The Association of National Advertisers (ANA) recently announced that its members had chosen the word “pivot” as the marketing word of the year for 2020. “Pivot” beat out such words as “virtual,” “agility” and “resiliency” to characterize that which suddenly became necessary to survive in 2020. Paraphrasing member comments, the pandemic had forced them to become flexible in order to remain relevant and to meet the needs of a rapidly changing climate, become better at decision making, and comfortable with strategy shifts. In short, business as usual was not going to cut it in 2020.

Who among us will soon forget the stay-at-home order we received in March that became effective just hours later, banning public gatherings, requiring us to stay-at-home, and prohibiting all in-person work that was not necessary to sustain or protect life? Within a matter of hours, busy, active, but non-essential businesses were required to shift to remote operations (to “pivot”) or shut down operations altogether. There were a lot of kinks, glitches, and a steep learning curve in those early days of remote operations, and only those businesses that were able to adapt (to “pivot”) found ways to survive.

So, what does 2021 hold? I wish I knew. Here in Michigan, we are still functioning under operational constraints, many businesses have closed, and all of us continue to experience unprecedented changes in our personal and working lives. Looks to me like “pivot” is going to be a good word for 2021.

The staff and attorneys at Wright Beamer stand ready to help you pivot during these uncertain times. Contact our office at info@wrightbeamer.com or (248) 477-6300.