Stay in Business- Stay Relevant

One of the keys to business survival is staying current with emerging trends.  Well, in reality, you want to stay ahead of trends and be a trailblazer.  If you do not, you might find your product/service outdated and your pool of clients drying up.

There is a saying in my house between my husband and I, “Poor Blockbuster.”  We say this weekly and shake our heads.  Between Netflix (with whom you can rent videos from home) and Redbox (now located in McDonalds, grocery stores and even gas stations), why would anyone physically make a trip to the video store?  Last week, a Red Box unit was installed within walking distance of our home…

Sure, Blockbuster started offering Netflix-like services only SEVEN YEARS after Netflix was established and only FOUR YEARS after Netflix took on its current model of no late-fee rentals, but it was too late.  Now, with Redbox becoming available to non-McDonalds locations as of early 2009, Blockbuster cannot even depend on those customers without cable (can we say Comcast Video On Demand?) that want the newest releases immediately; unable to wait for their DVD to come by mail.

The moral of this story is that business owners cannot rest on yesterday’s laurels.  It is never enough to lead today; one must always be on the path to innovation. One of the best ways to stay innovative is to find ways to save clients time.  People value convenience.

• Own an insurance company?  How can you make getting insurance and reporting claims more convenient?
• Own a skincare company?  Look at setting up a customizable subscription service that charges clients every X months and delivers their skincare and makeup items according to their current rates of usage.  They’ll never run out nor will they have to “run out” the door to pick up product.

See where I’m going with this?  Consider what you are offering now and what your offering should look like next year, five years from now, and so on.

This is all related to the Four P’s of marketing- product, price, placement and promotion.  By keeping your product/service current you are addressing the first P.  When addressing convenience, you are evaluating the third P.  When you update the first and third P of marketing, you can then look at restructuring the second as you can often charge more; or at least create a more steady stream of income (subscription vs. individual sales) in the second P.

Stay innovative, stay relevant and stay in business!