The epidemic followed by the sudden lockdown has resulted in immediate loss of revenue to the business. However, the biggest risk is the disruption generated by the changes in customer behaviour and business regulation.
The companies that will not only survive but also thrive are those that seize the opportunities generated by introducing new products and services into the market that are better and cheaper than the existing offerings.
Consumers and employees had little choice but to quickly adapt to digital alternatives in place of in-person activities. Videoconferencing for work, school, social gatherings, getting food, essentials delivered at home, watching streaming movies at home is some of the activities unthinkable a few months back. What's amazing is the ease with which consumers have adapted to the changes and this highlights and heightens the urgency with which businesses have to prepare for future disruptions.
Five imperatives adapted from the book Big bang disruption by Larry Downes and Paul Nunes seem more critical now. Companies must address the following five aspects of business immediately to harness disruption and thrive from it.
Underinvestment in core technologies
Many emerging technologies are market-ready like video conferencing, HD streaming, AI-based customer assistance software. Many businesses are finding themselves short on basic capabilities in online networks, mobile customer support and other elements of digital readiness. Mist businesses need a quick correction in the under-investment even in applications that are central to business.
The technology gap is especially acute in government services and the service industries such as health, education, financial services and energy where limited competition blunted the need for upgradations.
Businesses that do not offer the full line of services are at great risk today. Also, it is imperative to stay on top of the technology curve and stay there, especially online services that have proved themselves capable of replacing in-person services.
Stop relying on regulatory benefits
Many government services like drug approvals, retirement benefit options are legal monopolies today. Also, in many businesses licensing, franchise laws, union contracts have been barriers to new better technology-based solutions. These are readily available but are being held back due to the above constraints. In industries with this kind of protection, businesses have little incentive to experiment let alone disrupt their current way of working.
The epidemic and its effects have exposed laws that claim to protect consumers but over time they have only served to protect the industry from competition. In the epidemic, the government itself has demonstrated its flexibility to adapt to technologies and this may force a rethink on the various policies. Review all the regulations that govern your business. identify the ones that you depend on the most to protect your business, look for the latest technology alternatives and establish it in the organisation before these regulations are withdrawn.
Consumer resistance
There have been tremendous changes that have been brought about by the quick adoption of online technologies, online education, digital sales and service and streaming content. Customers surely preferred an in-person experience, because of their age, nature of product, or preference to the expertise of staff members. this was true to some extent but the digital alternatives have proven to be equally effective if not better in many instances. There are indeed some experiences like live sports events, travel to theme parks, holiday destinations cannot be replaced by digital alternatives. this crisis has shown that there are significant opportunities in meeting consumers where they are now rather than where they were before the crisis.
Rethink your partnerships(including customers)
Having experienced first hand how technology can do for little cost, no stakeholder will accept excuses for inefficient and information starved business. It is time for businesses to relook at the traditional partnerships especially in the supply chain, distribution and look for new tech-savvy partners.
It is necessary to combine available technologies with new business thinking keeping the users' requirements central to any solutions. technologies like touchless payments, delivery and self-service kiosks at high-risk locations have proved themselves in his crisis. The other side to be aware of is that the customer who has been forced to solve their sales, service, delivery problems are learning quickly how much benefit they are bringing to the company and this will be remembered well into the future and it would be an important tool helping them decide which company they should do business with.
Embrace robust technology platform
the internet has been the crucial bridge connecting all technology-based platforms and it has more than been able to cope up with the sudden surge in demand. So also the logic of cloud-based applications have proven themselves vis-a-vis inhouse based systems. These combined with mobile operators, app developers offering better prices, scalability and better customisation have provided a flexible option to businesses.
In some cases, the robust digital infrastructure is being let down by its physical counterpart which is scrambling to meet the diverse demand thrown up by the digital platforms.
This indicates some immediate actions, one is to reassess the technology infrastructure - look for ways to offload to reliable third party services who will be in a better position to do the work. Next, look for the weak link in your chain and examine what processes would break down and what are the alternatives in the event of a sudden surge in demand.
Some of the changes we are witnessing now may not be permanent. However, there is a newfound readiness to examine alternatives. As consumers look or better options, as new technologies develop and as regulators evolve, companies must be ready to be disrupted and be ready to meet the challenges and thrive from it.
Five Strategies Every Leader Must Embrace to Harness Disruption
Paul Nunes, Annette Rippert, and Larry Downes •
MITSMR August 27, 2020
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