Pivoting in business is sometimes needed to meet the dynamics of the targeted market. It's often considered the last resort when other options fail to produce the desired results. It requires one to make extensive research before making the tough decisions.
We asked entrepreneurs and business owners how they define pivoting and here are the responses.
#1- Making a mid-course correction
As a CEO, I believe that pivoting is fundamentally the ability to make a decisive and confident move when confronted with a turning point. If you want to succeed, you must accept that not everything you think up will work and that not every idea is truly brilliant. Pivoting is a necessary skill for advancement. When what you're producing does not produce the desired results, you must be able to pivot and redirect your attention in order to continue with your venture. The ability to pivot when confronted with a dead end is critical for progress.
Thanks to Mark Valderrama, Aquarium Store Depot!
#2- Strategy to beat the competition
In my opinion pivoting is defined as selecting a different and unique strategy to become better than your competitor. Your idea may appear to be unique and original at first, but there's always the possibility that a larger firm with more resources, finance, and a built-in audience may come along and build a product that's identical to yours, only better. Because you don't have much of a choice, in this case, your startup would be better served by doing something completely different.
Thanks to Gavin Johnson, Evking!
#3- Going after a plan B
Pivoting is basically going after a plan B when the business owner realizes their company's products/services are no longer meeting the market needs. We all have a clear and solid idea in mind when starting a business. However, we're all prone to failure once that idea sets foot in the real world, but that's when entrepreneurs can resort to pivoting, which means changing the business' direction in order to stay relevant and survive the market.
Thanks to AriShpanya, LoanBase!
#4- Altering your business model
When a company pivots, it drastically alters its product or business model in response to a new opportunity that it cannot exploit in its current form. It's true that many people regard pivoting as a passing fad, but I couldn't agree with them more. Pivoting is a planned event that occurs as a result of an entrepreneurial attitude. Pivoting is the act of accepting failure and seeing an opportunity, even if it means drastically altering your business model.
Thanks to Shad Elia, New England Home Buyers!
#5- Restart and reassess past choices
In my perspective, pivoting in business is not just about having a sudden turning point but also a good and fresh restart. Pivoting is an action to look at the past happenings and strategies implemented to assess and see what can be made better. The turns allowed business owners to have a clearer perspective while moving forward leaving the bad decisions behind. Given this, I can say that to pivot is not just to turn or rotate but also to restart and reassess past choices.
Thanks to Chris M. Walker, Superstar SEO!
#6- Change with the market
A pivot's primary purpose is to assist a firm in increasing revenue or surviving in the market, but how you pivot your company can make all the difference. In the case of startups, I believe pivoting is significantly more complicated, and it can have far-reaching implications. When you recognize your present products or services aren't meeting the market's needs, pivoting is when you completely change your organization's path. I think Pivoting should only be considered when it is essential. When everything else fails, it should be the last resort.
Thanks to Salvador Ordorica, The Spanish Group!
#7- Shift in vision
Pivoting becomes a critical element of the process when you're building quickly, trying out MVPs on test markets, and getting feedback from the ecosystem or customers. In practice, a pivot is more than just an abrupt and drastic shift in vision. Pivots can include changing your target market, adopting a different technology for your platform, or having one aspect of an MVP becomes the exact product you were trying to develop
originally.
Thanks to Mike Ziarko, No More Chores!
#8- Being adaptable
It takes adaptability and versatility to pivot not only as a business but also as a business owner. When I first came up with the idea for my company, it took a long time for me to perfect the product I intended to sell. Much of running a business is a process of trial and error. In the event that anything isn't working well for you or your customers, make the necessary adjustments.
Thanks to James Angel, DYL!
#9- Creating a new concept
The process of generating a new concept from an existing business and turning it into something exceptional is known as startup pivoting. Because Instagram and Slack are also company pivoting results, it shouldn't come as a complete surprise. When it comes to pivoting, Instagram, Slack, and plenty of other famous apps have a story to tell. Business pivoting is a win-win situation because it increases traffic and leads on the page. You keep up with the times and make a reputation for yourself in the industry.
Thanks to Nicholas Rubright, Snow Finders!
#10- Being creative
The ability of a business owner to think outside the box and on the move in terms of their response to a rapid shift or crisis is, in my opinion, what pivoting is about. Finding an answer to a problem is one thing; finding an actionable solution that will not only save your life but also drive you ahead is quite another thing entirely. And, at this time of crisis, the latter is much more critical than the former.
Thanks to Kavin Patel, Convrrt!
#11- Responding to change
Understanding the situation around you and your target audience, as well as determining the most effective strategy to adapt and shift your business in response to the change, is the goal of pivoting. It is all about tweaking your marketing efforts, your message, and your promotions to make them more effective. It is not enough to simply address the circumstance; you must also consider what your target audience is experiencing, what they require, and how you can assist them.
Thanks to Travis Lindemoen, Nexus IT Group!
#12- Reassess your business model
The usual definition of pivoting is changing the direction of your entire business. While that may be true in some cases, pivoting doesn't always involve fundamentally shifting the entire scope of your business. For me, pivoting is changing any aspect of your business when you understand that the current product, set of customers, technology, revenue model, or platform is no longer meeting the needs of the current company. Timing is also incredibly important, as the longer you wait to pivot the more time, money, and effort you will waste.
Thanks to Brandon Brown, GRIN!
#13- Taking a better path to progress
Pivoting is all about having a turning point to make things new and better. However, having the chance or moment to pivot is not just about turning the tables but also making better decisions for the business. Most often, businesses pivot to avoid a more problematic situation. Thus, we can say that to pivot is to take a better path towards progress. For me, it is not a mere change of mind but rather a strategic action to achieve more desirable results.
Thanks to Kyle Richards, Best Overland Park Painters!
#14- Shifting focus
Pivoting is when you change directions of shift focus. Pivoting can be done on a smaller level, like changing the goal of a specific project, or it can be done on a large level, like changing the overall trajectory and mission of an organization. Usually, the decision to pivot follows the realization that the current direction being headed toward isn’t going to achieve the results you want. Pivoting isn’t something that should be done lightly, because it can cause such massive change.
Thanks to Devon Fata, Pixoul!
#15- Changing your routine
I define pivoting as the ability to make changes in your routine to ensure that you are still productive despite a change in circumstances. That being said, if you are able to pivot, then you exhibit resilience and exude flexibility – both of which are traits of successful leaders. The ability to pivot separates good business owners from the bad ones, because if you are able to pivot at the first sign of disruption, then you can literally
face any challenge you’ll face in the future.
Thanks to Sharon Winton, GoMontana!
#16- Realigning to standards
Pivoting, for me, is a condition in which there is a lack of satisfaction in not meeting the personal expectations I have for my business. My company is part of who I am, and its performance and mission are an extension of my values. Therefore, pivoting is a realization, that something is falling short of the standards I set for my business and myself and then taking corrective action to address it. It is a necessity, as I believe without the desire to pivot, one risks stagnating both professionally and personally.
Thanks to Adelle Archer, Eterneva!
#17- Changing direction with preparation
In business, I would define pivoting as turning in another direction. However, it also means that you are turning and going as prepared as you can be. You don't do pivoting in business unless you are confident that it will work out well. It's a difficult decision for anyone because it seems like your past efforts were a waste. That isn't true in most cases. There is still some data you can analyze and from there, you can determine how to make you're pivoting successfully. Pivoting isn't done with the casualty. When you're deciding if you should change your business direction, you have to be prepared for the losses.
Thanks to Anup Kayastha, Height Comparison!
#18- Creative or innovative solutions
Pivoting is the application of creative or innovative solutions to enterprise challenges. It may involve revamping business strategies or several problems affecting your business, altering software solutions and tools, focusing on different customers, and much more. Pivoting should be taken as the last option or when necessary to avoid worsening a problem. Companies should ensure that the change will present growth opportunities, be informed by customer feedback for successful pivoting.
Thanks to Ryan Yount, Luck luck go!
#19- Embracing innovation
Pivoting is embracing innovation in a bid to make the business more relevant to the audience’s needs. I view it from a positive lens because pivoting allows me to think about growing the business from a different perspective. The idea is to look at the brighter side of things to rise above challenges and embrace change. It’s a process of adapting to the demands of the market and making your business tailored to the customers’ needs.
Thanks to Scott Spivack, United Medical Credit!
#20- Shift in strategy and perspective
Pivoting in a business means changing your business processes. For instance, changing your workplace from a physical in-office workplace to a remote one is a pivoting move. Businesses generally tend to pivot everything and anything. You can change a process into a product, or change the platform you use. For instance, our biggest pivoting move as a business was changing our platform from an app-based one into a website. Pivots are targeted at drawing in more customers or taking the business to a new height.
Thanks to Sally Stevens, FastPeopleSearch.io!
#21- Changing to time relevant strategy
Corpis
Pivoting means changing the course of action or business strategy as per the need of the hour so that a business remains time-relevant. It could involve a change of strategy, adopting new technologies, or even changing the management system. The word “pivot” is used more often than ever these days. For instance, a start-up having no online presence and digital marketing strategy had to do it now no much customer attention or traffic is generated. So, it has to pivot and start working on using social media platforms.
Thanks to Cindy Corpis, SearchPeopleFree.net!
#22- Using available opportunities
For me, pivoting means making the best of commercial prospects or other opportunities that you come across, especially in a field you are already in. You are also often building on previous efforts and successes when you are pivoting. With Draftsim, numerous researchers have pivoted on the knowledge and data accumulated for their research. They have published and presented academic papers at conferences.
Thanks to Dan Troha, Draftsim!
#23- Repositioning your brand
Pivoting often involves looking at how you market your brand, and how your brand performs in certain markets, then the way you do things as business, or your approach to the market in order to capture a bigger market share. It's therefore a turning point for the business. If anything, pivoting your business requires a change in the business culture and a bigger change in how the business is seen. For a business to be more pivot-friendly, it needs to be more agile, and more adaptive to changes.
Thanks to Alina Clark, CocoDoc!
#24- Transition to a brand new strategy
Pivoting in a business is a transition to a brand new strategy. It is hence believed that it implicates drastically in transforming the whole company. In a simple explanation, Blending one of the features of a product into the product itself results in a similar one. Now, the opposite of this point is evaluated as a Pivot. A particular product is turned into a more extensive suite of features as part of some other product. The different aspects include, I point to various sets of customers by placing a company into a new market. Plus, changing a platform is also one.
Thanks to Daniela Sawyer, FindPeopleFast!
#25- Shifting in the right direction
Making a change or adjustment to your startup belief or practice is known as pivoting. It's a crucial part of the lean startup technique. To put it simply, it refers to a shift of direction. Business pivoting is initiated usually by businesses that are not performing well, or the ones looking out for a new opportunity to start. Before launching a new product concept into the market, don't forget to test a prototype.
Thanks to Julian Goldie, Goldie Local SEO!
#26- Manage change in market
Pivoting in entrepreneurship is the most critical and necessary action to be taken in times of emergency. I believe that pivoting is balancing the drift in your business plans as per the present situations. If your business is not working in present times, the ability to manage certain changes in it and create the environment to meet the needs of both the customers and market is pivotal to me. Pivoting brings sustainability to our business and work that helps us go into a new change.
Thanks to Andre Flynn, Gadnets!
#27- New path to expansion
Pivoting can be a wise move for a startup that has hit a stumbling block. If you pivot your company in a new path without much thought, there's a good chance you'll hit another setback or one with a unique set of circumstances. To avoid this, consider not only pivoting from your original path but also the potential for development and expansion that your new path offers. It is not worth the risk of starting a new business if the market is too small, the customer base is too diverse, or there is competition.
Thanks to Shiv Gupta, Incrementors Lead Generation!
#28- Ability to switch directions
The best part of a pivot is that it is ready to move in either direction- think of something like a lazy susan spinning from one dish to another and then back again. In my mind, this applies to pivoting in a business context because when I make the decision to move on from a topic I want to ensure I'm ready to come back to it quickly as the occasion calls for it. Pivoting does not mean dropping something, it means keeping it in the active section of your mind and active projects but just choosing to progress something else in the meantime while ideas and actions percolate in the background.
Thanks to Dragos Badea, Yarooms!
#29- Turn 180 degrees with a foot in place
Pivoting is keeping your foot in one place while turning 180 degrees. In business, this is the equivalent of finding new ways to deliver and adjust your work. It’s a good first step, but you must keep pivoting, which can become going in circles! In my work, I teach people to ‘spiral' which adds more dimension. To Spiral one must go deep into themselves, their values, and be willing to ask themselves a few questions. One, are these changes just ‘activity’ to keep busy? Two, are you anchored on to something that is no longer relevant? Three, are you staying aligned with your values, your calling?
Thanks to Karen Valencic, Spiral Impact!
#30- Stopping and re-evaluating
Many define pivoting as changing something or the circumstances have changed, however, to me, it is simply the act of stopping and evaluating. Not all situations require altering one’s path, however, all conditions require an examination, and pivoting is the act of stopping momentarily, to make sure that you are getting everything you can out of your resources. Business owners who do not look at pivoting in this manner could find themselves reacting long after the opportunity has passed.
Thanks to Yuvi Alpert, Noemie!