It’s safe to say that 2020 hasn’t been plain sailing for anybody. With that in mind, a lot of people will be happy to see the back of such an abnormal year and will be looking to make 2021 their year – and we couldn’t agree more. We’re just grateful that we can take our health and wellbeing into the New Year.
Of course, that’s a lot more than some people and businesses can say. So, we’re extremely grateful for that and send our condolences and best wishes to all of those affected by the uncertain times this year. As 2020 draws to a close, we thought we’d share some of our key lessons and learnings. Plus, an account of what we can take into next year.
Before we jump into things, we’d like to stress that this isn’t us exploiting a chance to gloat and rub our growth in the faces of those businesses who haven’t been as fortunate. We’d like to take this opportunity to provide some well-needed positivity to round off an odd year all-round.
Boasting and bragging isn’t our style – nor is it ethical. Now we’ve cleared that up, let’s get into it!
Key Lessons Learned From 2020
2020 has been a year like no other, right? Well, with the unique challenges that the year has thrown our way, we’ve come through the other side having learned a lot about ourselves and the industry too. Firstly, at a time of uncertainty, we realised that everybody can always give a little bit more. Positivity goes a long way in uncertain times.
Whether that’s time, guidance or anything you can give – a sense of positivity and generosity can make the world a better place. At Midwest, we’re firm believers in providing our customers and the industry with free advice, knowledge and expertise. If we can share our in-depth knowledge and improve the overall embroidery industry – we’ll do whatever we can.
This wouldn’t be a 2020 review without a nod towards the global pandemic and the huge effects it’s had on everyday life. As a business, we’ve had to change the way we operate and appeal to new buyer behaviour and trends. One thing we’ve learned from the pandemic is that we should never take things for granted.
Especially our own and our loved one’s health. As we mentioned, we send our deepest condolences and well wishes to all those affected.
A Shift in Buyer Behaviour
In 2020, we’ve seen the embroidery community grow and flourish. This has helped our business massively and has changed the way that our audience is behaving. Perhaps this boost in sales and interest is due to more people having more time to follow their passions? Especially within the furlough period earlier in the year.
We’ve had to rely on our flexible approach more than ever before. With restrictions limiting the way that we can work, we’ve had to find new ways of reaching and engaging with our audience. We’ve invested in a lot of professional videography this year to create useful assets to reach all of our key audience personas.
And we’re happy to announce that it’s worked! Think about it, we’re required to read a lot about restrictions and news updates – we don’t want to research in-depth with more heaps of content, do we? We’ve found that in-depth product overview videos have been the perfect asset to our sales approach and add great value to our audience.
A HUGE Thank You to All of Our Customers
Of course, our customers are at the centre of everything that we do. Therefore, it’s only right that they get a special mention. After all, without them, we’d have nobody to sell our industry-leading embroidery machines to, would we? We’d like to thank our existing, past and current customers for their continued support throughout the year.
Industrial embroidery machines require a level of investment – even the cheapest ones on the market. We’re incredibly grateful for your continued investment in bettering your operations and overall production. We appreciate that money may be tight at the moment with everything that’s gone on in 2020, however, your continued support hasn’t gone unnoticed.
At Midwest, we always operate with our customers at the forefront of our minds. We don’t just look to drive custom, we aim to lay the foundations for long-term, successful partnerships. So, without further ado, a massive thank you is in order for all of our customers.
We wouldn’t be where we are currently without you – your continued support and investment means everything to us.
The Resilience Of Our Team
At Midwest, we’d like to give a special mention to our amazing team – we couldn’t have got through this year without you. Quite often, your team members are regarded as your most valuable commodity – and we couldn’t agree more on that! They’ve been superb and have risen to every challenge and hurdle that’s been put in front of them.
With the uncertainty of every industry and massive cuts being made everywhere, it could have been easy for the team to become unsettled and unmotivated. However, our team has remained focused, aligned and dedicated to getting the job done. We can’t thank them enough for the effort that’s been put in and the amazing results that they’ve achieved too.
As a collective, we’ve grown closer in 2020 due to the adverse nature of the challenge ahead of us. This stands us in great stead for another prosperous year in 2021 that’s hopefully a little smoother than the year gone by. Once again, well done team and we look forward to what lies ahead of us for the forthcoming year.
Here’s to 2021!
So, there you have it – a quick round-up of some of the most important lessons learned this year and how we’ve managed to overcome the various challenges ahead of us. As we’ve mentioned throughout, the fact that we’ve made it to this point with our health, wellbeing and business in a strong place is a feat that we’re ever so thankful for.
Unfortunately, this can’t be said for some people and businesses. We send our well wishes to all of those affected by the adverse times in 2020. With that in mind, we’re looking ahead to the New Year and what lies in store for Midwest. We’re lucky to be finishing the year in an incredibly strong position – and long may that continue for the next 12 months and beyond.
Finally, we wish everyone all the best for Christmas and the New Year. Stay safe, look after one another and have fun celebrating with your loved ones. We look forward to seeing you in the New Year.