How to build a sustainable business in a rapidly changing environment

Change has always been the one constant in business, but if the last two years have taught us anything, it’s just how unexpected and rapid change can be.

To manage change effectively and efficiently, you need to build a sustainable business that will weather the ups and downs as they come.

To build a sustainable business, you need a constant flow of customers — and this means marketing needs to become a top priority.

The to-do list for sustainable business growth

1. Acquiring new (profitable) customers

2. Retaining current customers for longer

3. Impressing your customers so much they market your business for you

So how do you use marketing to build a sustainable business in rapid and tumultuous change?

The one who adds the most value wins

Business is all about adding value to those you serve. Not the value you want to provide, the value your customers want and crave. While your products and services will be the predominant way you add value to the lives of your audience, you don’t have to be limited to this alone. Use the insight and experience you have had within your sector to educate, inform and entertain your audience.

Who better to tell them about what they should be wary of; how to find what they really need; and how they can get the most out of the products and services they buy? This is what piques interest, builds trust and develops relationships.

The result?

• You win more customers by helping them get what they want
• You have a loyal following because you continue to make their lives easier
• Customers want to tell others about you because you’ve helped them

Locus of control

You can only change what you can control, so one of the most important tasks when going through rapid change (or any change for that matter) is to determine what you can and can’t control. The last thing you want is to waste time, money, or energy on anything outside of your control.

Let’s take a quick look at what you can and can’t control.

Within your control:

• You can build a better product or service
• You can improve the relationships you have with your customers
• You can develop free resources that share your knowledge and experience

Outside of your control:

• A global pandemic and the lockdowns, border closures and infections it creates
• A new law passed by the government
• A change to Google’s algorithm

Keep it simple

In business, we tend to have a habit of overcomplicating things. But if there is any time to simplify, it’s through change.

To be as agile as possible, you need to keep things simple when in a rapidly changing environment. We love to overcomplicate things in business, but now is the time to remember that there is beauty — and time and cost efficiency — in simplicity.

Don’t get so busy selling the products and services’ features and benefits; instead, focus on the problem. After all, the solution only exists because a problem needs to be solved. Focus on making your message compelling yet straightforward.

When you sell the problem well, the solution sells itself.

Do more of what works

It sounds simple enough, but you’d be surprised how many people take a serendipitous approach to their marketing. The key is to do more of what is working, improve what is getting average results and stop anything that isn’t performing.

The only way to know this is to track your marketing analytics and determine your key metrics (like customer lifetime value, cost per acquisition, cost per lead to name a few). Once you know this, you can manage and optimise your marketing to effectively allocate your resources.

Power of compound interest

Albert Einstein once said that compound interest is the world’s eighth wonder. Once you understand how to apply this concept to your marketing, you realise that most of us focus on the wrong things.

Lots of minor improvements, made over time, compound into wonderful results. Instead of asking, “how can I increase our revenue by 20%?” Ask how you can improve in smaller increments.

Think about how you can increase your campaign results by 2%, increase your market share by 1%, increase product sales by 2%, and you’ll soon find it will quickly add up to more than the 20% you were initially looking at. Remember: it’s a compounding effect, too, not just an addition!

People do judge a book by its cover

If you take only one thing out of this article, let it be this: people will judge your business by your online presence.

Your website is your book cover. Potential customers will judge you by it, your next recruit will decide whether they want to work with you based on it and supply and trade terms can be approved or declined because of it.

With more and more customers doing online research and taking themselves through 90% of the buying process, you need to make sure your website looks good, reads well, and has all the information required to make a buying decision.

But how?

The five website needs for a sustainable business

1. Have your value proposition upfront and centre

   Clearly articulate why someone should do business with you in the headline and first paragraph on your homepage

2. Include plenty of social proof

   It’s one thing for you to say how great you are; it’s quite another to have someone else do it for you. Have testimonials, case studies and client videos that back up the claims you are making

3. Create a great user journey

   Give customers a good experience by making it easy to navigate your website. Also, be clear on the next step they should take on each page. Is it to download more information, read the blog, click on another page, or call you?

4. Ensure it loads quickly

   You have 10-20 seconds to capture the attention of your audience, don’t waste that time by having them wait for it to load. They’ll bounce off

5. Don’t shy away from detail

   While it’s true that we are dealing with customers who have a limited attention span online, make sure there are areas that customers can learn about your products and services in more detail. When someone is further on in their buying decision, they will want more information to compare you with your competitors

Your website is one of the best and most important assets your business has. If you’re going to improve anything while going through change to remain a sustainable business — let it be your website.