David Libby November 2, 2020 To pivot or not to pivot. Is that the question? Depends if you think a startup pivot is a startup failure. I think not. You have a Plan B, right?
If you didn’t, the Coronavirus sure made you create one. Long before we were all sheltering in place and eating tacos in protected parking spaces, successful entrepreneurs had clearly defined goals, visions, and a determination to overcome any obstacles. However, today, who knows what can guarantee success? Here are three golden rules of the startup pivot to keep in mind.
Strengthen the Relationships with Your Customers
If you thought that you couldn’t jump from one functional business area to another, you were wrong. Companies today are looking for new ways to innovate. Revisit the relationships with your customers. Ask a business development representative to interview your customers to find out if they know that you do more than what they’re paying you for. I’ll bet you they don’t. Use this opportunity in your startup pivot as an exploration to learn more about their needs, how they think about your business, and what they don’t know about what you do.
Photo by Edwin Hooper on Unsplash
Support Your Customer in the Post-Pandemic Market
Create an approach and associated messaging that shows how you will lead your customers through the pandemic. This is not another blog post. Develop a survey that shows results in how your customers can make strategic investments in your startup to transform digitally. Again, in your explorative interview, analyze the impacts of COVID-19 on your customers; build best practices to help them weather the storm; establish protocols for how you will roll this out for them, and show ways that this will help them gain a competitive advantage.
Photo by Alex Knight on Unsplash
Embrace Innovation
Highlight your company’s ability to service your customers in the Cloud. Of course, financial services, government, and education customers may still require an on-premise solution, but for the others, promote your Cloud business. You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to see how the Cloud has saved many businesses from how they manage their databases to their customers’ experiences. The challenge (and opportunity) is how to market it to your customers.
A startup pivot can be scary. But, even scarier is what happens when you don’t adapt to circumstances in front you and have to abandon ship. Sail forth!
This blog post originally appeared at 2pinz.
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