Member Article

What type of business are you?

It goes without saying that the next twelve months aren’t going to be a walk in the park. As we approach winter with the R rate rising, we’re all aware of the knife edge on which we are currently teetering. And if full scale lockdown doesn’t happen, it’s certain that life as we knew it isn’t going to be back to normal anytime soon.

However, having taken part in a recent seminar on digital transformation in times of crisis – what is incredibly clear is that, now more than ever before, orchestration and innovation are absolutely critical for organisations that still want to be in business this time next year. Over the past few months Be The Business has conducted research amongst UK businesses and classified them into 4 types:

• Hibernators
• Survivors
• Pivoters
• Thrivers

Hibernators are those that have battened down the hatches; put all or most of the staff on furlough and are living off cash reserves. They account for 28% of businesses.

Survivors are organisations that are carrying on regardless. Pushing on through, not changing anything, but actively seeking to cut costs and these businesses are the most widely represented group at 32%.

Pivoters are businesses that are adapting and are doing things differently than the norm (21%)

And finally Thrivers: these are businesses that have seen a surge in demand – chicken coops, pizza ovens, hot tubs, hand sanitiser, fabric retailers, seed providers, loo roll brands… (6%)

Whilst the majority of organisations currently fall into the top two categories, as we continue to navigate the shifting sands of Covid, increasingly, organisations will need to shift into the pivoter box. And the good news for survivors and hibernators – it isn’t too late. There is a wealth of opportunity out there for those brave enough to look under the bonnet and understand how customers have changed and what it means moving forwards.

To do this, it is necessary to have focus. To clearly see what is important to the customer and how you can add value. We recently published an article entitled ‘Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should’ and the same ethos applies here. We’ve seen a wealth of brands jumping on the digital transformation bandwagon because of Covid-19, but doing so with no consideration of the customer and what is right for them. As a result the pivot has fallen flat, and in some cases been the demise of the business. It’s a double edge sword – you are damned if you do and damned if you don’t. So in order to minimise the risk it is necessary to spend time critically evaluating the new normal and then test new approaches and initiatives.

This type of agility, however, can only be achieved through orchestration and collaboration. By orchestration I mean optimising a set of related cross-channel interactions that, when added together, make up a personalised customer experience. The customer journey must become king, without pivoting will likely result in wasted resources; something most organisations can ill afford at this point.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Carolyn Bondi, Co-Founder, The Thread Team .