Adapting business models for a more inclusive and accessible market

In a competitive market, businesses must continually look to expand their customer base, improve customer loyalty and increase sales. It’s essential for companies to be able to adapt their business model to maintain relevance and competitiveness, whether it’s shifting to a digital platform to access new markets via ecommerce, or adapting services to make them accessible to more diverse audiences. 

Having an adaptable business model will allow you to reach new markets, enhance your product development and adjust your aims to make a social impact.

Inclusive business models that recognise the value of all communities in the value chain are increasingly common as companies seek to convince customers that they are operating sustainably and aligning with customer values. But how do businesses adapt to changing customer behaviours and attitudes, while keeping profit margins healthy? Read on to find out more.

What drives a business to adapt?

Businesses must evolve to meet changing consumer trends, pricing pressures and technology advancements. External pressures like regulatory changes, internal decision making pressures or changing business strategies, like considering social responsibility, can drive businesses to adapt. Here are few common drivers:

• Changes to the market, including shifts in customer behaviour, new competitors, and emerging trends often force companies to rethink how they operate. The advent of social media is a good example.

• Technological advancements can be a driver for change. For example, innovations like AI, blockchain, and need for digital accessibility are providing new opportunities and transforming businesses

• Changes in laws and regulations, or compliance standard, can force companies to adjust their models, sometimes at short notice

• Economic conditions can change quickly, impacting business operations and profit margins that make adaptability a must

• Sustainability efforts, ethical concerns, and shifts in societal values can influence how businesses operate, driving changes in supply chains and employee conditions that can lead to more sustainable growth

• If entrepreneurship is at the heart of a business, it’s likely that its founders will proactively innovate and look for new value creation opportunities, disrupting existing markets and adapting their value proposition

• Keeping up with industry rivals often makes strategic shifts necessary to stay relevant and profitable.

What does an adaptive business model look like?

Companies that want to streamline, or innovate to meet unique needs, or reach new target audiences, need to be ready to adapt. Business models that focus on flexibility, continuous learning, and staying ahead of trends are the most adaptable. Here’s some of the key elements of an adaptable business model:

• Flexible - the model can readily adapt to internal and external changes. 

• Agile -  allowing for quick decision-making and implementation of changes. 

• Focus on continuous improvement - being prepared for ongoing monitoring, evaluation, and refinement of strategies. 

• Innovative - testing new ideas and approaches without fear of failure. 

• Data-driven decision making - using customer data strategically to identify opportunities and make informed decisions. 

• Collaborative - involving diverse stakeholders and encouraging input from various sources. 

Making businesses more inclusive and accessible

Increasingly, target audiences want companies to reflect their personal values and recognise the need to consider the sustainability of their supply chain, including the wellbeing of workers, and inclusivity in marketing campaigns and working practices. To build trust and improve customer experiences, companies are listening to customer feedback from different demographic groups and customer segments to adapt their business models to maintain a competitive advantage.

Here are some case studies where brands have adapted their businesses and marketing strategies to make them more accessible and inclusive.

Inclusive marketing strategies

Many fashion and beauty brands are acknowledging that advertising their products using typically slim-build white models is not representative or inclusive and are creating more inclusive campaigns, using plus-size models from a wide variety of ethnic and minority groups.

Improving accessibility

Media companies like Netflix are expanding their reach by making their content available in more languages. While the game designer Mattel has adapted the colour scheme of many of its games to make them accessible to the 300 million people worldwide who are colour blind.

Fairtrade

Many companies are looking closely at the sustainability of their supply chains and developing initiatives to work in partnership with suppliers and producers, ensuring that everyone involved is treated more fairly and can make a decent living. Other businesses are taking things a step further and work as cooperatives or social enterprises to ensure everyone involved benefits and it is not just profits that count.

Making societies more inclusive

There are currently many structural inequalities in our societies and education systems which need to be addressed. Adapting education systems so they are more inclusive is in some ways similar to adapting a business model to make it more inclusive and accessible.

If you are working with individuals with complex learning needs and are looking to deepen your knowledge of inclusive education and its role in society, the 100% online MA Special and Inclusive Education at Queen Margaret University, may be a good option for you. 

You can study from anywhere in the world without needing to attend campus, while continuing your current role and applying your learning in real time. By exploring the structural inequalities in both society and education, and their impact on educational outcomes, you’ll learn ways to address these inequalities in different contexts to make education inclusive. 

For those who prefer to study a degree in person, Queen Margaret also offers a wide range of career-focused Education courses at its Edinburgh-based campus.