Business models have changed in the post-Covid 19 era and need new strategies for a competitive advantage. Even the largest organizations must adapt to changes, running flexible and composable operations. We know disruption will happen, and the only way to be ready is to move like a chameleon. Where this color-changing reptile gets its adaptable superpower from a specialized system of chromatophores, businesses can adapt thanks to great data.
Your environment has “changed color.”
Digital transformation is a vital part of running a business today. Covid-19 may have accelerated the move to data-driven decision making, composable business, and remote options, but the colors of the environment were changing regardless.
- Customer behavior changes based on trends and new lifestyles.
- Global disruptions cause massive shifts in everyday life.
- People’s minds change about what’s important to them.
- Recent advances in technology, changes in the supply chain, and other factors present new opportunities for companies.
Chameleons are so successful because they’re able to adapt to their environment. They don’t need to be the biggest or the most aggressive. Instead, their success happens because they can hyper-specialize to suit the environment and reimagine themselves when it changes.
Data offers businesses the opportunity to specialize in the same manner. It drives real-time insights, making it easier for companies to pivot as circumstances change. In the past, data exploration might have taken weeks or months and relied on historical data; now, companies can see trends and challenges arising in real-time.
Adapting to protect from predators (i.e., your competition)
Chameleons don’t just escape predators. They move around them using clever adaptation. Companies that can quickly adapt their business model to new realities will continue to be as successful as chameleons at outsmarting their competition. It’s a real competitive advantage.
How data can change a business’s colors
Companies can leverage real-time data insights to find out a lot about their natural environment.
Who is your ideal customer?
Data can reveal exactly who benefits from a company’s products and services, alleviating unnecessary guesswork and revealing potentially lucrative new markets. Chameleons can blend into their environment to make hunting quick and efficient; data helps companies become an integral part of their environment and “capture” new customers.
For example, a company can examine captured data to find out who their best customers are. Once they know, they can examine those customers at length—where they visit, what they buy, demographics data, how they interact—to find out what makes them tick. From there, a company can adjust its colors to match that customer’s ideal company, product, or service.
What do you offer?
Before launching expensive new products that go nowhere, data can help companies develop and test new products and services that will land their marks. As customer preferences change, the company can evolve its colors to fit the new consumer landscape.
Data can also go one step further to help companies identify trends ahead of the curve rather than behind. Just like a chameleon that can change colors a fraction of a second faster than those around it, this adaptability gives companies an edge in the competition.
Why is your product/service profitable?
The quality of the product or service isn’t the only factor in a successful product or service. Data reveals the consumer behaviors that drive profitable products and services. These insights help make it easier to innovate and launch new value for customers.
Relying on data tells companies how to spend smarter on the right marketing. It provides insights into challenges customers have so that updates or better onboarding can smooth out the experience. It defines the customer journey so that each one is personalized and has the best chance of landing a sale.
How do you offer value?
New startups and innovators in your market can disrupt how you offer value to your customers. Using data to adapt offerings allows you to compete even with breakout newcomers. Consumers expect faster iterations and more personalization; data provides the foundation for value-driven innovations.
The best thing about being a chameleon company—you never get stuck in a rut with your business. Data allows you to blend into the environment, becoming an absolute necessity for your customers. You’ll grow and change to fit their needs, and you’ll always have their best interests in mind.
How close could your company be to a chameleon?
With high-quality data, companies can change their colors to fit right into their sales environment quickly and effectively. Becoming a chameleon with data gives a competitive advantage. Customers will feel like a company’s products or services blend right into their daily lives, and companies will have an edge on their competition thanks to faster adaptation.
Data can be a superpower, just like chameleons changing the appearance of their skin. All it takes is the right architecture and data capture for companies to make flexibility and adaptability their most significant asset in an ever-changing world. And while chameleons rely on camouflage to disappear, data-driven can leverage their adaptability to blend right in with their ideal customer’s lifestyle. And no matter what happens, it will be the perfect fit.
