Blue skies ahead?
Jan 22, 2020
It can be easier than you think to become complacent in business. It’s one of the perils of business success. You might have all the markings of a winning combination - your competition might be relatively stagnant, you know you are the better option in the marketplace, you believe that what you do is the best and people choose you.
But what is ‘best’ if it isn’t striving to be better?
Do people choose you because you are the best, or because there is no better alternative?
Complacency can become the breeding ground for arrogance and a recipe for a sharp wake up call. It’s easy to spot when there is no acknowledgement that change or ongoing learning is needed, or when I hear the words “there is nothing I would change” or “I have been successful doing it this way for the last X years”.
This is not a call to make change for the sake of making change. This is a call to take stock. Consider your position in the market. You might be at the top of your game – how do you plan to stay there? Consider what is happening in your industry, your region, your country.
Take note of what is happening in technology – it develops and changes at a fast pace and getting left behind is the nail in the coffin for many businesses. Use technology to your advantage! How could it make your client experience easier or more enjoyable? How could it help you streamline processes or become more flexible as a service offering? Online booking is just one example of this – how many appointments are now booked at the customer’s convenience at home on their mobile device?
Too often B2B salespeople are fantastic at communicating through the sales process, then once the deal is done, they move on to the next one. The customer goes from having regular contact, regular communication and a quality relationship to nothing! How could technology make communicating with your customer better? What automation could you build into your CRM, or your internal systems to enhance the customer experience?
The New Year is a great time to be thinking about strategy, planning, and execution, and questioning whether complacency has crept in. My challenge to you is to spend some time in your strategy session this year to do some blue sky thinking about what would make the biggest difference to your customer. Strive to be better. Be the reason that people choose you – not just because there is no better alternative…
