It’s plain to see: your business has had to short-circuit its relaxed long-term digital transformation plans. Now, you must take the proverbial bull by the horns to tackle the evolving challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic at a much faster pace.
At Ook, we’ve been able to focus our efforts and resources on assisting customers to quickly and successfully deploy strategies that were previously on much longer timetables. Now, we have pivoted our go-to-market strategy to include services that begin with a simple online purchase. We’ll skip the long-term contractual investment, and help you start mitigating risk to your business sooner. More on these offerings a bit later.
The urgency to solve for decentralized work has helped bulldoze over the fear that previously kept transformation initiatives at bay. It’s a welcome and refreshing change, and I’ve noticed the old reluctance to try new things simply fading away. However, we already see the need for a much more profound transformation. Not only do we need to address the clear communication and collaboration challenges, but, in some cases, we must also pivot to entirely new business models.
As an IT business, our source of new work has traditionally come from face-to-face networking and referrals from existing clients. Our inability to be out in the field to create these opportunities has forced us to rethink our long-term opportunity and sales engagement model. For a team that prides itself in the building of relationships rooted in trust, this brings new challenges to light.
The Mentality of Change
During a powerful keynote Captain Sully delivered in Scottsdale last year, he spoke deeply about advocacy, preparedness, and innovation. Most importantly, the need for the mentality of being prepared for change; innovation requires accepting the need for change and the ability to change before you’re forced to.
Thankfully, I also had insightful conversations with IT-industry luminary Paul Dippell of Service Leadership, and I was already mentally prepared to tackle the challenge. Last year I hosted a webinar series for IT Glue entitled “Becoming the Next-Gen MSP” (Managed Services Provider). In the webinars, Paul explores the criticality of developing the meta-skills necessary to safely identify and transition to new business models while increasing speed, profitability, and customer experience. Here, the overarching goal is to enable radical operational simplicity to succeed in the face of rapid rates of change.
Enter Major Tom
Major Tom is a strategy-first digital agency. They marry big-picture strategic thinking with best-in-class tactical execution—and are an esteemed client of ours! Major Tom launched the Tin Can Shop, an innovative eCommerce platform for not only swag but also bite-sized offerings of their services.
Their CEO, Lyn Bryan, reached out to me to explore “commoditizing” services from a close network of trusted partners and vendors. The goal was to offer broader and more timely access to some of the work we typically provide inside of longer-term engagements. The Tin Can is also an opportunity for Major Tom to introduce their trusted partners to their network. The premise was simple: simplify scope, make it easy to consume, and dramatically shorten time to delivery of projects. “Let’s go,” I said.
Let’s Work Together!
Fast-forward two weeks and the immensely talented team at Major Tom got us up on the Tin Can. We’re offering two different services for customers looking to solve immediate and strategic technology problems:
- Technology Consultation: This is a short-scope consultation that allows you to tap into our decades-deep experience deploying technology solutions for small and medium businesses. We’ll discuss any of your digital transformation initiatives, collaboration projects, or other technology-related challenges you may be looking to solve.
- 29-Point IT Assessment and Report: This service is a comprehensive look at your small or medium business IT infrastructure to provide a clear understanding of your current state. We’ll give you concise recommendations and steps to take to better leverage your technology, improve your cybersecurity posture, and mitigate or eliminate risks to your business.
Grass-roots efforts to #shoplocal are also exploding, and I’m most excited about the opportunity to strengthen our “network effect”. It’s no secret that people buy from those they like and trust, with the next-best thing indeed being a recommendation from someone we like and trust. We’re honoured that Major Tom has placed this level of confidence in us to introduce us to their community at large.
We look forward to connecting with you for the chance to show you why IT Starts with Trust™.