How Do You Pivot Your Company's Strategy Due to Unforeseen Circumstances?

How Do You Pivot Your Company's Strategy Due to Unforeseen Circumstances?

In today's fast-paced business environment, the ability to pivot a company's strategy can mean the difference between success and failure. Insights from a CEO and a Founder reveal the multifaceted approaches leaders take to navigate unforeseen challenges. One expert emphasizes maintaining multiple strategies as a precaution, while another focuses on quickly diversifying the supply chain. Dive in to discover a total of five professional insights that highlight different yet practical strategies for company pivots.

• Maintain Multiple Strategies
• Promote Airway-Bill Tracking API
• Adapt Crew Hours and Equipment
• Develop Hybrid Online-Offline Strategy
• Diversify Supply Chain Quickly

Maintain Multiple Strategies

Always have multiple strategies in play rather than putting all your eggs in one basket. Focus mainly on the strategy that's working best at the moment while keeping your side strategy in the loop as a side thing. If your main strategy suddenly stops working or isn't as effective as it used to be, shift your focus to one of your backup strategies. Make it your new primary focus and downgrade the less-effective one to a secondary role with less emphasis.

Promote Airway-Bill Tracking API

The COVID-19 pandemic led to unprecedented supply chain disruptions, which forced most retailers and shippers, in general, to opt for air-freight services to help speed up delivery times.

This sudden spike in air shipping required an immediate response from our team. We decided to pivot our marketing strategy to promote our airway-bill tracking API. This meant that we needed to enhance this solution’s capabilities by integrating more international carriers.

We embarked on a rapid integration strategy, integrating more than 80 airline carriers to provide users with a robust air-cargo tracking tool.

Additionally, our content marketing efforts during that period leaned more toward promoting the air-shipment tracking tool to raise awareness about it and encourage shippers to try it.

Adapt Crew Hours and Equipment

At Ponce Tree Services, we had to pivot our strategy when a series of severe storms hit the DFW area, causing sudden demand spikes and logistical challenges. Instead of sticking to our regular schedule, we quickly adapted by expanding our crew's hours and investing in new equipment to handle the volume. We also focused more on emergency-response services, which allowed us to meet immediate community needs while maintaining long-term customer relationships. Communication with our clients was key; keeping them informed about timelines and our capacity to assist helped build trust. This shift not only solved short-term issues but also opened new opportunities for growth.

Develop Hybrid Online-Offline Strategy

When faced with a situation requiring a strategic pivot, my first step is always to assess the root cause of the issue, whether it is market conditions, internal inefficiencies, or external forces like regulation changes or economic downturns. One example was a client in the retail sector who faced declining sales due to the rise of e-commerce. We did not just tweak their model; we shifted it entirely, developing a hybrid online-offline strategy.

We focused on leveraging their physical stores as customer-experience hubs, while rapidly building out their online presence. I also ensured we restructured their supply chain to be more agile, so they could quickly respond to changes in demand. The key was involving the entire leadership team and making data-driven decisions to drive the pivot, which resulted in an increase in revenue within the first year. Adaptability and clear communication were crucial to keeping everyone aligned through the transition.

Diversify Supply Chain Quickly

We faced many challenges when our primary supplier unexpectedly went out of business in our company's early days. The sudden change threatened to disrupt our entire production and could hurt our relationships with customers. We had to quickly adjust our strategy to ensure the survival and growth of our business.

We immediately communicated transparently with our customers about the situation and then diversified our supply chain. We found multiple smaller suppliers who could collectively meet our needs. This made our supply chain more resilient in the long-term. This hurdle taught us the value of adaptability and turned a potential disaster into an opportunity for improvement.