A good chunk of the strategy work we are doing across a number of clients involves defining or reviewing their business / products / channel strategies across the future customer landscape.
The landscape is shifting mightily fast as yesterday’s bleeding edge becomes today’s everyday – and tomorrow’s landfill. Major corporates in key industries like retail, distribution, telecommunications and media are finding their decades-proven business models are turning their toes up in today’s world. Most have an awareness on a sliding scale from minor need to extreme urgency that that they will need to transform their business. But what does this mean?
The classic approach for transformation can involve: sending staff around the world to industry peer events to see what is being done in other countries; workshops and brainstorming sessions with staff to discuss ways of leveraging current assets in the evolving market; bolting on a Facebook site or mobile app.
The problem is that overlaying market trends over your existing business model doesn’t necessarily change anything. It is like having an a 22 year old Ford Escort and adding a large exhaust. It is still an old car but is now a noisier one. Talking to industry peers can be useful but not necessarily transformational: they are dealing with the same challenges you are.
The brave move is to literally consider your current business as being inside the square and take a seriously close look out into the blue sky. Rather than saying: how will social media or cloud impact my business? Put your own business to one side and ask the question: how will social media or cloud or mobility impact my customers or their customers? What are the ripple-through implications of changes in customer behaviour? Break things down by individual consumer and business segments and consider at the specific level rather than the broad market generic. Consider the fundamental evolutions going on in the market and in different industries. Look along the value-chain, how are changes in consumer behaviour impacting different sectors? How are technology shifts like cloud impacting SMEs or retailers or exporters? Which industries look like they are in trouble because they need to transform too? Go outside your industry and comfort zone for ideas.
Have a go at actually quantifying some of these opportunities - I always get a bit fascinated about how decisions are often made via hunches, a few articles forwarded around – and in the absence of solid market forward data.
By looking forward and outwards, and focusing on new market challenges and opportunities, you can then start to identify new opportunities for your organisation. These may include servicing new sectors, filling future market needs, solving problems that don’t exist yet. It may also involve making some very hard decisions about your current assets and product offerings. It also means being realistic about your competitors and new market entrants. Just because they are not a threat today does not mean they won’t be planning a giant leap forwards or sideways too.
To conclude with some questioning examples:
- if the SME of the future is delivering all their business applications out of the cloud – what does this mean for their data consumption? How are they handling distribution, stock management, manufacturing and outsourcing? What are the implications for self-service?
- if the over 50s and 60s are the fastest growing group for social networking – how does this change your strategy for customer communication?
- if the primary method for internet access (and communications) will be a smartphone for lower socio economic groups – how will these be serviced by major public and private sector service providers?
- if consumers are increasingly moving to shop online (from anywhere) – how do niche retailers go Glocal? What are their implications for stock management and logistics?
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