5 Tips To Successfully Pivot Your Small Business
By Ted Iwere
Pivoting is always a difficult last option for businesses that have to go through it.
To pivot means to head in a new direction different from your core business.
It can be a strategic way for business to realign with current realities in a drastically new way.
There are many great reasons businesses would want to pivot; the first is that when the growth of a business has peaked, and all other efforts to increase revenue has failed, pivoting is a great way to unlocking revenue growth.
Another related reason occurs when the product or service receives a poor response from target customers.
A solution to this lack of demand could be in the form of a pivot to an entirely new customer class. For instance a pivot from a customer-facing business – business to customer (B2C) model to a business to business (B2B).
Other reasons include that it could help businesses cut costs, take advantage of more high growth market opportunities, and to escape being outcompeted.
5 Tips That Would Help Your Business Pivot Successfully
1. Research & Plan
The most successful pivots are not done abruptly, they are the result of detailed research and planning.
For your business to pivot successfully, it has to carry out detailed research on various pivot opportunities, their market, competition and customers.
This research would provide the insight the business needs to make a decision and a plan that would guide them to pivot successfully.
A good pivot plan can highlight sustainable growth opportunities that the business can take advantage of.
2. Test! Test!! Test!!!
Before deciding to pivot, your business must carry out multiple tests on the new offering or new market you want to pivot to.
A great way to do this is to create a minimum viable product (MVP) of your new offering (if that’s your pivot strategy) and test its acceptance with your existing customers.
Even when you’re pivoting to an entirely new market, it makes sense to test it among your target customers through surveys, focus groups and initial release.
Test the need for a product and make sure there is sufficient proof of demand before shifting to a new market or a new offering would help save your business the costs of pivoting again and again.
3. Start With Your Target Customers & Pain Points In Mind
A pivot can never go wrong when it starts with its customers in mind.
Every successful pivot starts with an understanding of their target customers, what their needs and pain points are, and how your proposed offering can satisfy their needs.
Remember the tip above about testing, it is a critical way to generate feedback from customers that would determine how your offering is built and positioned to meet the needs of your target customers.
4. Pivot Based On Your Core Competence
The more a business’s pivot is based on its core competence, the more chance it has of success.
This is because when you pivot to an area that your business already has expertise in, you can easily leverage your skill sets to meet the needs of your customers.
If you pivot to an area outside your skillset, you would not be properly equipped to build the business successfully.
5. Engage Your Employees From The Start
Always make sure your employees are active participants are in your pivoting decisions.
By involving them right from the start, your chances of having a successful pivot are improved.
This is because they can share feedback that can direct your pivoting efforts as well as make executing your pivot easily.
Naturally, a pivot is difficult for employees, by keeping them in the loop you can avoid any chaos or confusion that may inhibit the successful implementation of your pivot.
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