Is it time to reshape your business and its story?

Is it time to reshape your business? Man with laptop...

Is now the time to reshape your business and its story? And what should you do if it is? This post sets out some key things to consider…

There’s something about the end of the summer that sparks reflection. You’ve maybe had some time away from everything. You’ve had time to think things through. And then comes the autumn… and you begin to look at your business differently.

Maybe it’s the website you haven’t looked at in ages and you now realise it no longer expresses who you are or what you do. Or maybe it’s when you’re trying to explain to a new prospect what the benefits of working with you are… and you find you’re even confusing yourself.

Or perhaps it’s the opportunities out there – the areas you should be working in and the clients you should be talking to… but somehow aren’t. Or you want to get investment and realise your business isn’t quite where it needs to be to succeed.

There are many, many reasons to decide to refocus and reshape your business – and as a consequence, tell a different story about it. These are some of the things we hear regularly from our clients:

Reshape your business because: The marketplace has changed

When you went into business a decade or two ago, you were dealing with a different type of customer. They wanted a particular product or service from you and they were prepared to pay a particular price for it.

But you feel in your bones that this has changed. It’s either becoming harder for you to sell what you do, or your customers want you to deliver it differently. Or indeed, they expect it to come wrapped up inside a broader offer.

So what should you do?

  • Map out what you think your competitive landscape is and how your customers are approaching it… and then test if you’re right. How long is it since you spoke to your customers about their needs and how they’re meeting them? How long is it since you looked at what the marketplace is offering and where you’re located in it? It can be a sobering experience to look at where you are, compared to where you think you might be – but if you don’t do it, you’ll find it hard to understand how to refocus your efforts.
  • Think about re-articulating your position in the marketplace.
  • Think about re-investigating your pricing structures – and seeing if you can offer your product or service in good, better, best formats.

Reshape your business because: Your offer has changed

When ABC Ltd started out 20 years ago, they were a painting and decorating company. Then a lot of public sector contracts became available and they got more into maintenance. And then they hired people with facilities management experience. So while they still do some painting and decorating, the majority of their revenue now comes from facilities management…

You probably don’t own a painting and decorating company. But most organisations who’ve been in business for a little while will understand this kind of evolution. You start in one area and almost unwittingly develop areas of expertise until you specialise in something else.

In this situation, it’s easy for legacy customers not to understand the full range of services you offer. And it can be difficult for teams to explain exactly what the organisation they work for does.

So what should you do?

  • Redefine your offer. Start by setting out all the things you do and grouping them into categories. Even if you’re not planning to create a new website, imagine you are – and work out how all the different elements of your offer align and support one another. Create a structure that shows top-level categories and sub-category levels. If the imaginary painting and decorating company went through an exercise like this, they’d soon see that a lot of their offer was facilities management and property maintenance – with painting and decorating located as a sub-section of maintenance.
  • Then go through a rebranding exercise so that you can begin to tell a story of your company as it is now. ABC Ltd might decide to create a brand identity that is all about property enhancement rather than painting and decorating. They may even rename as ABC Property Enhancement.
  • Launch fresh marketing campaigns to let existing and potential clients know exactly which services you offer and what you can help them achieve.

Reshape your business because: You’ve discovered a more profitable application of your product or service

We see this frequently with start-up companies. They develop a technology, initially intending it to be put to one use. However, over relatively short periods of time they become aware that there is a much bigger opportunity in repurposing the tech for a different use.

Imagine a tech company called HouseChecka. It’s an app that allows you to check the value of your property from month to month – and predict what its value may be in certain market conditions. It’s launched to target domestic homeowners. However, HouseChecka soon realises it has a lot of interest from professional landlords and investors. It also realises that the tech can be used to keep tabs on the value of many different types of property. So it has a choice. Should it create different pathways for different types of users to access its services? Or should it refocus entirely on professional landlords and investors?

So what should you do?

  • A start-up probably needs to aim for the fastest growth opportunities available – which are likely to be the professional landlords and investors. So it could be that switching focus to these audiences is worth pursuing.
  • This will likely mean creating a new subscription model.
  • It will probably mean rebranding, creating a new approach to messaging and redesigning the app and website.

If you’re re-imagining and reshaping your business, remember we’re here to help – and here are some other posts you might find useful:

Things to bear in mind when you’re naming a brand

How to talk about brand without using the b-word

Start-up branding: Don’t confuse investor and customer messaging

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