Why modernize a business instead of replacing it?

2020 is a year that has proved to us how much the balance of the economic, monetary, health, stock and environmental markets can be disrupted by constant and inevitable changes. The fragility of the entire system has been illuminated by the covid 19 epidemic, putting the entirety of society to the test and challenging our ability to adapt to new challenges.

For many years companies have had to constantly demonstrate their ability to be flexible, adaptable, to rethink or rebuild their products, distribution channels, and organizational methods. In other words they have had to prove they can change their business model to remain relevant.

For numerous reasons your company may experience a loss of momentum following a customer drain, difficulties in building customer loyalty, or winning over prospects. It is also possible that your business model is outdated and can not keep up with the increasing competition equipped with new technologies.

To put it briefly, all of these factors make you wonder whether it is time to modernize your business, or more radically, to replace it.

If you have reached this stage of thinking about the future of your business, big changes are inevitably waiting for you regardless of your decision.

Modernizing is more modern!

First you need to identify what you want for your business. Do you want to improve it to offer the same services, or do you want to evolve in a field of activity that is close, but perhaps more up-to-date and attentive to new customer expectations?

Keeping your initial structure gives you advantages that creating a replacement business does not offer you.

→ Here is a non-exhaustive list of these advantages:

You maintain your existing partners
You maintain your customer base
You have the knowledge gained from your experience
You already have human resources
You know your position on the market
You know your competition

→ Your image is positively impacted!

The life of your business is in the long term
You know how to evolve with the times and how to renew yourself
You are in an era where time matters: do you prefer to “recycle” rather than throw away and create something else?

Modernizing your business, your brand image, your distribution channels, your working methods, and your organization is ultimately a creative process.

Modernizing the structure of your business is an intense work of reflection, analysis and elaboration.

There are several questions that you will need to keep in mind while doing this:

Who are your targets? Are your current customers still part of that?
What are their needs?
Is my product/service adapted to the realities of the market?
What added value do you bring to your customer?
Is your new business flexible?

These questions should be your guidelines when designing your new business model, but they should also be a part of your long-term decision-making process.

However, if it is too difficult or unsuitable to implement a new business model to replace the existing one, it is possible to develop a new business model within your organization. The creation of another “annex” business model offers you the possibility to diversify your offers or even your means of distribution.

The question that now arises is what type of business model should you adopt.

The service marketplace: your turnkey solution!

Take into account the fact that the market is constantly evolving and rapidly. You are currently in the process of restructuring and modernizing your business, which presents you with an opportunity! Take advantage of this opportunity to implement a new business model that will best adapt to future market developments.

The service marketplace is probably your best solution if you want to rely on a future-oriented, digitized and flexible business model.

The service marketplace has three benefits that help sustain and improve your business regardless of your field.

The essential digitalization of your business

In 2020, where market uberisation has become the rule, the digitalization of your products and services is no longer optional, it is essential.

The transition of your business to a digital space allows people to have 24/7 access to your offers. This not only allows you to extend your sales time at a lower cost, but also reduces the need to open physical shops. Fewer shops = less payroll, and less expenses from renting a physical shop..

Beware, having fewer employees does not mean that the human element is left out, rather it’s the opposite!

→ The service marketplace in many cases makes it possible to create a network of workers from the same backgrounds, which helps to promote exchange and cooperation between colleagues.

→ The service marketplace additionally brings your customers and prospects together directly with service providers. Not only do users of the online service marketplace have access to information about service providers, but they also have the opportunity to promote the consumption of local services. All these elements deeply integrate the challenges of the future.

More transparency, less defiance

The service marketplace is largely characterised by the transparency it offers its users.

Service marketplaces are designed to provide users of your online appointment site or online booking site for example, with a maximum amount of information to help them make their choices in categories such as rates, experience, location, customer reviews, etc.

Finally, your customers will have the opportunity to compare all the service offers relating to their search. This will result in competitive and fair prices.

This effect encourages trust between service providers and service seekers, especially in industries where there is growing mistrust such as with taxi service, building site contractors, garages, etc.

The outsourcing of service offers

Online service platforms have the advantage of relying on “outsourcing of the offer”.

→ What is offer outsourcing?

It is taking the offer and subcontracting it through other specialized players, or in other words service providers.

What are the advantages?

Limiting the recruitment of employees
Relieving yourself of the management of labor law regulations and other local legal provisions which allows you gain agility in the global marketplace
No need to have a large budget since you manage (almost) everything online!