The Art of the Pivot

May 4, 2020

According to Quora, “A pivot usually occurs when a company make a fundamental change to their business after determining (usually through market research) that their product isn’t meeting the needs of their intended market.” Many of us find that the shut-down requires us to fundamentally change the way we do things in order to survive.

So, during the current pandemic, the hardest hit industry appears to be the service industry. According to TheStreet, “…business owners are burning through their savings in order to survive…analysts say we should expect a wave of permanent closures in the very near future.” Unless, we can figure out how to pivot! There are common sense pivots to a business model that can be temporary during Covid-19 and actually help save small businesses. Perhaps we will even discover that the measures we take to temporarily pivot, actually become additions to our business plans that create new revenue streams. For example, in our industry, many speakers have quickly pivoted to a virtual offering. Bureaus, like ours, are now offering live webinars, and keynote speeches to help our clients who are trying to meet their organization’s goals and objectives even in this difficult time.

Here are some suggestions to brainstorm to help your organization incorporate a pivot:

1. Take a hard look at your product. What can you change, or make better, easier or more relevant for your customers?
2. Take a hard look at your clients-what are they looking for? What are some non-traditional ways you can use to get them the help they need?
3. Take a hard look at your potential alliances. How can you best get your team onboard, or how can you use your contacts or vendors to collaborate?
4. Get the message out that you are offering something new! SM, YouTube, Mail Chimp and Constant Contact are inexpensive ways to share your new business model without re-branding or creating new marketing collateral.

The bottom line is: A business can’t exist if there is no market for it. It’s time to pivot-even if it’s not forever!!