As small and mid-size businesses dig their way out of the recession, they will be faced with this decision: should they rebuild in old ways or new ways? Will it be business as usual, or can the business plan be changed to produce better outcomes? There are compelling reasons to rebuild in new ways to produce better outcomes.
WHAT HAS CHANGED?
The digital revolution through the Web is changing business in powerful ways. The fundamental change, when you focus away from the distraction of technology to what technology is enabling, is how people connect. Some of the key expressions you will hear are that surround this change are:
- Transparency: The Web makes more things visible, like competitive pricing and product descriptions
- Relevance: customers are searching for what is relevant to them, and filtering out the noise of unwanted messages
- Social Capital: the new coin of the realm is social capital and it is the value and trust a business creates
New tools enable new connections. The most significant of these tools involve Social Media. Blogs, podcasts, online video, and sites like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter are all part of the Social Media landscape.
THE NEW REALITIES FOR BUSINESS
- The new reality is that power in shifting into the hands of the customer to gather information (formerly controlled by Sales), screen out unwanted messages, and manage the pace and form business conversation.
- The speed of business has speeded up, and all businesses are, in effect, open 24/7.
- The economics of the Web allow businesses to replace money with brainpower. This bodes well for business and helps offset the power shift into customer hands. A relevant idea facilitated through social media connections can reach large audiences for far less investment than traditional media.
THE BUSINESS MANDATE: CHANGE THE GAME
New realities, new ways to connect, and new tools of conecting offer businesses unprecedented opportunities to change the game in their favor. In other words, now is the ideal time for businesses to rethink the rules and systems they play by, and restructure the game in their favor.
EXAMPLES OF GAME CHANGERS
- Apple changed the game of music sales by introducing the iPod (which simplified downloading, storing, and playing music) and enabling its distribution with iTunes technology.
- Gary Vaynerchuk changed the way wine is sold by changing how people learn and experience the world of wine. His change vehicle is the video blog called Wine Library TV, which has a cult-like following of more than 80,000 viewers a day. It is as far as you can imagine from the stuffy world of “conceited sommeliers, snobby shopkeepers, and mystical conventions. His business grew 10 times in 5 years to over $50,000,000 largely through his only efforts.
- eBay changed the way buyers and sellers collaborate. No longer do you need auction houses like Christie’s. Live auctions are held online and even the smallest items can be exchanged.
Even the smallest businesses can produce superior results when they commit to changing how their game is played.
BUT NOT EVERYTHING HAS CHANGED
In the midst of change, the imperative to manage your business vs. being managed by it has not changed. Yes, there are different issues, such as:
- Direct mail or email
- Direct sales or online sales
- Cocktail networking party or LinkedIn
And there are new expressions such as Tweet and Search Engine Optimization.
But the way to manage business has not changed substantially. These fundamental practices still apply:
- Management By Objective (MBO)
- Managing with values and beliefs
- Using systems like The Four Cornerstones of Business to organize efforts and make decisions
- Building excellence throughout the organization
- Committing to continuous improvement
BALANCE
The successful game changers will balance the new realities of the digital revolution with proven management techniques. Side-by-side we will see:
- The person who manages your social media profiles will also be taught how to close the loop to ensure that ideas produce effective action.
- You will still need interviewing skills, training techniques, and team development skills, whether for an online marketing manager or a warehouse foreman.
- You will listen to the voice of the customer through Google alerts and Twitter search, as well as from the actual words, questions, and expressions of your customers as observed by cashiers, truck drivers, and fulfillment specialists.
Now is the opportune time for owners of small and mid-size businesses to change the way they do business by embracing the new realities of the Web and balancing them with time proven management practices.
