Survive and Thrive During Challenging Economic Times

Survive and Thrive During Challenging Economic Times

Some companies hunker down and brace for lean times while others use the opportunity to acquire talent, retool for a bull market, and out prepare their competitors for the long haul. In either case companies want to do more with less.

As the economic environment shifts and companies try to do more with less, CFOs are scrutinizing and consolidating their investments. 

Executives now see productivity and efficiency as the key value drivers and are focusing on the following:

• Productivity - doing more with less
• Employee retention
• Getting more from existing products with deeper use and efficient workflows
• Easing technology transitions, additions, substitutions, and deletions

Successful execution on these fronts will help a company avoid irrelevance.

2023 value drivers

At a fundamental level companies look to do one or more of the following: grow revenue, accelerate time-to-value, reduce risk, or reduce cost. Every company will have its own specific pain points that it wants to alleviate with new technology, but when you get right down to it decision makers give an answer that impacts cost, time, risk, or revenue. 

Efficient growth is the high value target

Over the past several years customers have primarily been interested in growth-related value drivers and companies have invested heavily in software in order to drive new revenue streams and accelerate existing ones. Today, however, customers are extremely focused on productivity and efficiency value drivers, such as automating workflows, consolidating tech stacks, and reducing costs. 

So how does one get their technology to do more with less?

Productivity and efficiency are the currency of the day and the key value drivers in periods of economic concern

Addressing productivity and efficiency drivers will better help you alleviate your pain points while still enabling you to tell a growth story. 

During times of economic prosperity many companies overlook productivity and efficiency as they are meeting or exceeding their financial goals and may not feel a need to make changes. It is during times of economic uncertainty that companies will examine how they can do more with less. 

One of the most effective and efficient ways to make productivity gains is through the use of tools that maximize or optimize digital transformation or digital adoption.  Solutions in these categories are quick and easy to implement, secure, and deliver measurable results immediately. 

How companies are responding to the shift

The successful companies will focus on cost efficiencies, productivity, automation, and value delivered against dollars saved in the business. By consolidating your tech stack and leveraging automation tools companies will lower costs and manual effort. Streamlining workflows and removing bottlenecks through the use of a DAP will produce near immediate increases in productivity and efficiency. Such a strategy will advance your approach to both employee and customer acquisition and retention. This approach will also move you towards a goal of reducing total cost of ownership and realizing great cost savings. 

How vendors can respond to the shift

Many businesses are in the middle of a major consolidation of software investments where dollars are scarce, and they need to maximize the ROI on every dollar spent. Communicating how your product or service helps customers do more with less will be key to weathering the storm. 

Leading with productivity and efficiency drivers will better help you address your customers’ pain points. How is your product going to give them the most value for their money? In addition to selling your product to help gain new revenue opportunities, consider emphasizing how your product can help them identify previously overlooked opportunities for efficiency and productivity gains.