What Would You Do Differently?

We define legacy businesses as staid organizations in traditional industries. Plumbing and heating contractors to manufactures of all kinds can all fall into this category. Most legacy companies are being run the same way they were when they first started. Their processes are highly repeatable, and operating methods redundant such that controlling them is easy.

Legacy companies build for tomorrow by relying on yesterday’s success.
Well established, traditional companies reuse generic growth approaches, hoping that what worked in the past will work in the future. Their operating methods may have made sense for a time, but as the times change so do customers and buyers.

Build a strategy to adapt.
The competitors of today and tomorrow launch their business in direct response to the current demands of the market. To compete, they must be in tune with the needs of their customers. How are you ensuring that those you compete against aren’t more in tune than you are?

Legacy businesses must move ahead of the curve in order to seize the opportunities new competitors try to capture. If you can answer this question then your legacy business will continue to be successful for years to come:

What would you do NOW if you had to grow your business from scratch? How would you enhance your offering, pricing, distribution channels and customer interactions?

If you don’t have the answers, then the competition will provide them for you.
In today’s “business is an extreme sport” environment, innovation is the key component of survival and sustainability. Study your customers and your competition, anticipate trends and think like a ruthless competitor. Challenge your team to embrace the needs and future expectations of customers. Develop a lean infrastructure as well as products and procedures that will bring notice and greater legitimacy to your company.