The Adaptive Business Model

planning

The COVID-19 virus has thrown business into a frenzy. Many businesses have been forced to close or shift how their businesses work. Circumstances have shown that your business model needs to be able to adapt. Here is what you need to look at to build your adaptive business.

Your Core Offering

The base of your adaptive business is your core offering. This can be a product or service. It is the core of your business. Whether you run a barber shop, a restaurant, a web design firm or a consulting firm, this offering is what you are known for.

Your Secondary Offering

Your secondary offering should be complementary to your core offering. If your core offering is a service, your secondary should be a product and vice versa. A barber shop can sell shampoo and conditioner. A consulting firm can sell informational products like books, software or other educational products. For a restaurant you could offer cookbooks, cooking classes or your own branded sauces. A bookstore could offer classes. There are no limits to the complementary offerings you can offer.

The reason for the secondary offering is to create a second income stream to build one the first. It also allows you build a larger brand for your business. Why should you offer a product to complement your service or vice versa? If a service is disrupted, a product will be stable. If your product is disrupted you can fall back on the service.

Multichannel Distribution

Another crucial element of the adaptive business model is multichannel distribution. What happens if your store has to close? You should be able to sell online. An online store should have a way to take orders if the website is inaccessible (for example if your key target area suffers a prolonged blackout). If you have an online store, it can also be supplemented by setting up shop on a mall type site like Amazon or eBay.

Online payments

Even if your business is a retail store or restaurant you should be able to take electronic payments. This can be a complete online store, or a simple payment method like Square, PayPal, or Venmo. Electronic payments allow you to take orders and payments remotely. In a situation like covid that requires keeping your distance, this will allow you to accept payments and deliver or attune for contactless pickup.

The key to the adaptive business model is that you have elements that will stay stable if another is disrupted. Set up your business under this model and you will be able to pivot quickly when a disaster hits.

To find out how The Modern Observer Group can help you develop the products, services and distribution you need to adapt, contact us here.