Formula One (F1) racing is a sport unlike any other. World-class engineering teams tweak and tinker their cars and engines to allow racers to get ahead by a fraction of a second to win the race. But even the fastest cars could not outrace the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

With a significant impact on the racing industry and the constantly evolving situation of the outbreak, F1, like many others, needed to adapt accordingly. According to the Australian Government, there are over 3.5 million small businesses across the country who make up the core of the economy. These businesses will play a vital role in the country’s COVID-19 recovery.

F1 racing and running a small business share certain similarities. For instance, teams are constantly developing and altering race strategies using experience, continuous awareness, and systematic thinking to adapt to the rapid pace of change.

This concept can easily translate to the business landscape which now more than ever, must evolve quickly and continuously adapt to market changes to gain an edge over competitors.

Here are a few ways how your business can maintain its competitive advantage and come out on top just like the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team.

Utilising data for business recovery
Like a Formula One team, every business regardless of size chalks up thousands of data points daily across the organisation. Data powers informed decision-making processes that drive operational success. Through the accurate analysis of data, your team will be armed with intelligent and actionable business insights when used to design the best product or service strategy, will appeal to customers at a more personalised level.

As a small business, you have one critical advantage over larger corporations – you are agile and nimble. This means that you are generally able to move quicker with these data-driven insights. Find the best way to take advantage of all the data points your business is putting out each day.

Decision-making with speed and quality
Decision-making is front and centre of every business operation. One way to help your team focus on making better decisions that will impact your bottom line is to put in place a smart data strategy that will automate routine decisions. This ensures that resources are being channelled into innovation that will drive growth for your business.

Understanding the competition
For us, as F1 teams, we are always thinking ahead – how can we outmanoeuvre our competitors? Overtaking them may be challenging but certainly not impossible if armed with the right insights to inform a precise strategy. Similarly, the best businesses usually have a finger to the pulse of their business environment and know what their competitors are up to. They collect information on the competition so that they are prepared to respond to changing situations that may arise. By leveraging data analytics to identify competitive trends, leaders can stay ahead of the curve, generate ideas and insights that will take your organisation to the next level.

At the end of the day, any business looking to grow in a volatile environment like the one we have today needs to stay ahead of the competition, delight customers, drive innovation, and optimise operations.

Digital transformation is more necessary than ever. Work with a partner who will provide you with a platform that offers valuable intelligence and insights in real time and empowers you and your team to capitalise on your data.

With data at the core of what we do at the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team, it is an approach that has enabled us to achieve positive outcomes whilst navigating through a trying season for everyone.

Part of growing any organisation may also include how you protect your business. Austbrokers Terrace can assist with insuring small business.

Source: Inside Small Business