Time to Thrive Guide
- 1. Russell Cummings 0414 929 585 www.shifft.com.au TIME TO THRIVE GUIDE Your guide to adapting your business to thrive post-COVID19 May 2020 1
- 2. Survive Adapt Thrive COVID19 has forced changes into our businesses and society. • Survive – lock down your business, get access to support programs Our model has been built around 3 elements: • Adapt – make changes to adapt to the new environment – be flexible • Thrive – position your business for future success This guide is focused on the Adapt & Thrive phases. 2
- 3. Work through each element in the Guide. Stop and reflect Reset your strategy Set your plan in motion OUR 3-PHASE “ADAPT & THRIVE” MODEL STOP STRATEGISE SET 3 Our model is focused on the key phases required to Adapt and Thrive. Visit www.shifft.com.au for free resources that will help with your plan.
- 4. Stop and reflect STOP Don’t get caught up in the hype surrounding COVID19. Take the time to stop, prop and reflect on your business and the new environment. Make notes on the following: • What has changed for your supply chain? • What changes has COVID19 brought upon your industry? • How has it impacted your channels to market? • What impact has it had on your consumers? • What changes has it forced upon your business? • What changes will you retain post-COVID19? • In a post-COVID19 environment, what are your strengths? • In a post-COVID19 environment, what are your weaknesses? • What opportunities have emerged that you should consider? • Are there any new threats to your business? • What are the financial constraints to moving forward. 4
- 5. Reset your strategy STRATEGISE Developing a clear strategy that differentiates your business in Work through the 7Rs of our Strategic Reset Process so that you cover all angles and options. Take what you have learned about your business in the “Stop” phase and rework your strategy. 1. Revise your Foundations 2. Redefine your Target Market 3. Rework your Offer 4. Reset your Focus 5. Review your Marketing & Sales Process 6. Remap your Business Model 7. Recalculate your Budgets and Cashflow 5 the marketplace is a critical component of ensuring that your business thrives.
- 6. 1. Revise your Foundations Review your Vision, Mission, Values and Objectives for the next 3 years. Have any of these changed significantly post- COVID19? The 7R’s of a Strategic Reset Revise – Redefine – Rework 2. Redefine your Target Market It’s quite possible that COVID has forced a change to your business in terms of your target customer, for example: a 5-star restaurant forced to move into takeaway may have noticed the demographics have changed. When restrictions are lifted, do you want to continue to serve them? Take the time to build a detailed Avatar of your new target market. 3. Rework your Offer What changes do you need to make to your products and services? Now is the time to rework the products and services you deliver. Can you build them into “Packages” with a compelling value proposition and price point? How will you change your offer – hourly rates, subscriptions, fixed price package, usage, “freemium”, etc.? Do you need to revise your price points to delineate value and/or be more competitive? How will you deliver your product or service? Face-to-face, virtual meetings, online retail, takeaway, blended models are all feasible. Build your delivery costs into your pricing model to ensure that it all makes sense. 6
- 7. The 7R’s of a Strategic Reset Reset your focus a. Consolidation – expanding our existing products/services to our current client base. Use this strategy where a large proportion of clients do not use all your services and/or products. 7 4. Reset your Focus Reflect on the first 3 R’s and on the insights you gleaned from the STOP phase. Where should the focus of your business be in terms of growth? Select a strategy and brainstorm the actions you need to take. d. Diversification – offer new products/services to a new market. This is the most risky and difficult strategy to execute. You may need to do a big pivot as a result of COVID19 and this maybe the strategy for you. b. Product Expansion – deliver new services/products to your existing clients. If COVID19 has encouraged you to deliver a new service or product then usually the best place to build sales is via your existing client base. c. Market Expansion – take your existing offer to a new client base. For example: your previous offer may have been focused on hotels and clubs, but you can easily modify your offer to supply restaurants.
- 8. The 7R’s of a Strategic Reset Review your Marketing and Sales 8 5. Review your Marketing and Sales Processes COVID19 has placed the marketing and sales processes of many businesses under the microscope, and too many have been found wanting. Assess your performance and make changes as required. Don’t forget there are 3 areas you may need to address in your marketing. The extent to which you focus on each element will vary from business to business but assess each area on its merit: • Networking – “people buy from people” so most businesses need to do some business networking. Make sure you are networking with potential clients and/or potential referral sources. • Broadcast Activities – your outbound marketing will include elements like: website, social media, direct mail, podcasts, webinars, videos, traditional and digital advertising and media. • 121 – leverage your contacts from networking and broadcast activities by having meetings with potential clients but most importantly with potential Referral Sources.
- 9. The 7R’s of a Strategic Reset Review your Marketing and Sales 9 Ensure you set up a 90 Day Contact Program (see our website for your Guide) to ensure that your marketing is systematic and consistent. This is the most important thing you can do to grow your business – its not the only thing but its critical! Marketing is about generating leads and Sales is the process of converting leads into clients. Most businesses, even those with large sales teams, often have ineffective sales processes, poor skills and behaviours. Review your Sales Process – is it effective? What do your sales stats look like? How full is your pipeline? Where are the skills deficiencies? Develop plans to address these issues as there is no point to “dropping the ball” at the last hurdle! Take the time to review each area and determine what actions you might need to take to get your marketing humming.
- 10. The 7R’s of a Strategic Reset Remap - Recalculate 6. Remap your Business Model Use the Business Model Canvas as a way bringing all your thoughts together in one place. It’s a simple tool but very powerful tool. Visit our website for information on building your Canvas. 7. Recalculate your Budgets and Cashflow Take the time to review the financial implications of your plan. Too often, good ideas don’t stack up financially as the break-even point is too high or the volume of sales required is unsustainable or unrealistic or margins are too fine. Review both profit and cashflow with your Business Advisor or Accountant. Skip this step at your peril! 10
- 11. Set your plan in motion SET Take the Strategies and Actions you developed in Phase 2 and create some Action Plans with clearly defined accountabilities and timeframes. Start with an Annual Plan that defines where you would like to be in 1 year’s time, then step it back by asking “If that is where we need to be in 12 months, then what do we need to focus on in the next 90 days in order for us to get there?” Review your 90 Day Plan every month so that you create a rolling plan. 11
- 12. 1. Work through our 3 Phase Process to build your Thrive Plan. 2. Visit our website for a ton of free resources to assist you in this process… videos, templates, webinars, articles, diagnostics, etc. – www.shifft.com.au 3. Book a free call with Russ to review your Thrive options so that your business will have clarity on how it will emerge from COVID – https://calendly.com/russellcummings/30- minute-call 4. Share this document with friends, colleagues, clients, suppliers and family to help them thrive in the post-COVID19 environment. 12
- 13. Thanks for reading our “Time to Thrive” Guide. THANK YOU 13 I trust that you find it useful, informative and practical. I wish you every success in the future. Let me know if we can assist you in any way. Kind regards, Russell Cummings Management Consultant M: 0414 929 585 W: www.shifft.com.au E: russell@shifft.com.au