Despite the game changing shifts in consumer – and business – behaviour in 2020, there is a longing from too many business owners for a return to pre-coronavirus times, as if the end of the pandemic will signal a return to the old ways in which we used to buy and sell products and services.
Even the government is fooled, and is fooling the public, encouraged by the press and media.
An ill-informed and misleading article in yesterday’s Sunday Times in which ‘taxpayers’money’ of which there is no such thing, is apparently fueling government expenditure and online retailers are responsible for the decline in demand in high-street shops.
It is no wonder some businesses struggle to create new, radical and disruptive business models, unless they ignore much of the old fashioned thinking that still pervades Westminster, the press and the broadcast media.
Successful business disrupters such as the much derided Amazon, have revolutionised the way we source goods and services. AWS, it’s web services arm which contributes two-thirds of it annual profits, is responsible for delivering much of the content we consume online. Amazon’s retail arm supplies next day delivery of goods but
more importantly for the army of businesses that use its marketplace provides access to millions of customers.
Ask Shopify, Etsy, ASOS and Boohoo where consumers are going to buy goods; they’ll tell you it’s not the high street.
This disruptive behaviour is not limited to the retail sector. In my industry – professional services – the services that clients buy and the changes in the way they are delivered has been revolutionary. Accounting software now does the heavy lifting and clients expect their accountant to provide data analysis, interpretation of information and constructive advice on how to improve business performance. Solicitors, too,
are no longer just purveyors of contracts and agreements but are expected to provide strategic business advice. Business strategy and marketing are now essential tools in the professional advisers armoury.
It is perhaps not surprising that the pandemic has resulted in some businesses wondering what has hit them and what to do about it. Unlike some countries whose response to the pandemic has been far more effective, in the UK inept leadership and below-average thinking has been all too prevalent. Short-term planning and the stop-start response from the government has been the norm which too many businesses have
emulated.
Fortunately this has not been the case amongst the few businesses that have upped their game considerably and sought new products, services, markets and delivery mechanisms.
It’s becoming clear who the winners and losers will be over the next few years. Is your business in the right camp?
Noel Guilford
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