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Is your business ready to adapt to rapidly changing conditions?

By Nicola Mansfield, Managing Director

If necessity is the mother of invention, crisis is the matriarch of innovation.

The world has changed more in the last 30 days than in the last 30 years.

Where we land a year from now will be several iterations away from the world today, as we continue to beat on against the current of coronavirus.

This new world will present new opportunities for businesses, as they respond to fluctuations in consumer sentiment and consumption patterns. Operationally, where and how we work will also shift (further) in the year to come.

What you used to do may not be achievable or relevant. So, to survive or thrive, your business may need to adapt, pivot, or reinvent.

The way to navigate the unexpected is to first understand what you’re great at, identify the needs in the market, then build a bridge by pivoting accordingly.

The caveat? What works well this quarter may not next quarter, so prepare to build a few bridges.

This piece focuses on how to make those pivots and what you should be thinking about while navigating an ambiguous future.

Most of us have spent the last decade stewarding and steering our businesses through the ‘Experience Economy’, fuelled by the goal of understanding and meeting customer needs.

Those needs have shifted, so it’s time for a reset.

There is, however, one salient need that should have already been on your agenda, but which is a now priority. It applies to consumers, your people, and society as a whole.

Purpose.

There is a clear need for our governments, institutions, and corporations to act with purposeful intent.

Brands who deploy cheap marketing tricks to be front of mind earn little but derision — this is no time for superficial gimmickry.

Consumers do want to hear from you, but they specifically want to hear what you are doing to be part of the solution.

For instance, brands who divert manufacturing plants and resources for the common good now are earning long-term loyalty, which will become apparent once consumer sentiment and consumption stabilise.

So, will you:

Take the road for common good, internationalism, and to redress the growing inequalities of society?

Or move to self-interest, nationalism, and a desire to look after your own?

Before you decide, consider the post-coronavirus implications. Consumers will remember the moves you made during this time.

Once COVID-19 asserted itself, we moved away from a world where the corporate focus was short-term profit, built through constant efficiency drives.

What is most relevant now is organisational agility, built upon your existing strengths and a clear purpose, fuelled by a creative approach.

Go with the flux.

You can model, but your assumptions are higher risk than usual. You need to focus more on your ability to pivot and innovate than how best to control and defend a position.

With shorter forecasting cycles, you’ll actually be forced to pivot and move with pace, so better to be on the front foot and shift your approach now.

Until our world steadies and normalises, patterns are volatile and hard to read.

So, at present, it’s about focusing on what’s right in front of you.

Start with what your customers believe of your brand, then build on that with your business truths to adapt to market conditions. Be prepared to adapt, pivot or reinvent accordingly.

There will be waves of change rippling through your consumer base, most visible in new and developing consumption patterns. These insights are fickle, so are best used to inform shorter planning horizons.

Smarts don’t always sit in the boardroom, and the best solutions don’t always come from the top.

‘Command and control’ is slower than the pace of change, so can’t be relied upon to solve anything quickly.

It’s easy to forget all this, especially during a crisis.

The people best positioned to explain systems and processes — and their potential — are at the grassroots level.

Don’t discount perspectives at a time like this. Chat with a range of staff and listen to their feedback.

Keeping staff up to date with all developments becomes a crucial factor in maintaining connection and trust, especially in mercurial circumstances.

Not knowing is OK, so long as you explain how you are working to close the information gap.

Maintaining psychological safety will keep creativity and confidence alive, both of which are paramount when businesses are working remotely.

Test and retest. Inside and out.

If you’re having trouble here, return to the basics: outline your purpose, your strengths, and the need/s you’re looking to address. New solutions may not even be required — it might be a case of recalibrating what’s in place already.

Don’t fall in love, though. Business models born during COVID-19 can’t be trusted, so pivoting should always be on your mind.

It can be the ability to imagine new futures.

It can also be the human-centred design (HCD) component of creativity. In HCD, creativity has a symbiotic relationship with empathy. Being empathetic allows you to understand needs (be it those of your consumers, your team, or your board), then design solutions that suit those needs.

If you can combine imagination and HCD principles, the creativity you apply to business can be just as strong as the creative flair applied to the visual, verbal, and visceral assets of a brand.

A new revenue stream is great, but you need to be able to communicate that to the potential market.

A botched attempt at getting the message out could be the difference between success and failure.

It needn’t be overly complex. Success involves being able to communicate what it is, who it is for, why you’re doing it, and what makes it valuable.

It’s your purpose and your strengths, (re)packaged for this time of crisis.

If you need help with a changing business situation or figuring out what to do next, please get in touch: hello@interbrand.com.au

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