The New Normal in Business
New normal is not just a TV programme it is a way of understanding what is confronting your business.
As I have said before, most businesses are confronted with a severe case of five-year-old-itis. They are running (and planning and taking decisions) based on five-year-old assumptions about their product, their suppliers, their market and how and why and when and where their customers buy. I have to say that nearly all of those assumptions are redundant. Just think of Comet or BlockBuster or HMV to name a few who hadn’t noticed the change that was all around them.
So what is the New Normal?
Well, I don’t think we will see the heady heights of the early 1990 or 2000 growth years where people couldn’t help but make money.
Today’s new normal might include:
- Zero growth in the economy
- Next to zero interest rates
- The ubiquity of the internet and digital media
- More competitors than ever, mostly competing on price
- More suppliers than ever, all trying to sell on price
- 24/7 speed of response/delivery/service expected by customers
- Global and local are blurred
- Proliferation of free/try-before-you-buy services
- Increased importance of the customer experience
Running a business is still, and always will be about understanding what your customer wants and needs and delivering to them. That is the beginning and the end of it.
Do this by delivering legendary, remarkable service and you are on to a winner.
