The downfall of big businesses – adapt to change or get left behind!

I was walking through Leeds City Centre the other week and was struck by the number of empty shop fronts and vacant plots. Topshop. Debenhams. BHS. Wilkos. It’s a growing list. And this trend doesn’t feel like it’s slowing down.

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I remember in 2008 when Woolworths collapsed. Everyone talked about it for months. A huge high-street retailer was forced to close its doors. How could that happen? Now, it just feels like the norm.

So why is this happening?

Well, without sounding too harsh, it’s just natural evolution. The way people interact with businesses is changing. We are living through one of the biggest technical revolutions of our lifetime.

People now shop and consume media in entirely different ways than they did twenty years ago. They even communicate and work in a manner that would have seemed almost alien back in the early 2000s- and it’s great!

For me, change has always signified growth. Whether in your personal or professional life, a change provides a new opportunity- a chance to try something new and develop. In short, change allows you to mature, to make something different, something better.

So why are so many people – and businesses – afraid of it?

My answer is that they don’t know how to adapt or grow alongside it.

Take the recent collapse of Wilkos. The store was struggling for years. Competing with the likes of Amazon and the drop in foot traffic through their doors. They tried to move online, but the business model just wasn’t built for it. The competition had already cornered the market. They were too late.

For budget-friendly businesses like Wilkos – there often isn’t any other option than to cease trading. But sometimes, there is a saving grace, a new niche you can try to fill. This is exactly what Hotel Chocolat did when other chocolatiers like Thornton’s struggled.

They marketed themselves as a luxury brand. Taking advantage of a niche within the market where high traffic remained and – more importantly – where competition was low.

Finding your niche is a key business strategy. Everyone needs it. Without one, you risk finding yourself in a very saturated market without any way of standing out from the crowd. It’s either that – or recognise change as it begins to happen and go with it.

Netflix is a prime example of a business that has done this to a T. Hopefully, I’m not the only one old enough to remember when Netflix would send you DVDs in the post. Back when the height of Friday night activity was taking the kids to Blockbuster, picking out a couple of films for the weekend and stopping off at the corner shop to stock up on popcorn and chocolate.

Netflix saw this. They watched us sighing as we stepped out into the rain. Cursing under our breath as we struggled to find a parking space outside the local Blockbuster. Grinding our teeth as we tried to stop the kids fighting over which film to watch first. They saw this and gave us a solution. Neatly packaged and delivered to our door. Not only that, but they also saw us start to consume more media online. To watch television through our phones. And they adapted to that, too.

It's staggering to think of where Netflix started and where it is now. But it’s an absolutely brilliant example of adapting to change and using it to facilitate growth- one we should all follow.

Your business needs to adapt to change, no matter how big or small.

We were all forced into it when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Forced to come up with new ways of working. New ways to sell our products. Restaurants became take-outs. Sofas became offices. And while at the time it was frightening and uncertain, the pandemic forced us into a change which has now been adopted as – to coin a phrase I’m sure we’re all familiar with – ‘the new normal’.

Believe it or not, these practices can be applied to much more than just the location where you work.

As business owners, it is imperative we are open to change. We need to listen to the people around us and spend more time asking what can be done differently. Just because something has always been done a certain way doesn’t mean that’s the best or the only way to do it.

There’s no need to be afraid of scaring anyone away with change. Consumers adapt much faster than businesses do. The pressure is on us to get it right.

Most importantly – ask questions. Demand answers. Because that is how we facilitate growth, that is how we ensure we don’t get left behind. And that is how we succeed.