The environment in which we do business is far too often a turbulent sea. Sudden storms arise from drastic changes in the economy, government, or international relationships—with disturbing frequency. But as business leaders, we want to do all we can to keep our companies from being swamped by the waves of change. If navigating toward business growth and success is the course you’ve charted, let’s look at what you can do to weather some of the changes you are likely to encounter.
Let’s consider four moves that could prepare your business to remain steady in change:
- Build in resilience to face the unexpected
- Wade into the circular economy
- Make strategic use of generative AI
- Stand out with stellar customer experience
Here’s why each of these moves matters, and how you can implement them.
Build in Resilience to Face the Unexpected
You and I have lived long enough to recognize how quickly the economy, technology, legislation, and local or global markets can change. Resilience is our ability to respond to change with the course adjustments needed to maintain our heading toward profitable business objectives. We build resilience by becoming more agile.
To shore up the points at which you are vulnerable to sudden change, develop a keen understanding of how you would be impacted by risks like supply chain disruption, shortage of properly skilled workers, and loss of accessibility to customers (in-store vs online, for instance).
Then, with your vulnerabilities identified, develop agile practices to address them. Those practices might look like:
- Positioning yourself to take advantage of more dynamic supply chains.
- Improving employee training programs to equip your people for the jobs of the future.
- Bridging leadership gaps on the horizon—even on the distant horizon—with thorough succession planning on all levels.
- Build flexibility into your workforce management.
- Intentionally create unified messaging and consistent product or service delivery across multiple channels, so your customers can always find and engage with you.
Resilience lays a foundation for mitigating the effects of external change. Our next move addresses the changing conscience of our customer base.
Wade into the Circular Economy
A growing number of customers say they want to do business with companies that have a sustainable, “green,” or circular economy mindset. They want to see companies use materials and recycle resources in closed loop (“circular”) systems; that is, in ways that reduce waste and minimize negative environmental impact.
The good news is that typical “green” practices not only make customers happy, they pay off for our business as well. A circular economy supports the sustainability of resources and thereby the sustainability of businesses. For example, by creating more durable and reusable products, applying less wasteful packaging, and planning for end-use waste recycling, companies become less dependent on raw materials that are increasingly scarce and expensive.
To adopt more sustainable business practices in your business, consider the following:
- Where can your operations go more paperless?
- How could you re-design your product packaging to reduce what ends up in landfills?
- Where are you relying heavily on dwindling resources that could be replaced by more sustainable ones?
- When it comes to end-use waste (the stuff left over when customers are done with your products or services), how could that be recycled? Or replaced by something meant to be consumed or re-purposed?
Customers’ wishes are changing in favor of companies with a circular economy. It’s a trend that also makes business sense for the long run.
The next move harnesses another rising wave: artificial intelligence (AI).
Make Strategic Use of AI
AI is already at work improving your personal experience with streaming services, online retailers, and email spam filters. You see it prompt you with product recommendations on Amazon or Netflix (“You might also like…”). Chatbots can often answer your online questions without your getting stuck on hold waiting for a sales rep. Using AI to replicate positive customer experiences like these will help keep your business above water.
Perhaps you’ve already looked into some of the most well-known uses of AI in business:
- Automating routine processes
- Analyzing customer data to inform decisions on marketing and product/service development
- Delivering rapid-response service
- Optimizing warehousing and supply chain solutions
- Predicting maintenance needs for equipment or systems to avoid costly downtime
Yet many businesses are hesitant to put AI to work for them out of concern for their workforce. It is possible, however, for humans and AI to work well together. In fact, AI will need ongoing human oversight, as the models need correction over time. To properly apply what AI generates within your unique context, you will still need humans to apply critical thinking.
Did you know AI can help you with employee training? Some AI applications now exist to identify skill gaps in your workforce and create tailored learning experiences for employees. It’s AI’s way of empowering humans to bridge that gap for the business while fueling their own professional growth.
To strategically adopt AI to benefit your business:
- Identify under-used AI features of your current software and equip workers to leverage that dormant power.
- Listen to your employees’ concerns about time-consuming tasks. Invest in the technology to reduce their busy work.
- Notice what’s working in similar businesses and adapt their solutions to fit yours.
- Clearly communicate why you are launching any new AI initiative and how you see its role in your company’s future.
- Train employees in the AI tools you choose but also help them understand the tools’ capabilities and limitations.
Differentiate yourself with stellar customer experience
This area should need little explanation. (For more on how customer service helps you stand out among competitors, read this post.)
However simple the concept may be, delivering a consistently outstanding customer experience is challenging. In nautical terms, it’s like a ship with a port side (knowing your customer) and a starboard side (providing excellent service). Both vital capabilities are essential to success.
To ensure your provide top-quality customer experience, reach for these goals:
- Analyze your customer data (like purchasing patterns, satisfaction, and frequency). Use it to determine what’s working, what’s not, and what you can do to better reach, serve, and delight your current customers.
- Learn about your desired potential customers. What makes them tick? How would they find you? Why would they want what you offer? What new products, services, or interactions should you develop to satisfy their needs or desires?
- Streamline customer interactions. Online, reduce the number of clicks it takes to get where they want to be. Make finding what they’re looking for easy, both on your website and in store. Simplify forms and paperwork. If you have a chatbot, make sure it’s serving customers the way they want it to serve them. Automate responses to inquiries—and keep them friendly.
- Be memorable. Deliver more than customers expect. Aim to delight, not just please.
- Personalize customer experiences. Use your AI capabilities to sift through customer data to help them feel that you understand and value them and want to help them get what they need.
Facing Change with Confidence
Bonnie Hammer, vice chair of NBCUniversal, says she has learned one important principle in facing change. She said simply, “Embrace change. You have no power doing anything else.”
Our businesses will need to be buoyant and sturdy to ride the waves of inevitable change. I encourage you to embrace change using the winning moves I’ve discussed here.
As a Metronomics business coach, I can walk with you through a time-tested playbook for navigating change and building a team for long-term success, no matter what unexpected storms arise.
If you’re ready to equip your company to embrace change with the aid of an experienced coach, let’s talk.
