How to Future-Proof Your Company
By: Mackenzie Caudill
Tags: Growth, Optimization, Digital, Branding, Business

How to Future-Proof Your Company

Executives have the compulsion to know, “What’s next?”

Leaders have always longed to see the future.

This is ironic, in a way, given that one of an executive’s scarcest resources is time.

A CEO’s priorities are reflected in how he or she chooses to spend his or her time. A company’s priorities reflect those of its leadership.

Following that path of logic, how should CEOs and their companies be prioritizing their time now to best prepare themselves for the future? Here’s a list of “Do’s” and “Don’ts”.

Don’t Ask: “Will things ever get ‘back to normal’?”

The short answer is, “No.”

Don’t feel bad — companies and consumers alike are asking that same question.

“Will things go back to normal?” was one of the most popular questions that Google received between March and April 2020.

Though searches for “back to normal” are no longer at an all-time high, it continues to be a much more popular query than at this time last year. The answer as to why, of course, is obvious.

Google Trends, Accessed December 1st, 2020

The Covid-19 pandemic changed everything to the extent that some are even asking, “Can the world ever go back to normal?” (See the last query in the image below.)

Google Search, Accessed December 1st 2020

Do: Embrace that there isn’t a “normal”.

The trouble with “normal” is that it doesn’t have a singular definition.

It means something different to every person and every company. For some people, “normal” means financial stability. For others, it means contact with family and friends. “Normal” for the travel industry looks different than “normal” for retail.

“Normal” sales — and even expenses — look quite different for most companies after factoring in 2020 numbers.

There can’t be a singular “normal’ these days, as tools, trends, and realities continue to evolve quickly and comprehensively — and, at the same time, uniquely to each industry and consumer segment.

Nobody can forecast the future with absolute certainty.

In the absence of “normal”, how can companies prepare for what’s next?

Do: Research and brainstorm possible futures.

The laws of physics maintain that every action has a reaction.

If we consider Covid and its resulting realities and regulations to be the “action”, then it becomes obvious that there will be a long-tailed “reaction”.

We’ve seen it throughout history — when a rock is dropped in the water, there will be a long-lasting ripple effect.

For example:

For generations, people remembered and were influenced by their experiences during the Great Depression throughout the rest of their lives.

Innovation was launched forward after Sputnik and the Space Race. The limits of exploration were forever expanded.

Rock & Roll was never the same after Buddy Holly took the stage.

Airports never went back to “normal” after 9/11. TSA checkpoints are here to stay, and security measures continue to evolve.

Game-changing events lead to new realities. The rules change. Plans change. What people value changes.

Teams should research and brainstorm the realities that may be here to stay in the long term:

Shifting consumer values, needs, sentiments, and buying habits (Recommended tactics: customer listening, surveys, user experience testing.)

Shifting employee values, needs, sentiments, and working habits (Recommended tactics: employee listening, surveys, focus groups)

Regulations impacting operations

Increased sales

Higher expenses

…and so on.

But, brainstorming is only impactful if it inspires action.

Do: Clarify Your Purpose.

“Purpose” describes how a company will infuse real value into the lives of its customers.

A company must stake a claim for who it will be — what value it will provide — in the times to come, in light of the information at hand.

Having a clear purpose:

Creates a common goal

Rallies internal teams

Aligns internal efforts

Presents customers with a clear value proposition

Makes decision-making easier

Cuts excess activity and expenditures that don’t align with the purpose

Provides a clear direction for internal optimization

Do: Optimize for agility in light of the knowns — and the unknown.

Which company is in a better position, the one that says, “we’ll be fine when things return to normal” or the company who states, “we’ll be ready for whatever comes”?

The second one, of course. The first statement is passive — “what will be, will be.” The second statement is active — “whatever will be, we’ll be.”

Now, “Whatever will be, we’ll be” doesn’t represent the mantra of a used car salesman.

It does represent two things: longevity (as in, “we’ll be around”) and agility (as in, “we’ll be the company our customers need us to be in order to bring real value to their lives”).

Obviously, it’s impossible to predict every event or occurrence that will happen in the future. Trying to plan for everything means that you will overlook something. Acknowledging that is critical to a company’s ability to plan for anything.

Planning without allowing room for the unknown isn’t “having control” — it’s maintaining the illusion of control, which is a bubble that will eventually break.

Therefore, companies should optimize based on their best knowledge of what’s coming — but also prepare to be flexible in light of the unexpected.

This is just as necessary for companies who are doing record-breaking business as it is for companies who are struggling to survive.

These organizations face a different set of challenges, but the path to profitability is the same: optimize for agility.

For Organizations Operating Above Projected Sales Levels:

Your reality:

Your teams are maxed out. You can’t add more to their plate.

Your expenses are higher year-over-year.

Your shipping times are delayed.

Your customer service team is working overtime.

Your customers are waiting.

You don’t know how to forecast 2021 sales.

During this time, it can be easy to put a hold on any strategic growth efforts.

But, if you could go back to 2019, you know that you would have made optimizing for 2020 a priority.

The same principle applies to 2021. You can’t afford not to optimize now.

Look for a partner who can help with the heavy lifting. It’s likely that you don’t have the time to do it yourself, but you know that it must be done. In that case, it can be helpful to outsource the “heavy lifting” to a trusted agency partner who can act as an extension of your team.

Your main areas of focus will be:

Clarifying your purpose.

Understanding the value drivers that matter — and the things that matter less — to your customer so you can prioritize efforts.

Turning your people into “swiss army knives” — able and incentivized to help in whatever department where the need is greatest. For example, customer service reps learning how to box and ship, and packaging team members learning how to assemble.

For Organizations Operating Below Projected Sales Levels:

Your reality:

Internal team morale is low

Marketing spend may be more scattered and less strategic in an effort to get any business

Expenses going out may be higher than profits coming in

You don’t know how to forecast 2021 sales

Look for a partner with expertise in your space and a proven record of helping companies like yours grow. As you craft a strategy for 2021, you’ll want a “borrowed expert” — someone to take a look at your strategy, offer insight, and help you execute in a way that will grow your business.

As you optimize, your main areas of focus will be:

Clarifying your purpose and inspiring your team.

Understanding your customer, and ways that you may need to pivot to add more value.

Taking a strategic approach to advertising based on your customer knowledge.

Optimizing internal resources and evaluating any spending that doesn’t align with your purpose and strategy.

Do: Start now.

You can’t afford not to. Next year, you’ll wish you had.

INTO helps companies transform aspirational goals into actual growth. For more information, visit into.agency.