Charles Darwin said that it is not the strongest of species who survive, but those most adaptable to change. As we tackle new tech developments every day, these can pose challenges for long-term strategies.

Running a growth marketing agency, we probably encounter more changes day-to-day than most. It’s frightening and potentially disheartening for marketers, but it also gives us new opportunities.

But first things first – what causes change?

Analysing industry, market and customer changes

They say we should only focus on that which we can control. However, many changes are external and beyond our control, for example:

·       New competitors

·       Political influence

·       World disasters

·       Technical developments

·       Social attitudes.

The first instinct when we see these is to panic. What if a new competitor is taking up my market share? What if my product is rendered obsolete by a new development? What if my customers now deem my industry unethical?

All of these present very real problems for any business. What we need to focus on is what we can control. In the context of change, it’s all about adaptation.

Change breeds innovation

Many people think of innovation as technical only. However, it’s also about product development, repositioning service offerings, and targeting new markets. Let’s take a look at some case studies:

Nokia

The telecoms giant began as a lumber company in Finland. It soon moved into paper production, but as customer attitudes towards sustainability shifted, it began focusing on ‘paperless offices’, and later, mobile phones.

Napster

This began its days as a peer-to-peer file-sharing site. However, with the advent of mega-compressed MP3 files, it soon became a household name in music sharing.

What happens if we don’t embrace change?

Change is happening at such a fast pace now, we’re almost unaware of it. Even today, it’s unthinkable to imagine a cassette player in our cars as we rely on music streaming services like Spotify. With so many competitors vying for our customers’ attention, the answer or simple: adapt or fail.

How can we anticipate change?

The best way to anticipate change is to constantly analyse – both internally and externally. Take us, a Facebook marketing company, for example. We may begin to notice trends in customer engagement, for example buying through social media platforms instead of eCommerce sites.

From an external perspective, you need to study the market. Conduct regular internet searches to establish your competitors. Watch how they’re marketing themselves. Research the new products your industry is talking about. Look at sources like search queries, journals, forums, trade magazines and even social media conversations.

Leverage the data

We live in a world that produces 2.5 quillion bytes of data per day. By examining the right sources, we can identify trends and customer pain points, allowing us to repurpose services, upgrade products and adjust our positioning.

Innovation doesn’t have to be rocket science – it needs to understand customer needs and adapt.

For more tips on how to get ahead, contact The Growth Guys.