Don't let your business be swallowed up whole
Written by Rachel Gregory, Accountex portfolio: Over the last couple of years there’s no doubt there’s been a lot of change in business - change which is heavily driven by technology, demand, and science.
The problem we have is failing to see the obvious, we think our eyes are wide open but they’re closed shut. Routine is one of the biggest culprits of this. Take accountancy for example, many traditional practices function the same way they have done for many years, despite the technology available, until HMRC brings out a new legislation and change is forced upon them, nothing will change.
The reality is that change is good and stepping outside your comfort zone can push your business to the next level.
Take Blockbuster, the popular store of the 90s for hiring videos, CDs and DVDs (your Friday night in), which is now your LOVEFiLM, Netflix and Now TV, right? Blockbuster missed a BIG trick here, because they failed to recognise the changes in their customers' behaviour and demands.
I would have bet that Blockbuster would have been the first to offer a monthly subscription for watching films online, but they didn’t! Their competition wasn’t another video store down the road, it was online services that swallowed them whole.
Richard Susskind, president for Society, Computers and Law recently said, at the Xerocon conference in London, "your competition will look nothing like you" - and he's right.
So how can we predict and spot the obvious? Don’t just rely on word of mouth to keep your business going, don't offer the same services and don’t just change them because that’s what you think your customers like. Work smart, invest in a decent system, take time researching and step outside your comfort zone with new creative ideas that pave the future.
Ian Fletcher, from 2020 Innovation, speaking at the London 2020 Conference, said that "one of his clients raised their profits by 25% just by working smart and establishing new opportunities with their EXISTING clients’. I believe this is true. Businesses should start by focusing on their current customers.
Does a store look to have the same customer come back and buy the same product and spend the same amount of money each time? - no they don’t. They entice you in with new products and services and increase spend without you even realising that they are creating a desire and a want, that soon becomes a need.
Looking for opportunity to sell, expand and offer more to your existing clients is key.
My advice is don’t look for the obvious, look for the unpredictable, explore opportunities, step out of your comfort zone, measure your success and succeed.
Written by Rachel Gregory, sales manager, Accountex portfolio
