Pivoting isn’t easy, and it looks very different for every business out there. It is complicated by the fact that we don’t know how long the current environment will remain, nor what the aftermath will look. Pausing, though, could be more damaging in the long run. When you remove yourself from the equation completely that gives your competitors the opportunity to take over your mindshare/marketshare. And getting it back isn’t nearly as easy as giving it up*.
Here are some questions we think will help you construct a pivot for your business. You may be surprised by the insights or breakthroughs that come from answering these questions.
- What do your customers need more of right now?
- What are you uniquely positioned to offer?
- How could you take advantage of technology to make your offering more appealing?
- Revisit your buying/selling persona, have they been impacted as well?
- If your personas are impacted, how are you responding on your editorial calendar?
- Does your pricing structure need to change for a temporary period?
- If you had an abundance of resources at your fingertips, what would you do differently during this period?
- How could you be using social media and content creation to boost your business right now?
- How do you want to be perceived as showing up during this time?
- If you need to pause, could you pivot the experience so that you can still deliver, but in a different way?
We would love to hear how you are handling the pivot.
*Footnote: There’s great examples in this Forbes article
In the 1920’s, Post was the category leader in the ready-to-eat cereal category. During the Great Depression, Post cut back significantly its advertising budget and rival Kellogg’s doubled its advertising spend, investing heavily in radio and introducing a new cereal called Rice Krispies, featuring “Snap,” “Crackle” and “Pop.” Kellogg’s profits grew by 30% and the company became the category leader, a position it has maintained for decades.