The Step Change Blog

How do you prepare for the unpredictable?

While some businesses leverage disruption to their advantage like second nature — many companies are falling behind.

Where others enjoy better workforces, efficient operations, and improved customer experiences, some continue to struggle at the back foot of change as another wave of disruption looms on the horizon.

So what’s the game changer? Strategy. Seeing disruption before it hits and responding appropriately.

Most organisations don’t have a game plan to navigate the evolving business landscape. Nor do they bother to predict trends and track challenges or opportunities that lie on their radar and that makes all the difference. 

So how do you get better at keeping your finger on the pulse and preparing your business for disruption?

Let’s face it— we’re in a marketing battleground. Your business is only one of the hundreds or even thousands competing for your customer’s attention. If your goal is to win the war for attention, you need to differentiate yourself in a way that actually matters to your customers.

While this sounds obvious, it’s not. All too often, businesses assume they understand what is important for their customers.

Ever been let down by a business idea you thought had so much potential? 

The only thing worse than a poorly developed business idea is investing in a poorly developed business idea. Nobody wants to spend time, energy and resources on a product or service that doesn’t fly. So how do you ensure your new business idea is poised to win when it enters the market?

UPDATED: As of 21 July 2022

Finding a product, a service, or a niche that delivers results largely depends on understanding exactly what your customer needs. And in a time when the competition is manic and ruthless, it is all the more essential to deliver a high-quality product and service that gets the right traction.

When it comes to running a business, it is important that you stand above the competition. And in the dog-eat-dog business world it is no longer enough to just offer great products. It is also necessary to take your customer’s comfort into account. 

What’s the use of having the best tech and services if your customers can’t get a hold of your product in the most efficient way possible? Or if they do get the product, it becomes a struggle to have it repaired or returned. This is where Experience Disruptors come in.

The Customer-Centricity Masterclass is back due to public demand. We will only accommodate 40 guests, and it’s filling up quickly! Register today to save your spot.

There’s no getting around it. Today’s consumers hold the power to dictate business outcomes. But with more businesses struggling with their digital transformation initiatives, how can taking a customer-led approach to transformation lead to better results? 

It’s easy to say your business is customer-centric; in fact, many businesses would claim they are putting their customers at the heart of what they do. 

Modern customers are savvy and sceptical. Businesses can no longer win because of their scale, professionalism, and history. It’s those that put the customer’s best interest at heart who perform better and win.

In the past, customers often trusted banks on the basis of their scale, professionalism, and history. Today, customers are more likely to measure the trustworthiness of a bank based on their customer service and support. Customer-centricity is likely to be the key to winning over customers again.

Many retailers today are struggling to deliver the seamless online experience that customers want with a limited marketing budget. How can content marketing help them bridge this gap and improve the customer experience? 

In the financial services industry, converting leads to customers is vital. But with the speed of change in the marketing and technology space and in the wake of the Banking Royal Commission, marketing leaders in the finance industry are overwhelmed by the challenge of managing a genuine experience with their target customers, thus improving lead conversion.

Here’s a recap on the biggest takeaways from last month’s Step Change Open Haus event, How to Build a Customer-Centric Culture.

Personalised customer experience is no longer a rarity that’s saved for the top companies; instead, it’s the new digital imperative for businesses of all industries and sizes. B2B buyers now expect to experience a one-to-one experience at some point during their purchasing journey. However, delivering on this expectation is an entirely different challenge that has left many businesses struggling to connect.

Customer lifetime value is a critical factor in business success, but not all companies are tracking it. Many companies do not measure it, do not know what it is, or choose to completely ignore it.

Online stores are heightening the competitive space for brick-and-mortar retailers. What was once solely a problem for book stores is now becoming a problem even for giant big-box companies: people are buying all of their products online.

People, especially the younger generations, are finding less of a need to go to a physical store because they can shop from the comforts of their own home. This is a big problem for retail stores — or a great opportunity to deliver a superior customer experience.  

Your website is more than just your online portfolio. Today, websites that are optimised for the customer experience are powerful tools that can help you make a sale and turn visitors into customers.

There is no question about it. Customer-centric companies perform better and are far better able to drive customer loyalty. If you‘re a company looking to adopt a more customer-centric culture, where do you start and how exactly do you make that transition?

With only a month to go before the much-awaited Open House event “How to Build a Customer-Centric Culture”, Step Change is thrilled to announce the panel of distinguished leaders across a variety of disciplines who will be joining us.

Many informed businesses today are actively looking for ways to transform their business model or their culture to become more customer-centric, but many struggle to implement it or just don’t know where to start.

If great strategic thinkers like Anita Roddick, Jean Nidetch, and Mother Teresa would run your business, how would they transform your customers into raving fans?

In the second part of this series, Insights from Kevin Roberts, we ask the former CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi what goes on in his head when he talks to clients.

We have recently seen an interplay between design and business strategy in the digital landscape. With key players setting the pace for how we can tailor design towards the user experience, we then ask, does it really make a difference?

How people experience a brand largely impacts their loyalty. No wonder a lot of businesses consider customer experience very important. The challenge is, in the age of digital revolution, customers’ expectations are set high up there. So how can businesses meet the demand for a remarkable customer experience?

Most people measure loyalty by how many clients leave. But it’s unfortunate to be measuring loyalty once it’s too late to keep a client.