A good business owner knows pivoting is the way to go during tough times. Business Pivot means focusing on things that have more potential than the current ones. However, not every pivot is easy, as it requires that business owners start from zero.
There are different pivoting methods business owners use. Some prefer building a user base first and then monetizing it, others operate in the opposite manner. Pivot is especially helpful when the current products or services are not working the way they are supposed to.
However, to turn your business pivot into a success, business owners need to keep a list of things in mind. What are those things? Let us get into them.
1. Be Authentic
Authenticity plays a paramount role in guiding a business through challenging times. Often, leaders mistakenly assume that they should shield their employees from the organization’s difficulties. However, what employees truly crave is to be motivated by authentic leaders and to feel valued as an important part of the business’s success.
2. Know Your Audience
Listen to your audience and conduct constant analysis and research to know them better. Leverage this analysis to your advantage. Embrace this business pivoting to drive positive change. See every challenge as an opportunity, no matter how difficult things seem. Find out what the root causes of your issues are, and it will help you attain success in your business endeavors.
3. Embrace The Digital Way
Many business owners find it difficult to get reach a higher level when they pivot the business. During these times, it could be beneficial to make a move toward digital space.
Restaurants have faced significant challenges during the pandemic, leading many to shift towards online delivery and curbside to-go orders. As the world shifts toward digital, many businesses now have the opportunity to launch an e-commerce store and benefit from it.
Gym businesses can adapt by conducting virtual workout classes through platforms like Zoom. Similarly, interior design companies can pivot to virtual consultations and incorporate content with purchase links.
Real Estate agents can shift to virtual tours, Facebook Live, and TikTok showcases for homes. Liquor stores can offer home delivery and conduct cocktail-making courses and wine tastings via Zoom. Moving forward, the demand for online content has only increased with more people staying at home.
4. Understand Customer Behaviors
In your specific business, it will be beneficial to learn customer behavior trends. This includes keeping an eye on current market reports and data analytics. When it is difficult to predict how the situation will unfold, following consumer psychology patterns could potentially benefit the business.
5. Transparency and Communication
To achieve a successful business pivot, it’s essential to enhance communication and transparency within the entire workforce. By involving employees and openly sharing information, even when delivering unpleasant news, you can foster higher engagement and alignment. This approach will help the business with a faster and more effective transition.
6. Resources
Making the most out of the resources at hand is vital. In addition, adjusting these resources based on the current market requirements can be crucial. When a business is flexible with its resources, it helps reduce the negative impact and leads towards a potentially better future.
7. Flexibility
While you can’t always be correct in your business predictions, adapting quickly to unexpected situations is vital for a business. This will enable businesses to face any potential blockades effectively when trying to meet demand.
8. Loyalty To Customers
Ensure you are giving your best efforts when trying to support your customers. On the other hand, it is also important to let the customers know how they can help you. Loyal customers are the real ambassadors of your business and maintaining good relations with your clients will only help you. To make your relations stronger, you can stay connected with them through social media, email, or newsletters. As more people spend their time online, posting content relevant to your business can benefit you massively as more people engage with it.
9. Collaborate
Join hands and collaborate with other business owners to get their support and some inspiration. No matter the size of your business, collaboration with others can always benefit you in getting more exposure and winning potential customers.
10. Speed
Especially during tough times, business owners need to make decisions quickly. Business meetings lasting hours and hours on a single decision are not ideal. If business owners aren’t decisive and quick in their business pivot, they will eventually fall behind the competition.
11. Meet the Customer Demands
There will certainly be challenges when trying to meet the customer demand. However, it is important to know their exact needs to efficiently fulfil them. Do not overly push your products or services in the markets without your target audience. You can also do this with social media platforms, by observing what platform your customers predominantly use, and then you can move in that direction.
12. Loyalty toward Employees
While it is important to stay loyal to your customers, it is equally vital to stay loyal to your workforce. When you have a hard-working team working alongside you, it becomes that much easier to tackle the challenges faced during a business pivot.
13. Leverage Technology
Many businesses were shut down because of COVID-19. Additionally, many also found it difficult to pivot. The way pivoting works in the online world is vastly different from the non-virtual businesses. However, whether you operate offline or online, technology can always make your business operations more efficient.
14. Keep up with Trends
Keeping up with the latest trends can boost your pivot process and also help you with your perspective. It is especially essential to observe the trends that could relate to your main products and services. Staying with the trends can also help your business move toward a more sustainable and profitable future.
15. Clarity of Pivot
When executing your business pivot, it is important to know the whys and whats of it. The pivot should also align well with the mission and vision of your company. Calculate if you have enough resources to extract the maximum from this pivot, this will minimize the risk.
Conclusion
A business pivot is an amalgamation of many factors. When your business is going through a rough patch, planning a successful pivot becomes essential to keep your business afloat. To achieve success in your pivot, keep in mind the 15 factors we have mentioned above and things will hopefully be that much easier.
