Compass: Your Roadmap to Business Reinvention

I was speaking with a client today, helping her get a new vision for the products and services she offers as she reinvents her business.

We had a long discussion about being so closely involved with your own industry that you can’t come up with a new business model because you can’t see past what’s currently being done within your industry.

So we played a little game. It’s called Insight Is In Sight.

We are surrounded by inspiration but don’t pay attention to it because we haven’t framed clearly the question we want answered.

If you frame your question to this: “What are the different ways that business, people, animals and things are successful?” you will open your eyes to a whole new world.

Keeping the above question in mind, imagine your typical day. Pay attention to all the businesses, people and situations you come in contact with throughout one day. For instance:

• What does our lawn have to offer to the local population of deer that they can’t get elsewhere? How can my business products and services be this uniquely irresistible, too?
• How can my business mirror the way the local grocery store offers its products and services?
• What is McDonald’s business model and how do they offer their products and services differently than our local fine dining restaurant?
• How are children (and cats) so efficient at saying what they want – and getting it?
• What are the real benefits of school buses in our community? How do the parents, children and the school administration view school buses? What business and marketing model does the school bus company use, given that it has three different audiences it’s trying to please?
• What is the business and marketing model of the city of Las Vegas, and how has it changed over the years?
• How is it that one species of tree can dominate acres of forest? How can my product and service offerings dominate my industry?
• How (and why) did Southwest Airlines create the next generation of airline travel and service? How can I be innovative in my business model?
• Are all movie stars’ marketing model the same?
• Once I’ve purchased an iPod, why do I feel compelled to fill it with my favorite music and audio programs, over and over again, through iTunes? What business and marketing model (and psychology) is in play here?

See? By paying attention for one day to everything that comes across your path, you can ask questions about how all these things can be related to a new way of offering your products and services.

Warning: Once you see the world in this way, you may never be able to have a normal life again.

There are nine different areas in your business where reinvention is possible: Marketing is a great place to play!

If you’ve been in business for a while, you probably already have a marketing model that is working for you.

But things change:

1. Your audience isn’t reacting to your marketing techniques the way they used to.
2. You are bored with your marketing techniques, so you’re not doing them as religiously as you once did.
3. You’ve become complacent because business is going great, and stopped paying attention to strategic marketing planning.
4. Your marketing techniques are stale, outdated.
5. You’re totally freaked out by the amount of work you have to do, so some things just get put on the back burner, like marketing (and remembering to eat).

Time to shake things up! Last time I counted, there are nearly 100 offline and online marketing techniques you can use. There’s one for everyone. Why not try a new marketing technique you haven’t tried yet but have always been curious about?

If you’re really feeling innovative, why not combine two techniques into something original and noteworthy? For instance, could you combine a free, funny bumper sticker giveaway with a contest? Could you create a 3-minute educational video that encourages your audience to share their own videos on the same topic via social media? Jazz it up!

Here’s the trick: Don’t overwhelm yourself with trying to do 20 new marketing techniques at once. Choose one, learn all about it, try it out, track your results, and master that technique. Then do it again with the next new one.

Having an annual marketing plan will help. You could schedule a new marketing technique each quarter, based on your goals and what you’re promoting that quarter.

Maybe it’s time to delegate? One big reason why seasoned business owners don’t do the level of marketing that they should do is that they simply run out of time and energy. Just because you’re the business owner doesn’t mean you have to be the head of each department.

I know, I know: you’ve heard that you should delegate a million times. Hey, just do it! (Do I have to pester you?) Consider finding someone who can implement some (or all!) of your marketing techniques for you, so you can focus on your core competencies, the unique gifts you bring to the world.

I’d love to hear your thoughts. Where do you feel you need to shake up your marketing model?

I’d love to be able to tell you that there are set of linear and finite phases that every small business owner goes through while you’re reinventing your business model…

…but if I told you that, it would be a lie.

But there are some well known phases that you might go through, sometimes circling back to one you thought you already finished, and skipping others completely. Here is a short list of some of the signposts you’ll encounter on the road to reinvention:

• I know/feel something needs to change – You find yourself pausing in the middle of the day (or worse, in the middle of the night) and asking, “Is this the business I want? What’s next for me?” People report feeling restless or frustrated, knowing deep in their heart and mind that the business needs a shake-up, a new way of being in the world.
• Getting lost in the not-knowingness – This is one of the toughest phases in business reinvention, because you have to be okay with not having the solution. Some spiritual teachers call this not-knowingness “the grace of mystery.” Puts a different spin on it, doesn’t it?
• Finding clarity on goals – If you spend time tapping into your goals for your business, and for yourself personally, you’ll find that it’s easier in the next phases to explore and choose the right business model for you. Is there a particular problem you need to solve? A particular dream you’d like to achieve? Values you’d like to express into the world?
• Exploring the possibilities – In this idea-generation phase you explore every aspect of your existing business model, looking for places to add, modify and discard. No idea is sacred and no idea is thrown away. Even the craziest of ideas can be a springboard to a new business model. Creativity and innovative thinking are crucial keys during this phase.
• Making a road map – This is where you design your new business and marketing model, keeping what still fits from your old model and mixing in the new ideas you’ve generated. This is also where you create your transition plan and map out where and when changes will take place, and what resources you’ll need to make it happen.
• Taking the journey – Implementing your business model changes can happen in a week or it can be a two-year process, depending on how complex the changes are and how many resources you have at your disposal. This is often a journey through the weeds and can be rough going. Why? Because you have to continue to run your existing business (unless you’re independently wealthy!) while creating your new business at the same time. Managing change can feel like a juggling act, and I’ll talk more about it in future posts.

Where are you on the path to reinventing your business? I’d love to hear your story, so join me in the comments below!