The Fundamentals Have Not Changed –or Have They?

- Scott Pickard

Are you distracted? Are you caught up in the hype of Artificial Intelligence? Are you confused about what the focus of your business really is? There is a lot of interest in new engagement tools for business including digital marketing, artificial intelligence, software enablement and social media to name a few. There is also a lot of distractions by the same tools. It is easy to get caught up in the hype of trendy things, but the fundamentals of sustainable businesshavenotchangedinalong time. Business still needs to solve problems that people will pay for, business needs people for engagement,andbusinessneedsto generate more revenue than expenses. Simple, but sometimes focus veers off target.

I have worked with several hundred companies over the past decade in varying capacities. Many products have come and gone, many companies have come and gone, and many tools have come and gone. The survivors are the businesses that have strong fundamentals that make them sustainable. The long game is usually the goal and there are no ‘secrets’ to success. It is work, and lots of it. There’s one way. The hard way. Businesses should focus on the fundamentals and do boring better. Leveraging tools is required BUT tools are not the business.

Strong business fundamentals include reputable people, products and/or services that solve problems, repeatable revenues and, in today’s market, engaging story telling.

People are foundational. People are not going away in business. I strongly believe that no matter what business you are in, you are in the people business. If you successfully sell a product, your business deals with people. If you successfully sell a service, your business deals with people. People either like and trust the business and its’ people, or they don’t. This won’t likely change even with tools like Artificial Intelligence (AI), at least not in the near term. Many people stand strong on the belief that AI will have significant impact in daily life, and I agree. However, any discussion I have had with a ‘real’ human is that they do not ‘trust’ AI totally, yet. Trust is a fundamental pillar in business. Things will go wrong in business but if there is trust in a person, company, or brand, the consumer will often overlook errors. Without trust, business usually goes elsewhere, and most times in silence.

The right person, in the right role, at the right time. One of the pillars of leadership is understanding the human aspect of business and whether the business has the right people, focused on the right priorities. Busy is not always productive. A full calendar does not mean positive results. Having the right focus on the right solutions for the customer is what drives success. Every person in business has an expiry date. Playing the long game means constantly evaluating the people in the business and ensuring priorities are clear, customer focused, and people are working on impact items.

Solve problems. Solving problems for customers is another pillar of business. It sounds like a daft statement but whether a consumer emotionally buys a product on Tik Tok, continually pays for a software subscription service (or streaming service at home) or purchase something for home, a problem is being solved, however big or small. Businesses that struggle with sales and revenue usually have a challenge finding the right message for their product, finding the right customer or have simply don’t solve a problem for enough people. Solving problems is what business is about and if there is not a clear value proposition in a product or service, it is danger of becoming obsolete.

Generate revenue. The urgency behind generating revenue and earning revenue quickly in early stage companies and building repeatable revenue is another pillar of business. Ideally, there are multiple streams of revenue per customer. Often in start-ups and early-stage companies, the focus is on raising capital from investors rather than generating revenue. This is the incorrect approach for two reasons. First, raising capital without revenue is difficult in most cases, and secondly, investors like to see revenue before they invest. We often celebrate companies that raise capital, but what about the one’s that generate revenue and are self sufficient? This dichotomy is confusing. Capital is required in all business but at the right time and deployed in the right way. Raising capital is not difficult if the right fundamentals in place. Generating revenue should always be the focus.

The new age of story telling.

Another fundamental pillar of business is great storytelling with the long game in mind. Businesses need to been gaging and their products and services need to tell a relatable story to their customers. The ability to tell a great story about a product or service and how it helped solve a customer’s problem is required. Social proof and testimonials are the new marketing brochure. Clear, concise, and compelling story telling is required in a world with a short attention span. A confused customer does not usually buy. Do you think your product or service offering or content is compelling or confusing?

There will always be factors that are beyond the control of business. The last four years are a great example of this. COVID, high interest rates, inflation, geo-political uncertainty, immigration, and global political elections are just a few examples. Businesses with the long game in mind that can generate repeatable revenue driven by strong people leadership will survive. Business is hard. The fundamentals are not going to change into the near future. No one is coming to save your business if there are missing pieces. Create a great story around the products and services offered and the future looks very bright.