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The three Rs to consider before reopening

The pandemic isn't over, precautions still need to be taken and rules adhered to.

Johannesburg, 18 Sep 2020

The grand reopening of the economy is upon us, and with it comes the opportunity to reinvent our organisations. Many organisations, and indeed people, would have been surprised by President Cyril Ramaphosa’s announcement, but a general excitement lingers in the air.

We are excited to get back to work, to get stuck in and to achieve many of the goals that were rendered near-impossible by the pandemic. But before we put our collective heads to the grindstone, let us pause and think about what it will take for businesses to not only reopen, but to reinvent themselves. Three considerations come to mind, and as time and our experiences unfold, more will. In the meanwhile, these three will get your mind geared up for the reopening/reinvention.

Redefine

With fewer resources and more demands, small and medium businesses are going to have to be masters and servants of the redefinition stage. Redefining means rewriting, in better, fuller, post-pandemic terms what your commercial value to the market is.

Prioritising your value proposition through certain new actions, events and undertakings will underpin the trajectory of your company. Not only who we are, but what we represent and what we strive for, commercially.

To this end, one needs knowledge and lots of it as it is almost impossible to future-proof anything without knowing what the future holds. Reinvention is about staying ahead of the curve. Which is why our training hub remains one of Axiz’s busiest and most in-demand value-added services.

Axiz offers a host of vendor-based technology training, webinars, tech breakfasts and the like. The knowledge-sharing and upskilling events are perfect for getting your mind around what’s new and what to look out for. They are the looking glass into future prospects and how these will change the business, economic and social landscape. Taking a deep dive into different technologies could be the very thing that helps you understand and redefine your commercial goals and priorities.

Redesign

Many partners will have to redesign their offering to the market. While some will inevitably go deeper in their specialisations, many will have to map out paths to new opportunities. Becoming a managed service provider is one way, on-boarding new vendors and technologies is another, but leverage is the trick in taking advantage of a redesigned marketplace.

Leverage of the industry, market and channel linkages to afford your business the new propositions it is looking for. Take the Experience Hub at Axiz – the company has invested millions in forward-looking technologies so that our partners don’t have to. Hundreds of remote POCs have been conducted, and every time, clients are overwhelmed by their first-hand experiences of what they have seen or heard about. The redesign phase requires partners to give themselves every opportunity to win by leveraging the resources they have access to.

Reinvest

This one is more for your customers, but the principle still applies. You have to reinvest in your knowledge base, you have to reinvest in your relationships and you have to reinvest in the technology that fulfils the needs of your customers. Honestly, for medium and large organisations, this is where the proverbial rubber hits the road. Having identified their shortcomings, many organisations will be forced to take their heads out the sand and do something significant.

Of course, this will come with great consultation, deliberation and negotiation but the process should start in earnest. If the pandemic has exposed anything, it’s how critical to the success of the modern-day business technology is. Choosing the right technology, vendor, partner and distributor will ensure a palatable value that is present beyond the sale, but alas a choice must be made.

Once you’ve considered all three aspects of the business, get ready because it is going to feel uncomfortable, unfamiliar, uncertain and unpredictable. At that moment you know you’re back in the game, because you’re not playing for the draw or to get by – you’re playing to win and keep winning.

This is why it requires a distributor that is not only channel-focused but your business-success focused. Partners need a distributor that will help them get back on the horse and ride out the ramifications of the pandemic.

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