How to Grow Your Business Out of Uncertainty

If you’re struggling to conduct “business as usual” right now, you’re not alone. Whether it’s a global pandemic or a more ordinary hurdle, uncertainty can be crippling.

If you think of your brand as a story, “uncertainty” is your new villain – your nemesis in times of crisis. But there is a path to a happy ending, and we can help you get there.

Here are four steps for growing your way out of uncertainty.

Step 1. Embrace the Situation

Uncertainty is often a product of unexpected change; finding your way out means accepting that things are different. You certainly don’t have to like it. But there’s a lot of opportunity out there—there always is—though it can be stressful as we work through the churn.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, business challenges have ranged from having to adapt to remote work, to prospecting without being able to meet people face-to-face, to identifying new revenue streams when cash flow is decreasing—all in a time of global economic instability with no clear sense of when it will end.

Uncertainty causes inaction, and that’s exactly what this villain wants. Beware of sitting back and waiting for things to “return to normal” and for the referrals to keep rolling in – this is a dangerous game.

While it can be tempting to wait, maybe even put your marketing efforts on pause, that is less of a strategy than it is a gift to your competitors.

Step 2. Get Close with Your Customers & Prospects

Start with the challenges your customers are facing, which includes shifting customer requirements. Ask them what has changed, what hasn’t and what they need. Identify what you can do to help solve these new problems and opportunities.

Turbulent times create opportunities for those who are willing to move forward when others are rooted in place. Maybe it’s time to expand your target list, or pivot to meet the demand for a new product or service that wasn’t needed before. This may feel counter-intuitive. Wouldn’t it be safer to stick with what we know, and avoid the risks of a new endeavor?

Maybe. But that’s not a growth strategy. It’s not even a survival strategy.

Step 3. Build a Strategy for Short-Term Growth

While it may be time to put your five-year plan on ice, with a sound 6, 12, or 18-month strategy, you can chart a course of short-term growth and evolution. The world has changed, and you need a strategy that changes with it.

Finding your way out requires a solid understanding of the problems that your target market is facing. They’re likely still grappling with the usual hurdles, but now they’ve got new challenges to manage as well. You’ll want to build your new sales and marketing strategy to meet both. There may also be opportunity to set your sights on a new target market.

For one of our clients, this forward-thinking approach meant putting their supply chain expertise to use in a new direction, shifting from supplying retail displays to PPE gear. To help them capitalize on this new opportunity, we advised them on a go-to-market strategy, created a new health and safety brand identity, launched an ecommerce website, and started a Google Ads campaign – all within a week.

Our agility ensures your agility, and agility is one of the most important capabilities you can have in these uncertain times.

Step 4. Find the Right Partner & Get Back to Growing Your Business

Over the years (and crises), we’ve helped many companies successfully navigate their way out of more than a few challenges, in a partnership designed to unearth the opportunities under every kind of market condition.

When you partner with Innovaxis, you bring our multi-skilled team of more than 25 people to the job of crafting, aligning, and maintaining your marketing strategy—all for less than the cost of one entry level, full-time marketing hire.

Our work is closely aligned with the efforts of your sales team and customized to meet the needs of your business, your industry and your goals – with results that include an average ROI of more than 300% in under 18 months. That’s a gift you give yourself.

But we can only help you grow out of uncertainty if you contact us. Our first conversation will be to assess your situation, understand your challenges, and identify your short-term growth opportunities.