The world advances faster than most people think. As the world of startups continue to bloom, the more traditional companies which already had presence long way before them, could have their entities disrupted.
To compete with those fast-moving businesses, traditional companies need to stay relevant in order to have that competitive advantage. And that is by creating delightful, intuitive experiences for end users and customers.
Not limited to delivering business concept, being relevant means to focus on increasing revenue by users' loyalty. By prioritizing design as a foundation value, the relatively older and more traditional companies can redefine their industry up to the point that they are part of the crowd.
In order to stay competitive, beside being relevant, they need to invest more in customer experiences surrounding their products. This will ensure that customers are satisfied in whatever the condition the product is.
Shifting Focus
The world of startup has long known to embrace user satisfaction to the very most. For traditional companies to use such strategy, they need to shift their business design. While it's much easier to say than done, but staying "traditional" could be riskier in the long term, especially when the company's goal is to get more new users.
To evolve, companies need to take action.
Investing in customer relationship and user experience could mean hiring designers to blend the "traditional product" into a more appealing presentation. But if the companies don't have that culture to support their contribution, the process will just be a waste of money and resources.
As a start, a shift in leadership might be necessary. For companies that want to evolve towards a disruptive and more focused business design model, they may need to take this challenge. Training work force isn't limited to just leadership, middle management and design-centric thinkers should come to benefit.
While leaders are where decisions are made, the middle managers have the information. And the workers that include data-centric thinkers and engineers should have more knowledge on the field. So the approach here is a challenge for everyone involved.
Everyone in the company should incorporate design thinking to their work.
Business And Design = One Roof
For any companies, a successful sales come from a great idea made to execution. In order, they are: idea, design, product and market. Many traditional companies have separated business attempt and behind the scene design into their own respective management. To compete with the faster startup, they need to put the business section of their companies with their companies' design under one strict supervision.
And that means to "marry" business with design. The two integral pieces of team team must be linked together closely so they can work together efficient and effectively towards one common goal.
By incorporating design thinking into business process, traditional business can re-imagine the way their customers are interacting with their products. So collaboration between business and design should be matched.
If everything works as intended, their products can now become products that are experience-driven.
Embrace The New Culture
In the current fast-paced world, the internet and mobile activity are replacing the day-to-day traditional commerce. They are impacting businesses no matter what size they are. To keep up with the ever-expanding digital sphere, traditional companies need to have their own presence. They could have their own website, web application, mobile app or an active social media marketing.
What will these do to the more traditional businesses that already thrive offline? They can get more customers with more diversity. While older customers may stick to the traditional way of purchasing, younger generations are more into the digital culture.
From e-commerce websites to purchasing goods; business website for official presence; social media networks for information update and reviews, the possibility is almost unlimited.
But since traditional companies don't actually need to push beyond their boundaries to do such a thing, it's still advised that they don't ignore the things that the current trend is delivering. Inbound marketing method is cheaper and less risky if compared to the traditional outbound marketing that takes more time and efforts.
If restructuring is necessary for those traditional companies to get more traction, the task won't be easy. But if considering the aim to face the accelerating startup world, the change in viewing digital technology could be an advantage.
Vision, Workflow And Feedback
Knowing that traditional businesses don't have the feet to move as fast as startups in terms of development and embracing culture, to recognize the needs for a customer-focused approach, they need to see things more thoroughly. And that is not just the big things, but the things that come with them also count.
From tapping key stake/shareholders so the company's executives could understand the process. They should also socialize their communication to be more open. From better internal communication tools, better project management and computer aided automation for certain repetitive tasks to ensure that everyone in the company understands and can keep up with any strategic updates that happen. And as for managing customers, CRM can transform business model into a more efficient one.
When people under the roof "speak one language", the engineers could consult their opinions about their work in a more fluent way. Engineers, or any people on the field for that matter, are those that put vision into reality. They're often seen as the gatekeeper of progress. By making them focus on their work based on design, they can put more focus on the finished product rather than tidying up the process.
These people should be included in business conversation. This is to make sure than anything that the company is pursuing, is doable. They can provide valuable insights into the right tech and approach for the company's goals, and even inspire a new course of action.
And as the company is waiting for the final product to finish, they can devote their resources to commence their research and development.
With the traditional company is now shifting to be more fluid, not everyone is actually listening. While collaboration has been done and the works have been commenced, not everyone is thinking about this the same way. This is where feedback is needed. The more people contribute to an idea, the more answers will rise. And without careful research and management, people should expect more problems. The impact can be negative, especially for a business that is shifting.
To negate any unwanted clashes, the company should be able to listen to comments. Digest any feedback and try to blend the situation with the fact, goal and calculations. Key people in the company should decide whether an opinion should be put to the surface of not, and that is by knowing which ones will benefit and which won't. Someone's degree shouldn't be the roadblock for them to be included in certain situation, their skill is.
Conclusion
Never settle for the "good enough"; but aim for the best.
When the trend is shifting, startups are more better in adapting to the change. As they are the competitors to the more traditional companies, those that want to compete need to ramp up their game to move quicker and nimble.
Todays' nobody could be tomorrow's competitor. And competitors today could become different beings tomorrow.
Customers today do not necessarily care where they buy products. But what they do care about is that it's convenient for them. So embracing the change of trend is for traditional companies to appreciate their loyalty by approaching them when they want and where they need. To enable such things, traditional businesses need to simplify things and be available for customers - providing them with the relevant products and services they want. Because if they don't, somebody else certainly will.
A change at an earlier stage is inexpensive, and won't affect workers' emotions or much of the company's financial. But as the change goes to post-production, things would change. And this could put more stress to the people involved, both emotionally and financially. Businesses need to think both inside and outside their business model.
As frustration may also come into a concern, discipline is they key of embracing constant interaction. It's the way to embrace discomfort so everyone will succeed. Face the challenges and endure pain of growth. When the company is doing this right, the effort will be worth it. Soon, traditional businesses that are often regarded as those that are more mature but slow-moving, won't translate to irrelevant or unable to compete anymore.