Lauren Landry: Finding Adaptive Strategies To Grow Your Business Post-Pandemic

We live in a world where change is the only constant, and unless you’re ‘The Three-Eyed Raven,’ it’s impossible to predict what will happen in the future.

There are always new processes, challenges, and developments to contend with, presenting a need to be flexible, particularly in business. Regardless of their industry, business owners have to adapt to new situations to survive and thrive in the market. 

Here’s our latest post in the Rediscover Marketing series. We spoke with a highly experienced strategic and brand marketer—Lauren Landry. She revealed proven content marketing strategies for a successful business in this era. 

Meet Lauren Landry

Lauren is the Associate Director of Marketing & Communications at Harvard Business School Online. She is a senior digital storyteller, editor, and strategist who is passionate about the future of higher education, media, innovation, and entrepreneurship. 

Lauren oversees content strategy, social media marketing, brand messaging, events, and community at Harvard Business School Online.

Harvard Business School Online is an educational platform that offers a unique and highly engaging way to learn vital business concepts, enabling committed learners to transform their careers, organizations, and lives. 

This is achieved through an active, social, and case-based learning model. Learners immerse themselves in real-world challenges faced by seasoned business leaders and discuss and debate solutions with peers from around the world—all while learning from renowned Harvard Business School faculty. 

Adaptive strategies for a successful, long-lasting business

There is a famous saying: "If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you always got."  

Adaptability is about the decisive difference between adapting to cope and adapting to win. Lauren advises that leaders develop innovative and valuable ideas that would help their business win even in light of the new market changes.

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought worldwide uncertainty, particularly over the economy, health, finances, travel, and employment. While many factors during this period remain outside of our control, it is important to adapt to these changes and navigate the future proactively.

In this interview, Lauren shares some strategies that helped her team achieve success at Harvard Business School Online:

• Find New (Free) Ways to Create Value

As a result of the pandemic, several people have lost their jobs or are looking for ways to sharpen their skills. In response, Lauren's team created additional opportunities for people to upskill themselves by creating free lessons and other downloadable, educational content. 

People were able to develop new skills through a short lesson on how to become a resilient leader in turbulent times and e-books on topics ranging from advancing your career with essential business skills to finance and accounting for managers. This increased the brand’s visibility while providing value to prospective learners. 

Companies who desire more brand visibility, increased leads, and scale should consider how and where they can add value, at no cost to their customers. 

• Keep Your Audience in Mind

Business leaders should prioritize their clients and think about new ways to help them achieve their goals. Your target for the new year should be to put your audience first and ensure you’re helping them succeed, which can, in turn, build brand loyalty and advocacy. 

Marketers should focus on providing value, supporting users through their decision-making process, and getting them to that ‘AHA!’ moment where they fall in love with the brand's offerings. Business leaders should constantly deliberate on how decisions benefit their customers. 

For Lauren, this audience-first approach has made an enormous impact on their business.

In the quest to adapt rapidly to customers' ever-changing demands, companies should be flexible with their business plans. As lifestyles and expectations shift across the world, successful businesses are keen to adapt and make the necessary changes to evolve post-pandemic. 

Businesses should focus more on adding value to their clients. The connection they have with their customers will make them stand out from the companies just doing okay. Be flexible to their needs, this New Year.