Though the only constant may be change, are you making changes in your business just because you feel you should or are these changes actually causing a forward momentum?
Recent history has seen multiple, extreme changes and the rate of change has increased. While older generations saw lots of change, such as the invention of the automobile, the airplane, the telephone and electric appliances, the changes we are seeing today are almost always tech related and may or may not be an improvement. Most of them are industry changes geared only to increasing income for the companies who are pushing them as innovation.
Innovation, a word used often, especially within small businesses. Are you updating your product just to keep pace with others? Is there a possibility that your product is perfect the way it is and your customers love it that way? Many consumers now complain that they are unable to find products they have loved for years and that worked very well for them. This is due to companies continually releasing new versions of a popular product. The problem is that these new versions tend to be of lower quality but are touted as new and improved.
Since we have already invented pretty well everything we will ever need, businesses now have to find a new way to make money. This has led to a constant onslaught of new products that aren’t needed and in many cases, not wanted. Small business owners feel pressured by this to keep up, not realizing that they are almost being forced to change, rather than updating their products only when necessary and only when their customers perceive this as an improvement.
On the other hand, we do have business owners who are extremely frightened by any type of change. Depending on the business, this can either be good or bad. There are many products available even now that are considered classics and are sought by consumers who have purchased them for years, love the way they work and don’t want them to change at all. If your product or service is one of these, consider yourself very fortunate and pay special attention to those loyal customers.
It all comes down to the reality of the present and future consumer. While there will always be those who rush to try the next new thing, there is also a growing trend to stick with the tried and true. Creating a product or service that is or becomes one of these should be your primary objective. Changing your products just because that is the industry standard is not a reason.
© Chris Draper, DemGen Inc. 2015
image courtesy of baekdal
