Negosentro | How to uplift a business going downhill? | The memory of the great financial crisis of 2007-2008 is still fresh. Do you remember how many companies went bankrupt and shut down? We all remember the Lehman brothers’ most significant failure and how it made the headlines during the recession.
Let’s forget about the recession and talk about our current scenario. According to Yelp’s report, 60% of businesses closure due to the pandemic are now permanent. That’s a horrifying statistic.
Now that you are here, you are probably an entrepreneur, struggling for new ideas to keep your business afloat, or you are a manager in dire need of a solution to keep your company from going bankrupt. Whatever your case may be, you should bear in mind that no business is invincible, regardless of its size, and Lehman Brothers is the proof. We don’t mean to scare you; we just want you to clear your head, so you can think clearly what to do next.
Sometimes there are external forces at fault, such as the recession or the pandemic, but sometimes a company is at fault. Whatever your situation may be, we have prepared some tips on how you can save your sinking ship from drowning.
Assess your situation
Sometimes it is hard for a business to accept that it is not doing well, and so it keeps pouring in money in the hope that it will revive itself. However, that is of no help if you don’t pinpoint the root cause.
The moment you feel that your business is not performing well and failing, stop right there. Often companies make the mistake of investing more money in equipment or marketing without realizing what the real situation is.
Do a SWOT analysis and see your strengths and weaknesses. Be brutal and honest with yourself in this stage. Analyze your competition, employee morale, financial situations, and all the external factors, and then decide accordingly. It is easy to fixate on immediate issues and find a fix for them, but you need to look at the bigger picture. If your employee morale is down and they are not performing well, it is easy to fire them, but it is difficult to admit that it might be because of you.
Sometimes quick fixes work; sometimes, you can grow your small business with marketing; however, it doesn’t always work. You need to dig deeper and find the real problem.
Revisit your target market
If you are a new business and you are not getting many sales, then it is time to reanalyze your target market. Often companies fail to pinpoint the right target audience. If you are marketing your product to the wrong audience, you are bound for an epic fail.
It is not just the small businesses, but giant corporations also fail to hit the mark with their campaigns, or they fail to evolve with their target audience. The classic example of Kodak is very relevant here. Kodak became a giant in digital photography in the 1970s and filed for bankruptcy in 2012. It is shocking to see Kodak fail since it was the company that invented the first digital camera. You could say that it was Kodak’s success that ultimately became its failure because it became resistant to change. Even though it was aware of the digital age, it focused on its film business because of its nearsightedness. Seeing the opportunity, Sony and Canon jumped in, and by the time Kodak realized its mistake, it was too late.
Maybe it is not your product
Often companies get lost in their product without realizing what the market needs. They overestimate their product and do everything to make it a huge success, only to find out that the target audience was not ready or did not want the product in the first place.
To elaborate on our point, let us discuss Google Glass- an eye glass with smartphone capability. It sounds like the best idea ever. It feels like it is something from the future. Even if you had this idea, you would have been excited as well. But, guess what? The audience didn’t like it at all. The product was plagued with issues like low battery life, bugs, and a ban from public spaces. After two years of low sales, the company discontinued the product.
What you can learn from Google’s failure is that you might have launched the wrong product. Maybe the target audience is not ready yet. As soon as you realize, you should pull out your resources before you dig a deeper hole for yourself.
It might be time to rebrand
Sometimes a simple rebranding can give a massive boost to your failing business and bring it back on track. Most companies often shun the idea of rebranding, thinking it is a sign of weakness. However, that is not the case but before you spend your money on rebranding, analyze whether you even need to rebrand or not. You should rebrand when you need to differentiate yourself from the competition or modernize your logo. Make sure you get your logo designed by a professional company, such as logo design valley.
Many brands have successfully rebranded themselves. One such example is that of Burberry. You may have heard of the brand at least once, and you may recognize its signature black, red, and tan check pattern. The brand that is now worn by celebrities and is considered as a status was once at the stage of being dismissed as a brand meant for gangsters, but then the brand managed to reinvent itself.
Final thoughts
No business is safe from trouble; every business has to go through ups and downs, but what matters is how you respond to them. To be successful, you have to be alert at all times. Remember, complacency is your biggest enemy and so is pride and rigidity. Businesses need to quickly adapt and adjust to their environment.
