It’s not a secret that times are changing – and the way you do business may well be changing because of it. Ask yourself: When was the last time you went to Blockbuster and actually borrowed a DVD? New options for movie watching are endless – you can watch new releases online, purchase through iTunes, or even rent via Vending Machines that are starting to pop up everywhere!
If your company, like Blockbuster, is feeling the pressure in this changing economy, it may be time to consider reinventing your business model. Here are our tough love tips on how to go about it…
Find out exactly what your customers want
Research what your existing customers love about you and find a way to reinvent it in a new and current way. This is also your opportunity to find out what you could be doing better and improve. Determine if you are doing enough to satisfy your customers online, find out how many of them still value face to face contact, also see what your competitors are offering that you’re not. This will be the basis of your reinvention, so make sure you take the time and spend the money on conducting quality research.
Save up to lose money
Be warned now that this process may not be cheap. In your research phase you may discover that your website is outdated and irrelevant and needs a redesign. You may discover new programs or systems that will help your company work better, but will cost you to implement. In the long run, these investments will pay off for you but may be costly to start with.
Choose your price points carefully
Keeping a competitive advantage is crucial, and so having the right price points for your products or services can say a lot about you. Make sure you know your products inside and out and know what they are worth, nationally and internationally. Beware of selling yourself short, pricing to low can often indicate poor quality even if that is not the case. Find a happy medium, where your price point is competitive but indicative of the quality you uphold.
 Get passionate about quality
A passion for quality could very well be the key to building a strong brand that can withstand anything your market may throw at you. If you are offering anything to your customers that you are not 100% happy with or convinced in, why are you offering it at all? By raising the standards for quality you are communicating to your customers that you are willing to offer them only the very best. For your brand to be synonymous with quality, it needs to be one of the most important things to come out of your rebrand.
Ace your communication with customers
Customer communication is always paramount but especially when making a huge pivot. Instead of making your reinvention a scary thing, tease your customers about having something big and exciting coming. It’s an easy way to create plenty of buzz, crucial for your big reveal. If you weren’t already utilizing the many social media platforms around, it’s time to get ‘linked in’ pardon the pun. Industry doesn’t matter anymore when it comes to having a social media presence, if you are part of a growing company you should have a strong online presence where your customers can communicate and connect with you.
