The key to running a successful business is setting clear goals and formulating efficient strategies to achieve them. However, sometimes the situation may demand that you change course and consider setting new objectives.
There may be a number of factors that may cause this, such as market dynamics, the competitive landscape, the latest trends, economic conditions, and global events.
To ensure your survival in the long run and keep the needle moving, having the ability to estimate the impact of such factors and make strategic changes accordingly is very important. And it's called the art of pivoting.
However, mastering this art may be easier said than done. Some struggle to let go of the goals they were initially pursuing, whereas others are on the fence about the decisions to be made.
This article showcases a few useful tips that may facilitate the process and help you change the course of your business.
Why Pivoting is Important
We live in a fast-paced world with trends emerging and biting the dust on a day-to-day basis. Plus, economic and market conditions are very volatile, causing businesses to constantly evolve if they want to survive the cutthroat competition.
Pivoting is essential to ensuring the sustainability of your business and acknowledging growth in the long run. It allows you to embrace the change in market conditions, preferences of the intended audience, trends, and other factors dictating the growth in your respective industry.
Pivoting helps you overcome unforeseen obstacles through planning and preparedness. Plus, it enables you to leverage new opportunities and ensure long-term success for your business.
Here are a few noteworthy factors that may dictate the need to pivot:
Market Dynamics
Nowadays, industry dynamics are constantly changing. Be it caused by emerging trends, economic conditions, or global affairs, market conditions are consistently evolving. And it calls for businesses to reconsider their strategies.
Pivoting your operations to be in line with market trends is an effective way to keep the needle moving and thrive in an extremely competitive environment.
Customer Needs and Preferences
The needs and preferences of your customers change over time. Hence, it's essential that you are always acquainted with what interests the intended audience.
Around 80% of customers say that they prefer businesses that offer them personalized experiences. And staying up-to-date with your customers' preferences is the key to making sure of that.
Through pivoting, you tailor your solutions to the ever-changing needs of your target audience. Pivoting enables you to offer seamless experiences and helps you acknowledge lasting relationships with your customers.
Technological Factors
The advancements in technology are another reason to demand that you pivot and consider setting new objectives.
Innovations in technology often disrupt traditional workflows, rendering some opportunities worthless while giving rise to new ones.
Embracing these changes and designing contemporary workflows helps you make the most of your efforts and gain a competitive edge in your respective industry.
Take the rise of AI as an example here. Businesses around the globe are leveraging AI these days to facilitate diverse operations, especially customer interactions, as 34% of customers feel comfortable interacting with AI-powered chatbots compared to support representatives.
Competitive Landscape
Competitive forces also fuel the need to pivot and make businesses want to consider new strategies to thrive. To generate traction, it's important that you stand out from other players in your respective industry and offer value to the intended audience.
Staying ahead of the curve helps here, making it possible for you to come up with better offerings and tailored experiences that align with your customers' needs.
Unforeseen Risks
The art of pivoting demands that you account for unforeseen risks and take preemptive measures accordingly. Successfully identifying and mitigating risks is essential for your company's growth and survival in the long run.
So, by embracing change and being agile, businesses are able to ensure financial stability and a stable ROI encompassing their efforts.
How to Pivot
Pivoting is an intricate process. The following are a few things you may want to consider when changing the course of your business.
Be Vigilant
Being vigilant is the prerequisite for pivoting successfully and making appropriate changes to ensure fruitful returns.
You have to keep an eye out for the trends encompassing your industry and your competition to explore new opportunities for growth and identify the things that may not work for you in the near future.
Assess Your Strengths and Weaknesses
You should carefully analyze your strengths and weaknesses to ensure an effective pivoting process.
Know what you're best at and what you're struggling with. Assess the resources accessible to you and check your financial stability. Identifying the areas where you need to improve will pave the way for you to be better than before and evolve as the situation demands.
Welcome new Ideas
A common mistake many businesses make is thinking that creative ideas or strategies should only come from the top management.
The top-level executives may have more expertise and exposure, but innovative ideas may come from any level of the corporate hierarchy. Hence, always encourage your teams to be on the lookout for new opportunities and welcome new ideas from them.
This may not only help you pivot with minimal effort but also foster loyalty at the workplace, as your employees feel more valued.
Consider Your Options
Always consider multiple options when changing the course of your business and embracing new strategies.
Once you've carefully assessed your strengths, identified your weaknesses, accounted for threats, and discovered new opportunities, you should come up with different strategy variations.
This way, you will have better chances of exploring what works for you and won't have to go back to the drawing board if a plan fails.
Get Your Teams Onboard
Successful pivoting demands that you clearly communicate the planned changes with your teams and take them onboard. Your teams play a major role in executing your plans and ensuring that you achieve the set goals.
So, it's essential that you take them onboard before initiating the pivoting process. When communicating with them, don't just focus on the what but also cater to the why.
Respond to their concerns and back your answers with rationale. This way, everyone will share your vision and strive to achieve the new goals.
Leverage Social Proof
Pivoting may require you to tap into new markets and target new audience segments. So, leveraging social proof may help you foster trust and grab the attention of a new audience.
People are less likely to trust unfamiliar brands and look for recommendations from others to make informed decisions. Around 60% of people think that customer reviews are essential and dictate their buying decisions.
Therefore, showcasing the positive experiences of your satisfied customers may help you generate traction and engage the intended audience.
However, only 6% of customers end up sharing reviews about the solutions they use on their own. So, you should reach out to your customers and encourage them to share their experiences through different platforms.
Be Agile
To master the art of the pivot, you need to be agile and open to learning or exploring new things. Pivoting is an ongoing process. So, you can't just implement certain strategies and become complacent.
You must be on the lookout for new trends, opportunities, and threats that may require you to redesign your strategies and introduce new ones. So, be agile enough to embrace the change preemptively to gain a competitive edge.
Final Words
Pivoting is essential to growing your business and keeping the needle moving despite all odds. It's the ultimate strategy to survive the cutthroat competition and mitigate the risks that may affect the stability of your business.
It's the process of evolving as per the need of the hour, which may lead you to unlock stable growth and ensure success in the long run. So, if you've been trying to pivot and change the course of your business, the recommendations in this article may come in handy.