How Legacy Companies Can Thrive without Betraying Their Beginnings
For established local businesses, sustainability requires updating structures without sacrificing the origin stories.
*Please note: If you came here via our Brand Archetype Quiz, you may notice the wording in this article is slightly different from what you expected. I wrote this series on owner archetypes before deciding it would be more accurate to focus our messaging on the overall brand, which includes the habits and systems that support sales and marketing, distribution, operations, finance, and leadership of a business.
The tips and tools included in these articles remain the same, though our promotional messaging may have shifted: Your work in the world is unique and deserves a personalized approach. I hope the discovery of your brand archetype gives clarity and direction to your path and empowers your impact.
I’ve come to believe that local businesses are vital to a community’s growth and resilience.
(Specifically, small businesses with less than 50 employees.)
Those that have been around for 10, 15, or even 20+ years deserve to be celebrated on the front page of their local paper every damn day for the things they’ve likely endured.
When a community-based business goes the distance, it’s about more than just hard work — their longevity speaks to the value they’ve brought to their community.
And with some updates and reinforcements that honor what got them here, these businesses can be around for many years to come.
Unfortunately, many of these established businesses are facing stagnation as they struggle to navigate the changing market — which is bad news for local economies.
Fortunately, there are steps these founders can take to get back on track to sustainable growth and continue to impact their communities.
To thrive, they will need to leverage their considerable experiences and strengths in strategic ways.
The concepts that built their businesses can help legacy companies move forward sustainably by applying them to the context of a new and often faster-paced digital world.
In the years I’ve worked with local founders, I’ve seen this type of owner go from generating business primarily through word-of-mouth to struggling to reach a changing audience.
The quality of service hasn’t changed.
These owners excel at community engagement, long-term customer relationships, and brand development. But they often don’t know how to apply their substantial knowledge to the digital space.
They may have been burned by horrible or misguided digital marketing advice in the past. Therefore they may not see the need for these new tools and strategies.
But it is only getting easier to do things like book appointments online and interact with brands before walking into the building.
So legacy companies that are not adapting to digital tools are getting left behind.
The real estate industry is a prime example of this shift and its impact on local businesses.
It used to be a given that if you were looking to buy a home, one of your first steps was to go to your local real estate office and find an agent to work with. Then you would spend hours visiting home after home, narrowing down your choices, until you found a house that fit your criteria.
Today’s digital tools have cut that time in half.
Potential home buyers can search for their dream home from the comfort of their living rooms. Not only that, but tools like email, e-faxes, and e-signatures have streamlined the home-buying process.
The realtor sitting in her office waiting for walk-ins and not incorporating this new technology (and new marketing strategies) should not be surprised when her customer base dwindles.
To be clear, the established local founder’s business experience is still very relevant and can even give them an advantage in their industry. It is the strategy for applying this knowledge that has changed.
When I work with this type of owner as a client, I view her business growth needs through the lens of the Jukebox Hero owner archetype.
This archetype has hard-earned business savvy. She’s formed deep connections with customers and partners, and her community knows her company can be trusted to deliver high-quality, professional products and services.
As a fixture in her community, the Jukebox Hero stands on a solid foundation.
But even homes with the most durable foundations need updates to keep their inhabitants safe and comfortable.
The Jukebox Hero owner archetype cannot outrun the modern digital space — but they don’t need to throw out all the traditional ways of doing business. When a company with a legacy foundation integrates digital mediums with its core strengths, it’s as infectious and sustainable as hitting repeat on your favorite Beatles song.
The Jukebox Hero did not find success by accident.
When this type of owner is looking to develop a sustainable business strategy, I always advise her to complete a SWOT analysis with her team.
The first step in a SWOT analysis is critical.
We start with identifying what makes the company strong so they can find direction for the future.
I might ask them questions like…
- What do customers say they love most about your business?
- How do you stand out from other companies in your industry?
- What products or services are the most popular with your audience?
Some legacy companies may have tried to incorporate digital tools in the past. But without a deep understanding of what has made their brand work in traditional spaces, a digital strategy has nothing to stand on.
This is why it is so important to have a third party facilitate the analysis.
When a company has been in business for a while, it can be hard to have an unbiased opinion about what is working and what isn’t.
In my experience, the owner will identify the company’s strengths as those things she spends the most energy on. But an impartial perspective could reveal something different.
The second step of the SWOT analysis is to determine what the company needs to let go of from the past that is holding them back.
These questions may look like…
- What strategies, products, or tools are you clinging to that no longer serve the company?
- What do your competitors offer that you have not adopted yet?
Again, an impartial third party can be invaluable in helping the team avoid recreating patterns of behavior that have not worked in the past.
And finally, we discuss opportunities and potential challenges the company faces with its current environment and resources.
An outside observer can help the founder and her team understand how the local landscape has evolved over the years and identify new opportunities.
We consider questions like…
- Does your customer prefer to learn about your services online before talking to a person?
- Does your customer respond to text alerts rather than phone calls for appointment reminders?
- Does your customer do a Google search when looking for contractors in your industry?
The answers to these questions can help established businesses understand their next steps to growing with sustainability and ease.
This owner archetype has a wealth of knowledge that is enviable among other types of owners.
When she can take what she has learned about establishing deep connections with her customer base and apply it to the digital world, she’ll be on the path toward sustainability.
The Jukebox Hero owner archetype needs to understand the past to strategically move into the future.
Not all business support and strategies are created equal. What works for one owner may not work for another. Honoring and moving on from both past successes and past failures is critical here. We don’t forget where we came from, and we don’t live in the past.
I believe that every local founder has the potential to become a Local Rockstar — the go-to name for their industry in their community.
The first step is to understand your business-generating superpower.
If you (or someone you know) are a Jukebox Hero, then the next step is to embrace the possibilities of today’s technology, letting it enhance — not replace — the core of what made you successful in the first place.
*Click here to learn more about how knowing your owner archetype can help guide your business on a path of sustainability and joy.
