So the winter of recession is behind us, the green spring shoots of an economic recovery are appearing and you have survived. But can you survive the hard frosts that may occur before you reach the summer of full economic recovery and even if you do, can you continue to survive in what will inevitably be a very changed market environment?
In the last 20 years we have seen businesses try to ignore change and be resistant to it. Examples, of which there are many, include Kodak – failing to embrace digital technology and sticking with film; Blockbuster – close to killed off by Netflix and Lovefilm; and Nokia – once dominating the mobile phone market and now a sorry-looking also ran in a field dominated by Apple and Samsung.
From the other perspective, companies like Amazon, Google and Facebook simply didn’t exist 20 years ago. Nobody was buying Take That singles online in 1994 or watching their videos on YouTube. These businesses have embraced changes in technology and consumer habits to build billion-dollar revenues out of nothing.
The first group simply failed to recognise that the market envisaged in their business model, which they have served successfully for some time, had drifted away without them noticing until it was too late. The second group recognised the life changing impact of developing technologies and creatively sought to harness them into their business model.
Clearly most businesses do not have the resources to invest in developing technologies like Amazon, Google and Facebook but that does not mean they have to sit back and await their fate. When was the last time you reviewed your business model to ensure that it remained strategically focused and financially sound?
Here are some critical aspects to consider:
– Are your customers likely to continue to buy the products or services you offer in the ways you are currently making them available?
– Are the products or services you offer unique (be honest) or add sufficient value over that of your competitors, especially the larger ones, to continue to attract new and existing customers?
– Can you utilise the new technologies to offer improved services to customers and reduce operating costs?
You might not be able to anticipate what is going to happen next in your market place, but by being acutely aware that it will change, recognising the changes as they take place and taking action, you will be in the vanguard and not trailing behind.
