Would Sainsbury’s and Ford have survived to the present day if they had rested on their early successes? In 1913, at the peak, there were 216 British Motor Manufacturers. The inevitable consolidation means that there are now only a handful of car brands manufactured in the UK with only a very small number British owned.

Q. What separates the survivors from those that fell by the way-side?

A. Constant evolution:

• Product

• Price

• Place

• Promotion

• People

• Process

• Technology

• …….

Two cars, the same (British owned) manufacturer – celebrating its centenary in 2009.

Questions to ask yourself:

• Is there anything associated with the way that you do business that is unchanged from this time last year?

• Which of the following factors that influence your business have changed in some small (or large!!) way:

• Suppliers

• Customers

• Traditional competitors

• New market entrants

• Better value substitutes

• Legislation

• Staff

• ……….

What do you need to change to counteract or exploit this?

• Have you checked to make sure that you are getting the same or better results from the same amount of effort or money?

• What should you stop doing?

• What should you refine in some small way?

• What new thing will make the difference to your future success?

Your customers and competitors continuously change and evolve. For a business to prosper in the long term, it must become expert at evolving slightly faster than its:

• Customers needs;

And

• Its competitors offerings.

This was a guest post by Paul Fileman of SPS who are a national team of proven senior management professionals, passionate about working to help businesses achieve their next level of development and performance. Whether they are facing market changes, financial problems, people/skills issues, or are preparing a major project, they offer dedicated support from a multi-disciplined team of experts.

Subscribe:
If you enjoyed this post and would like to be kept updated on future posts, then please Subscribe by Email or subscribe to my RSS Feed.