's important because the biggest broadband companies want to build ad businesses to rival those tech giants. This rule would have made that more difficult.

These rules also required broadband providers to take reasonable measures to protect customer information, although those weren't spelled out. They also required these companies to tell you if your information had been hacked.

CAN YOU STOP PROVIDERS FROM COLLECTING YOUR DATA?

Yes, but it's not easy. Broadband providers today let you "opt out" of using their data, although figuring out how to do that can be difficult.

Instead, the digital rights group Electronic Frontier Foundation suggests you might pay to use a virtual private network , which funnels your internet traffic through a secure connection that your provider can't see into. But good VPNs aren't free, you have to figure out which ones you can trust, and unless you go to the trouble of setting one up on your home router - not a straightforward task - you would need to set them up on every phone, tablet and computer in your home.

The EFF and other supporters of the privacy rules also point out that in many markets consumer choices are limited when it comes to home broadband, so you often can't just switch providers if you don't like their privacy policies.

DOES MY STATE HAVE MY BACK?

Maybe. Many state laws bar unfair or deceptive practices, which they can use against privacy violations. Other state and federal regulations aim to protect medical and financial records, but may not apply to internet service providers.

Only a few states regulate specific practices by broadband providers, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, which tracks state laws. Minnesota, for instance, requires internet service providers to get customer permission before sharing their web-browsing histories.

The vast majority of states do require business and government to tell their residents when their information has been hacked, according to the NCSL, but they have different approaches. At least 13 states require businesses to have reasonable security practices .

Nadler Re-Introduces Radio Tax

March 30, 2017

They say they are leveling the playing field. On Thursday, Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) and Congressman Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) re-introduced the Fair Play Fair Pay Act, a bill to create a modern and uniform system of rules governing music licensing for digital and terrestrial radio broadcasts. What that means, if this bill passes, is that you will pay a tax to play music. Here’s what the bill says:

“The Fair Play Fair Pay Act would create a terrestrial performance right so that AM/FM radio competes on equal footing with its Internet and satellite competitors who already pay performance royalties. This would resolve the decades old struggle for performance rights and ensure that—for the first time—music creators would have the right to fair pay when their performances are broadcast on AM/FM radio. Bring true platform parity to radio so that all forms of radio, regardless of the technology they use, pay fair market value for music performances. This levels the playing field and ends the unfair and illogical distortions caused by the different royalty standards that exist today.”

It also says that terrestrial royalties should be affordable, capping royalties for stations with less than $1 million in annual revenue at $500 per year (and at $100 a year for non-commercial stations), while protecting religious and incidental uses of music from having to pay any royalties at all. Make a clear statement that pre-1972 recordings have value and those who are profiting from them must pay appropriate royalties for their use, while we closely monitor the litigation developments on this issue.

Nielsen: We’re Investing More Than Ever In Radio

March 29, 2017

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Nielsen Audio SVP/Business Development Rich Tunkel revealed two pieces of new information at Radio Ink’s Hispanic Radio Conference on Wednesday that you will certainly find very interesting. Back in December 2016, Nielsen purchased a company called Gracenote which has access to automobile data that will eventually be woven into your ratings. And, Nielsen is working on new wearable devices to capture listening. Here are the details.

The first investment in radio, according to Tunkel, is a total of $30 million to increase sample size. The most recent $10 million investment is expected to increase sample size by 10%. The demos that need the increase the most will be targeted first, then every other demo.

How does a sample size of 100 million sound? That was the question Tunkel asked the audience at the Hispanic Radio Conference, Wednesday. The Gracenote purchase will provide Nielsen with access to radio-listening data in 100 million automobiles. That data will eventually be used in the ratings. Tunkel did not have a specific date for the data integration; he said the company is just starting to get a good look at it and there needs to be a lot of testing first.

Tunkel also showed off his new smartwatch, which he says picks up PPM codes. Nielsen is moving into wearables such as watches and FitBits to capture more listening. The watches are being tested already, and again, you can expect announcements from the ratings firm soon on how they will be used and how this will affect your ratings.

Want To Survive Digital Disruption?

 

Make Experience Your Business!!

by Giselle Abramovich . Senior & Strategic Editor . CMO.com March 21, 2017

 

QUICK TAKE

·       “Digital technology is changing life like never before,” said Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen.

·       “Making experience your business is good for business,” said Adobe EVP Brad Rencher.

·       “We want to change the world through visual storytelling,” said Jill Cress, CMO of National Geographic.

Following a far-out digital light show that was perfect for this 50th anniversary of the “Summer of Love” in 1967 San Francisco, Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen told the record Summit audience of 12,000-plus in Las Vegas that “digital transformation is all or nothing.”

Narayen, speaking Tuesday morning at the opening general session of the conference, said, “Digital technology is changing life like never before, which is creating fear and a mandate for companies to transform themselves.”

He explained that Adobe is in a great position to guide brand marketers in these digital transformation journeys because the company underwent its own digital transformation just a few years go. That entailed reinventing and refocusing Adobe’s various teams, with leaders at all levels stepping up to evangelize change based on a new, keen focus on customer-centricity.

“Now that we have navigated through all that, we are driving growth and innovating faster than ever before,” Narayen said. “Our own transformation could not have happened without our own Marketing Cloud. We are customer zero, and great experiences is what separates the market leaders from the rest of the pack. Customer expectations are not standing still.”

With that, Narayen introduced Adobe Experience Cloud, a comprehensive set of cloud services designed to give enterprises everything they need to deliver exceptional customer experiences. Under the Experience Cloud umbrella are three core cloud solutions: Adobe Marketing Cloud, Adobe Analytics Cloud, and Adobe Advertising Cloud.

However, Narayen stressed that transformation requires more than just marketing technology. A big cultural shift within an organization is needed, as well, he said. “We understand what it takes,” he said, “and this represents a massive leap for all of us.”

Brad Rencher, EVP on the Marketing Cloud side of the business at Adobe, took the stage next, stressing the importance of experience, which he defined as the sum of all the interactions a person has with a brand. “Companies that have tuned into making people feel special are completely disrupting the status quo,” he said. “Making experience your business is good for business.”

According to Rencher, this shift to experiences has been inevitable since the very beginning of digital disruption. Experience leaders, he said, generally have higher NPS scores and higher stock prices.

So what exactly is an experience business? Rencher said that a true experience business will “know me and respect me, speak in one voice, always deliver relevant messages, make tech transparent, and will delight me at every turn.”

Carnival Cruise Lines was cited as becoming an experience business when it started with a data foundation and brought the entire organization together to create a common data repository. Using this repository, Carnival was able to ID an organizational catalyst to help drive better experiences across channels, resulting in the rollout of the Carnival keyless ocean medallion.  

Rencher also referred to Domino’s as an experience business, noting how it gives pizza lovers a seamless ordering experience. The company’s mobile app allows people to not only place their orders, but also keep tabs on when their pizza is placed in the oven and delivered. Today, Domino’s sees 60% of orders via the app and is constantly looking for ways of improving the experience.

Jill Cress, CMO of National Geographic, then took the stage to talk about her company’s digital-focused strategy. According to Cress, National Geographic is focused on delivering seamless experiences with digital storytelling. “[We’re] embracing innovation and new technology to continue to be one of the world’s best visual storytellers,” she said. “We want to change the world through visual storytelling.”

The company is already a leader in the entertainment space, engaging upward of 760 million consumers per month. But to be able to build so large an audience, National Geographic had to first understand what people are passionate about. Social listening, via Adobe Marketing Cloud solutions, was a key.

Climate, for example, Cress said, is very top-of-mind for National Geographic’s audiences, something the company learned by merely listening. National Geographic then tapped into its archives to engage with folks in real-time conversations using climate-related assets that the company had.

“We listen to what is important to people and speak to them in a relevant manner,” Cress said. The data told National Geographic to focus on climate change, and the engagement numbers around this topic went through the roof. The result of this was a collaboration with actor Leonardo DiCaprio for the documentary “Before The Flood.” Cress said it is one of the most-watched documentary of all time.

According to Adobe’s Rencher, National Geographic is an example of the possibilities of context at scale with technology. “Companies need to evolve their data strategy into a context strategy,” he said.  

Next up was Nick Drake, SVP of digital at T-Mobile, who took the stage to talk about how T-Mobile made a commitment to customer experience. “It’s this simple: We are all about the customer,” Drake told the audience. “At T-Mobile, it is a very central, organizing thought. When you ask customers what they want, and you give it to them, they love it.”

According to Drake, T-Mobile decided a few years ago it would become obsessed with being a “customer-centric, experience-first digital company.” T-Mobile’s journey began with the hunt for the right technology partner, and the company tapped into the Adobe Marketing Cloud solution.

Step one was redesigning the site with Adobe Experience Manager, which allowed T-Mobile to remove 60% of the clicks to the path to purchase. T-Mobile was also able to optimize content in real time and personalize the site experience. “What used to take us days, if not weeks, takes us minutes now to optimize content in production,” Drake said.

As a result, T-Mobile now sees three-times better lead-gen and prospect conversion and has enjoyed a 485% increase in conversion overall. The next step, according to Drake, was empowering customers with a smarter T-Mobile app, using Adobe AEM for mobile. “We started with a 1.2-star rated app and ended up with a 4.8-star, best-in-industry rating,” Drake said. 

What’s most interesting, he said, is the asynchronous messaging T-Mobile provides customers, which means support on their terms: Messenger, tweets, text messages--whatever people prefer.

“We’re promising customers the ability to connect instantly to someone who cares,” Drake said. “We’re unifying experiences and empowering customers to get what they want the moment they want it. This is a new world of personalization, and it is the future of wireless.”

 

Emotion Is The Currency Of Experience

 

by Giselle Abramovich . Senior & Strategic Editor . CMO.com March 22, 2017

 

QUICK TAKE

·       “We are not just marketers anymore. We are ambassadors of experience,” said Adobe VP John Mellor.

·       “It is through technology that we engage with our fans,” said NBA CMO Pam El.

·       The 30-second format needs a major evolution, according to Facebook VP David Fisher.

The shift from good ol’ marketing to delivering “experiences” means that brands must strive to invoke emotion from their customers, said John Mellor, Adobe’s VP of strategy, alliances, and marketing, during his day-two keynote at Adobe Summit, in Las Vegas.

“The impact of experience,” Mellor told the 12,000-plus attendees, “is not just functional. It is also about how [the experience] makes us feel. Experience is about the emotion we have when we interact with brands. We are not just marketers anymore. We are not just stewards. We are ambassadors of experience. And every experience leads to an emotional response.”

According to Mellor, brands that focus on making experiences rewarding—and even a “little bit magical”—will build better connections to their customers.

Mellor then brought Pam El, EVP and CMO of the NBA, on stage because, he said, “there isn’t a better example than sports of how experiences create emotional reactions.”

“There’s great value in storytelling and emotionally connecting with fans,” the NBA’s powerhouse marketing executive said. That is why she and her team are so committed to telling the stories of the NBA.

Of course, the NBA is fortunate enough to have some of the “best spokespeople on the planet.” However, El said, these players aren’t just amazing basketball players; they also understand the power of branding.

“These are gifted athletes and marketers,” she said. “One of the reasons you know NBA players so well is that they have influence on and off the court. They are trendsetters. They are fashion icons. Even their kids are popular. And so are their friends and friends’ kids. They have influence on and off the court. ”

In addition to its players, the NBA is also creating emotional connections with fans by breaking boundaries. One example is Becky Hammon, who became the first female assistant coach. Another example is a partnership among the NBA, WNBA, and LeanIn.Org to encourage men to support equality at home and at work. These types of programs help the NBA and its players connect with fans beyond the game—all year long.

According to El, 1 billion people tuned into the NBA last year. These consumers continue to engage at any time and in any way they want. But their favorite place to consume NBA content, she noted, is via social media, where the NBA has 1.3 billion followers.

“Our advantage is technology,” El said. “Less than 1% of NBA fans experience a game inside an arena. It is through technology that we engage with our fans. We are a very small part of a very big world, and we are a global brand.”

For the really engaged NBA fan, the association has a mobile app with which users can interact with the game while watching it.  

“We have a lot of NBA fans, and a lot of things to say to them and experiences to deliver,” she added. “We’re using Adobe products to connect better to our fans. Adobe is managing the data that is allowing us to deliver the right message, at the right time, in the right channel.”

El gave the audience an example of some of the ways in which the NBA uses digital channels to tell the untold stories about basketball. Most notably, she talked about the “This Is Why We Play” campaign, for which she played the following video:

“We are finding ways to emotionally connect with fans every day about the game they love and the players they respect in the way they want us to connect,” El said.

From a talent perspective, the NBA, as is the case with many other organizations today, is looking for more data-minded people to join the marketing team.

Following El’s presentation, Adobe’s Mellor invited David Fisher, vice president of business and marketing partnerships at Facebook, onto the stage. Fisher said he expects the future of marketing to be short-form, super-targeted, and made for smaller screens.

He also predicted more purpose-driven marketing, based on what we saw during this year’s Super Bowl.

In addition, Fisher talked about video, saying that the 30-second format isn’t dead, but it does need a major evolution. He pointed to brands such as Carnival Cruise Lines and Coca-Cola, which edit longer-form content to better fit the mobile user. For mobile, 15 seconds is ideal, he said.

“Create thumb-stopping content,” Fisher advised. “People watch 100 million hours a day of video on Facebook.” The companies that are doing this best are treating mobile as more than just a side project. Mobile is a core aspect of their campaigns, he said.

When it comes to what we can expect from Facebook in the future, Fisher said, messaging will soon have a commercial advantage.

“For local-direct businesses, creative that embellishes potential customer experiences can easily break through the traditional commercial clutter offered by competitive businesses,”   says Dr. Philip Jay LeNoble, CEO of Executive Decision Systems, Inc. of Littleton Colorado.

 

6 Tectonic Shifts In Tech Every Executive Should Know

 

 by Vijayanta Gupta . Adobe Systems Europe October 21, 2016

 

 

To Our Readers: Thought This Summit was important for you to grasp as a futuristic projection of things to come. Philip Jay LeNoble, Ph.D. CA

 6 Tectonic Shifts In Tech Every Executive Should Know

 

In 2016, technology is ever-changing, ever-accelerating, and, whether we like it or not, ever-present. Given its blanket application, understanding the landscape is absolutely vital for executives, regardless of field, business stage, or experience level.

While the first response of many execs may be panic or resistance, it ought to be excitement. Advances in technology present opportunities to connect with customers across multiple channels and touch points, weaving a brand experience that’s consistent, easy to navigate, and bound to delight.

Of course, massive tectonic shifts in the tech space aren’t new. Think about the onset of easy internet access. More than 3 billion people are now using the internet, a number that has doubled since as recently as 2008. It has changed how brands interact with customers, existing and potential, as well as shifted the balance of power in favour of the buyer thanks to the ready availability of information. These are echoed in the move to mobile phones in the past decade, particularly in emerging markets, in the democratisation of insights via data science, and in the move to cloud-based infrastructure.

These are truly ground-shattering shifts in technology, changes that every executive had to take in their stride. The alternative was to become a dinosaur, and eventually–like their Jurassic counterparts–to become extinct.

According to the World Economic Forum, this is the current crop of emerging technologies we should zero-in on. Given how various they are, both in scope and readiness for wide adoption, we’ll set our sights on six that are particularly salient for executives today.

1. Augmented/virtual reality: Simulating a user’s presence and interaction with their environment (real or imaginary) has applications that go far beyond computer games. Early adopters of the technology include IKEA, which developed a VR experience enabling potential customers to see IKEA kitchens through HTC’s Vive headset. The customer could change every detail at the click of a button, from cabinet colours to layout, and see the kitchen from a child’s height as well as their own. VR uses extend to industrial and architectural design, education, and medicine, with these fields barely scratching the surface of possibility. That makes augmented and virtual reality a must-explore for executives around the world, particularly when considering new ways of delighting their customers.

2. Internet of things (IoT): In 1999, BusinessWeek’s Neil Gross made a prediction: “In the next century, planet earth will don an electronic skin. It will use the Internet as a scaffold to support and transmit its sensations.” One look at the data confirms his hunch. In 2016, there are around 6.4 billion connected “things” in use, with 5.5 million added to that number every day.

This is called the internet of things–a network of connected objects, devices, and buildings fitted with software, allowing them to interact and collect data. The uses are endless, from smartphone-controlled thermostats and home security to more efficient city services. Harnessing the power of connectivity will enable executives everywhere to gather data and insights on their target audience and customers, as well as offering new methods to serve them efficiently.

3. Artificial intelligence: Advances in AI are reverberating among businesses worldwide, as executives realise just how powerful it can be in the development of new economies for their companies. The proof is in the numbers: $8.5 billion was spent on AI in 2015, quadruple the figure in 2010.

The applications of AI are already in full effect, with its capabilities for deep learning giving it unprecedented power in pattern-spotting and data analysis–eminently useful for marketers and, indeed, business leaders in any industry. But AI isn’t limited to smarter data. It can also be used to interact in a more robust, comprehensive way with consumers, even when your staff aren’t available–for example, AI-assisted diagnosis in the medical field. It also allows for mass personalisation of content. In other words, AI-curated information can mean user experiences tailored to fit each person that interacts with your company.

4. Autonomous transportation and delivery: Of course, we’ve all seen the headlines about self-driving cars being trialed by Uber in Pittsburgh. Still in a controlled experimentation phase, they’re barely scratching the surface of autonomous transportation possibilities. Think of the applications that come with true synchronisation with computers and businesses. Hours of freed-up time, schedule management, and more efficient ways to commute are well on the way.

As for delivery, it’s a stream that runs both ways. As further advances are made in automatic land, sea, and air delivery, businesses will find themselves able to send products far faster and at lower cost than in days gone by, reaping the rewards in happy, loyal customers. In reverse, professionals will be able to take delivery of key information, products, and samples at the same increased speed, streamlining an entire phase of development.

5. Next-generation batteries: Entrepreneurs like Bill Gates and Elon Musk have brought the pursuit of next-generation, longer life batteries to the forefront in recent years. The applications are varied, from vehicles to home-energy systems, and without question, they’ll benefit both homeowners and businesses when wider adoption and low-cost development arrives.

Companies will soon be able to drive down energy costs from top to bottom, be it through internal operations or supply-chain production; if Tesla’s gigafactory is anything to go by, the mass production of the next generation of batteries will be fully sustainable.

6. The blockchain: A blockchain is an ever-growing database that hold a series of secure transaction records. Each block is connected to the last, and the chain continues to grow as more transaction-data is stored. Ever heard of bitcoin? Then you’ve heard of a blockchain, because that is technology that powers it.

But for business, a blockchain goes far beyond the “cryptocurrency” application. It has the ability to disrupt financial services, health care, energy, you name it. If it has processes that require exchanges between peers, be it currency or data, the blockchain allows for a secure, fully validated transaction anytime it’s required.

Inevitably, these technologies (and others) will converge, resulting in applications that pull from many to create one integrated, efficient process; truly “e pluribus unum” brought to life. For business leaders, this presents opportunity, both for internal efficiency and value created for the end user. Just imagine: an IoT device that can check the vitals of infant, then send the information to an AI-diagnostic tool. After that, a doctor can review the diagnostic with a VR device, then prescribe medicine delivered via autonomous transportation. Finally, the infant’s medical records are updated on a health-record system powered by the blockchain technology. It’s a remarkable feat of integrated tech, and it’s closer than we think.

At first glance, it may appear that many of these technology shifts don’t apply to you, your business, or even your industry. But we’ve thought that before, only for the innovation to spread, encircling us on an island of ignorance. In recent history, the smartest executives are the ones who seek out information, mastering new technologies before they become widespread. That way, they’re ahead of the curve, prepared for what’s to come instead of treading water to keep up.

Whatever order these tectonic shifts come in, and however much they disrupt our individual industries, becoming comfortable with what they are, how they work, and, more importantly, how they can work for you will do far more good than harm.