When is the right time for business transformation?

Jordan Richards at product and brand studio &above considers the real meaning of transformation and argues that transformation is appropriate at pivotal moments of growth, rather than being change for the sake of it

 

‘Transformation’ has become one of the buzzwords of the last few years. But what does business transformation mean? Should it be a target for all businesses? And is there a right time to embark upon the process?

 

 

What do people mean by business transformation?

The problematic thing about defining business transformation is that it can mean so many different things. In my business, we work with two core transformation groups.

 

On the one hand, you have the Commercial First clients. They are people who have some proof of demand for a product via a managed service have raised seed money, but now need support to build their digital minimum viable product (MVP) to scale their company. For this group, transformation is about building the first product to launch to market to meet the demand they have generated, followed by testing and refining that product. 

 

On the other hand, there are the Product First clients. They’ve created the first workable version of a scalable product to raise funding, and now need a distinctive brand to take it to market and grow demand and/or revenue. They need a story, a positioning, and a brand that they can take out and sell to future staff and customers. They are facing stagnation, and the aim is not just to rebrand the business, but to change how it works, and to enhance how the company – and what it does – is perceived. 

 

In short, transformation is the process of significant change in response to the needs of a business. 

 

 

When is transformation necessary?

Businesses typically undertake transformation when they’ve reached a point of stasis. Either the business can’t scale much more than it already has, inefficiencies have grown as demand has increased, or the technology that powers the business doesn’t yet exist, leaving the company to rely on manual services.

 

The transformation will then be invested in as a means of realising the ambition of the company. And that’s a crucial qualifier because when change happens for the sake of change, it will almost inevitably turn out to be little more than an expensive experiment.

 

When transformation is used at pivotal moments of growth to enable core objectives to be achieved, that’s when it carries the most value. And that can happen in different ways. 

 

For some companies, early-stage transformation can be product-related – perhaps a founder has developed a transformational product that they want to take to market, so they need a brand and story that they can use for testing. They can use that experience to de-risk the launch. Assessing market receptiveness, investor willingness, and areas of improvement, even before the physical product has been built. Essentially, it means using that experience to sculpt the product and/or business before the official launch, avoiding the expense of getting it wrong. 

 

For others, it’s a simple case of iteration. If a company has peaked and can see no other ways to improve performance, transformation can focus on finding new and better ways to conduct core operational processes. This could be as simple as onboarding AI, or changing the entire way the company operates.

 

Take a typical example of a digital homebuying platform that wants to move away from a telesales service and build an entirely digital solution. This would enhance the customer experience by allowing an unlimited number of users to be serviced with improved functionality. This new solution would alter the business model entirely. The company could achieve its original goals in a more effective manner, by-passing the barriers that were holding it back at a moment of fast growth.

 

Depending to a certain degree on the type of transformation required, transformation also often happens around a time of fundraising. Either as a pitch while a business is trying to raise money, or shortly after funding has been received, as a means of maximising the potential of the funds.

 

So, there can never be a single good time for a business transformation. It’s about understanding your business and knowing when you could do things better. Because transformation isn’t just about the immediate return, it’s about the longer-term impact of keeping a business on a fast growth curve that isn’t limited by human resources

 

 

Planning for a successful transformation

For a successful transformation, you need to start with a clear understanding of where your business is right now. Strengths, weaknesses, processes, systems, customer needs and expectations. It’s what we call the discovery phase, and typically consists of interviews, auditing current processes, and business immersion to understand the current needs. 

 

If you haven’t already got your stakeholders onboard and engaged, that’s your next step. And that doesn’t just mean discussing your vision with leadership, but taking in the views of employees, as the front line of your business, they know better than anyone else what it is that your customers want, and where you’re failing to meet their needs. This will help you see, firstly, whether a transformation is actually necessary, and what you have to work with, providing data for you to build your transformation around. 

 

Next, you need to move on to what you want to achieve. We usually use an objectives and key results (OKR) strategy to help fully clarify the why behind the transformation. Whether it’s shifting market demands, internal inefficiencies, innovation goals, or a company pivot. Without that understanding and those clearly defined goals, any transformation will be set to fail. 

 

Then, in most cases, you’ll call in specialists to help you fully develop and implement a complete transformation strategy which usually will include software development. 

 

 

Why transformation is always the answer 

Transformation is an alluring prospect – it’s something we’re all drawn to in both our professional and private lives. But there are times when it feels that transformation may just rock the boat. The thing is, even if your business is stable, it can still benefit from transformation, because technology is currently moving so quickly that no one can afford to simply sit still. The key is to recognise the areas in which transformation can deliver the best results, so you can better direct your focus.  

 

The success of a transformation often relies heavily on management and employee buy-in. If they’re not convinced of the move, they won’t be able to sell it to your customers. If any of these things are true for your business, transformation may actually be more important than you realise; you just need to find the right approach.  

 

Business transformation can drive growth and modernisation. It can improve performance and de-risk innovation. But you must understand your business and the process to generate the best results. In some cases, it simply isn’t necessary. But where it is, it can be… transformational. 

 

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Jordan Richards is founder and CEO of product and brand studio &above

 

Main image courtesy of iStockPhoto.com and ffikretow