For companies to survive and thrive in what is a hugely fast-paced world, speed is essential. From your internal operating systems to your website, your customer response to your ability to adapt and change, your entire business must be able to act fast to thrive. If you don’t, the impacts can be larger than you think. Here are three reasons why speed is vital for company success.
- To gain and retain customers
Thanks to the rapid development of technology, consumers now demand instant and constant connectivity, highly reactive websites, uninterrupted power supplies and fast responses from companies throughout their daily lives. People seek instant gratification, they want the answer, the product or the service now. No waiting around. So no matter what industry you’re in – retail, manufacturing or travel – your company must keep up with this expectation to stay relevant.
If potential customers can’t get what they need from you quickly and easily, they’ll get it elsewhere. Which brings us onto the next point.
- To stay ahead of your competition
If you strive to be better than your competition, you must be faster than them. It’s no secret that business moves fast and keeping up the pace is no walk in the park. Whichever industry you work in, it’s likely that you have several competitors that are vying for the same potential customers. To stay one step ahead, you need to position your business as the front runner and stay there by adapting quickly whenever necessary.
Take Tumbler for example – in 2017, the company was worth $1.1 billion. After a series of mistakes updating the platform that didn’t sit well with users, its value dropped to just $3 million in 2019. This goes to show that keeping up with current trends is vital for business.
- To grow and evolve
It’s fair to say that for any business to grow and evolve, they must move quickly and adapt with their marketplace and customers. While it may seem daunting to business owners to continually change their company’s procedures and offering, in the long run it is something that should be embraced. By stepping away from a ‘comfort zone’ and pushing your business to be the best it can be, it is more likely to succeed. And once you’ve practiced operating at a fast pace, the easier it will become to keep it up. Sooner or later, your entire company will be able to manage the speed at which it thrives, allowing you to maintain it long term.
It’s essential that your company acts fast to the ever-changing needs of society to survive. If you don’t – the impacts can far-reaching. From drops in profit and business value to an irreversible damaged reputation, there is a whole host of unsavoury outcomes. Entrepreneurship by definition means to ‘take on risks in the hope of profit’ and this goes for taking risks to keep up with the pace. After all, what successful business was built on playing it safe?