Is It Time for a Change?

Ever wonder what happened to Blockbuster? There was a time when they dominated the market for renting videos. They were seemingly doing everything right. They were growing every year with a very profitable business. When necessary, they made small tweaks like moving from VHS to DVDs to Blu-ray etc. Here were their assumptions:

People want cheap entertainment.

People want quick entertainment.

People want convenient entertainment.

Then along came Netflix. They took the same basic assumptions but redesigned the delivery. Here is how they did that:

People want cheap entertainment: What if people could pay by the month instead of by the movie?

People want quick entertainment: What if people could access a large selection of videos online and schedule the movies they wanted there? What if you didn’t have to go to the store at all and hope the video was there?

People want convenient entertainment:  What if your movies arrived in the mail and you didn’t have to go to the store?

Netflix saw how the world was changing and changed their system. They didn’t just do things better… they did things differently. They asked, “What if?” and they gave people what they wanted.

How does this apply to you and your business?

Are you simply tweaking things here and there?

Are you doing everything the same way you did it last year, two years ago, or five years ago and expecting the same or better results?

Maybe like Blockbuster, it’s not the basic assumptions that have changed. Maybe the world has changed but you haven’t changed your system of delivery. Here’s how: Go back to the basics:

What is the problem I am solving for my clients?

What is the best way to deliver that solution in a way that people can recognize it and access it in a way that meets their needs?