To “pivot your business” has been a catch phrase we’ve heard repeatedly over the last couple of years. While it sounds fantastic in principle, it can be difficult to navigate. For businesses in crisis, it’s essential to make the necessary changes in an efficient, timely manner without damaging the stability of your workforce and existing customer base. How to reinvent your core business processes in a time of crisis.
Strategies to Reinvent Your Core Business Processes in a Time of Crisis
Ten Core Business Processes are critical
If you are reading this now, chances are your business is in the middle of a crisis. It may be a consequence of the global Covid pandemic, changes in your industry, changes in your target market, competitors or a whole host of other reasons that can put pressure on a business.
If you get this transition right, the changes for your company are likely to set you up for long-term success. To help you pivot effectively and successfully, we’ve put together the following list of five strategies to reinvent your core business processes during times of crisis.
Sales & Marketing
Since sales and marketing is the space where your customer base interacts with your brand’s public image, getting these aspects of your business right is critical. During times of crisis, you’ll want to ensure that all communications with customers are clear and consistent. If you’re making changes to how you operate as a business, your customer base needs to know about it.
The same goes for your brand strategy. Make sure that any changes you make are reflected in your branding and messaging. Keep your core values front and center, but be prepared to change how you communicate those values to customers. Since businesses in crisis need to move quickly, you’ll need to remain agile to keep up with refinements in your strategy as you begin to make progress.
Quality Product / Service Delivery
During times of crisis, the last thing you need is too much red tape holding back your ability to move forward quickly. If you completely ignore the core business processes you’ve been working too for years, you’ll end up doing more harm than good. Try to find a balance between streamlining your processes for faster execution, and ensuring that the core values of your company remain in place.
If you’ve been manufacturing your product in-house, it may be more profitable to consider outsourcing. You may also need to find a new manufacturer if you are experiencing supply chain issues. It’s important to find the right manufacturing supplier. It allows you to take advantage of an established manufacturing team’s expertise, freeing you up to focus on other aspects of the business.
Product Development
If you want to be successful in any business, you need to provide a solution to your customer’s problems. Over the last couple of years, the world has changed dramatically and may never go back to what it once was. For that reason, new opportunities have emerged for product development. There is a need for you to embrace change and be agile enough to make the necessary adjustments.
To successfully implement your product development strategy, you’ll need to approach things from as many angles as you can, including new customer demand, customer experience, technology and process optimization. Each of these will play an important role when inventing new creative solutions to your customers problems.
Accounting & Technology
Due to the global pandemic, many of us have been spending more time online. This is likely to be true of your customer base too. Your customers are now likely to be far more tech savvy than they were a couple of years ago. It’s highly likely that businesses in crisis could utilize information technology in greater ways to reinvent their business processes.
Many businesses have been stuck, doing things as they’ve always been done, unaware of the potential for technology to automate procedures. Simple things like online invoicing, payments and order fulfilment are all business processes that need to be considered. By utilizing the latest CRM (customer relationship management) software you can also keep on top of customer interactions across all channels; social media, email and phone correspondence.
Administrative (Management, HR & Finance)
In highly profitable years, businesses tend to expand by hiring more staff however inefficiencies tend to creep in. When businesses find themselves in times of crisis, it might be time to reinvent your org chart and get organized for process improvement.
Do you really need three assistants to manage your admin? Do you have too many accountants dealing with invoices or might you benefit more from outsourcing some functions within your businesses to run more profitably. While it can be difficult making people redundant, it could save the business and therefore the employment of many others so you need to carefully consider the people you have within your business.
Reinvent Your Core Business Processes
There are many businesses who have fallen victim to a crisis. If you’re a leader in your business and you find it in crisis, it’s your responsible for creating a vision to move forward and getting things done. Some companies choose not to go down the traditional path of business structure, instead they opt for a more agile management team with employees that are willing and able to adapt quickly when things change.
As the nature of business changes, so should aspects of how you approach your core business processes. Whatever you choose to do, your customers are one of your most valuable assets, so it’s important to keep them updated on what’s happening with your business so you transition well. Pivot your business process if times get tough. A new approach may allow you to make adjustments without having to shut down and you might even bring the business out the other side in greater shape than it ever was before!