The world has undergone a massive change and not a single business nor organization has gone untouched. If you’re struggling to adapt, and you’re not the only one, continue reading for some tips and steps you can take to reorient yourself and your business in the world’s new normal.
Two Schools of Thought
Which of the below two schools of thought does your business follow coming into the new normal?
- We are developing strategies for making it through this unprecedented time and to return to normalcy for the business.
- We are developing strategies for making it through this unprecedented time to pivot to the new normal.
*Everyone loves the phrase, “unprecedented time”.
3 Cats Labs Creative follows the second school of thought. Things have changed. Economies and the way people interact with brands and businesses will never return to the exact same pre-COVID-19 state. Sure, some things may return to a state closer to what we have known as normal, but the world has changed in ways that cannot be undone.
With that in mind, let’s look at a few questions business are asking themselves and we’ll share our thoughts on what businesses can do to address their concerns.
“How can I change course to succeed in the new normal?”
Many businesses, their industries, customers, and models have already changed or are in the process of changing drastically. Many businesses will likely struggle with this shift because their business model hasn’t been reviewed for a long time or has never quite been fully thought out.
Enter, The Business Model Canvas
There are many ways to go about redefining or reimagining of a business model. We prefer the Business Model Canvas developed over at Stretgyzer.
Use the Business Model Canvas to draft your business model and then experiment with it by deconstructing, adjusting, and analyzing.
“I need to continue marketing, but what is inappropriate to say and show now?”
There are two primary points to remember for message management in this new normal. They are:
- Ensure your brand strategy is clear as well as your tone of voice. Even before the COVD-19 pandemic, you should have been able to articulate your brand. If not, this is the perfect time to fully understand your brand and be able to articulate what your brand stands for and what it sounds like, or your tone. Without knowing those things, you will likely produce messaging that is disjointed and inconsistent.
- Revisit your customer personas and relearn where your customer is coming from to provide a base for adjustments. There’s no doubt the pandemic has caused fundamental changes in your customer, and your customer will continue to evolve as we navigate this new normal.
Messaging Must Serve a Purpose
Remember that people are being bombarded with COVID-19 stories all day. You have probably received more emails than you can count from companies telling you what they’re doing during the pandemic, seen countless memes, and have read hundreds, if not thousands of articles about how the coronavirus will affect everything.
When you’re creating an email, planning social media posts, or creating other content, you need to ask yourself if what you’ll be publishing will bring value to your audience. Take a moment to re=evaluate and determine if you’re serving a purpose or just making noise.
“When will this end?”
This won’t be ending anytime soon. Expect to be social distancing well into the summer and likely into the fall, perhaps even into next year. Don’t be scared though; in fact there are many examples of adaptation and resilience as people support one another around the world.
Shift Your Thinking
Shift thinking from looking for an ending to instead make the most of the situation. You can do this both personally and professionally. Don’t limit yourself to holding period thinking.
Look at the new opportunities that are available to you. They might be hard to see, but there certainly are some. However, if you’re focused on when will this end; it’ll make those opportunities impossible to see. New normal success relies upon recognizing the new opportunities available to you.
You Aren’t Alone
All the changes and the things to consider can be overwhelming because almost every aspect of life is impacted. If you feel that you need some assistance for your business, we’re happy to help you develop a new strategy and pivot to take advantage of new opportunities and identify those hard to see silver linings.
You may offer different products, change target clients, or convert to a fully digital organization. Not only does that all require re-alignment, but there are changes that must be made to marketing, your website, technology solutions, and more.
The New Normal Is Here to Stay
Markets and behaviors will be changed and the impact will be felt forever. Companies that recognize the changes will continue and thrive while those who refuse to adapt will fall away.This has been the story of businesses for all of time.
Forget your annual plan. Dive in and begin swimming in the waters of the new normal. If you’re realigning your business and seeking to identify required changes for success in the new normal and need some help; reach out and we’ll figure out how we can help you adapt to the new normal.
Let’s Talk About Your Brand
shane@3catslabs.com | Call +65-3159-4231
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