About
ki.co marketing
Plant Your Feet When You Pivot
Moving in a new direction with your business
My dad was a pro boxer. I kinda went in a different direction. But he definitely tried to get me into it and taught me how to box when I was young. I learned a lot from those experiences – mostly that I didn’t like getting hit, but occasionally I learned about ways in which the art of boxing could be applied to other areas of life.
One of the most important lessons in boxing is where your strength comes from when you throw a punch. A lot of people would think it’s big muscles or winding up your arm when you swing. Those people are wrong. Your strength starts with the feet, and moves through the body – it is the synergy between your hips, shoulders, and feet. It begins with the pivot of your foot and ends with your knuckles. That combination of grace and brawn is a necessity in exerting all of your power into your blows.
This isn’t only a lesson on boxing – this is a lesson on charting a new course in your business’s journey. To really build the best path forward for your business, you must plant your feet to maximize the potential of your new offer.
Remember Your Roots
To plant your feet is to remember your roots. What makes your business special, and how has that history contributed to the success of your brand? I think of many of the greatest brands out there, and how they don’t shy away from what made them so unique in the first place. In 1952, Adidas acquired its trademark three stripe branding for two bottles of whiskey and just under $2,000. For a blurry night and a middle-class paycheck, Adidas secured its legacy and created a strong connection between its roots in the Olympics and the visual language of its products. As they build new products or head in a different direction on their offerings, I’d bet you a handle or two of booze that they’ll maintain those stripes as they pivot.
Charting a New Path
When you’re charting a new path, you must determine the level of risk you are comfortable taking. There’s always going to be some risk when launching a new product, but you can reduce the danger by leaning on your strengths and keeping the foundations in place.
If you’re offering a new line of products, make sure you’re thinking about who you’re trying to appeal to, and who you’ve historically been most successful in servicing. If you’ve typically created the most brand loyalty with middle aged women that are family oriented, it might serve you best to continue to appeal to that demographic. Offer a new line of products that creates value for the people that already exist within your brand ecosystem to avoid unnecessary polarization.
Maximize Your Strengths
Do you have a strong process in place for your service offering? In many cases, you can replicate the strengths of that offering, doubling down on what made it great while changing the product or service available. Our company offers a wide range of services, but if I had to boil our process down to a few pieces, it would be communication, execution and delivery. As long as we maintain our process, we could flesh out our service offerings further without sacrificing quality.
…But Keep Your Guard Up.
When it comes to business, risk management is always going to be an important part of the equation. This should always be assessed before making large-scale changes to your operations, and pivoting your business should never have that level of impact.
While there will always be times to practice financial prudence, we err on the side of taking that risk – after all, innovation stems from the ability to take bold steps in directions not taken very often. Plant your feet, put your whole body into it and follow through – your punch might just land you the knockout your business has been looking for.
written by
Cody Johnson
Founder / Creative Director
Proud son of Clyde “Chubby” Johnson, a great boxer and an amazing father.
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