Truist Business Lifecycle Advisory Research report: Leveraging the power of Truist Business Lifecycle Advisory

One of the earliest models of the business lifecycle (also called the organizational life cycle, or OLC) was discussed in the Harvard Business Review in 1967 by researchers Lippitt and Schmidt. They proposed that just three stages—birth, youth, and maturity—exist in the life of a business. They looked at the “personality” of each stage to help owners, leaders, and advisors predict, recognize, and cope with stage-related challenges.^{Disclosure 4}

Their report identified the critical concerns associated with each of these stages and the likely consequences to a business if those concerns were not addressed in a timely and effective manner. For example, the authors noted that mature businesses are concerned about their contribution to society, as well as whether (and how) they should share what they’re doing with the world. According to the report, a failure in this area could result in a loss of public respect—and, ultimately, profits.^{Disclosure 4}

In later models of the business lifecycle (sometimes expressed as three words: business life cycle), stages were added, renamed, or redefined. Still, they commonly noted that businesses in each stage have typical characteristics with somewhat predictable impacts on key areas of the business, including leadership, talent acquisition and retention, product development and innovation, standardization of procedures and operations, and more.

The business lifecycle models from the 1960s to the 1980s suggested that the growth of a business is linear and sequential. But today the view is more flexible—largely because the economy is more volatile and globally interconnected. This modern economic landscape makes it possible for changes in the macroeconomic environment to impact the stage of a business quickly and significantly.

Think about the ripple effects to the supply chain that could be caused by, say, the closure of a major trucking enterprise or a strike among railway workers. These types of events could put tens of thousands of people out of work and delay deliveries for millions of households and businesses. Such disruptions can shake the foundations of businesses at every stage of the business lifecycle. And the impact can extend far beyond the borders of the country in which they occurred—and far into the future, as well.

Even if you haven’t thought much about business lifecycle advisory, you’ve likely looked at other types of lifecycles within your business. And with good reason.

• Principles of product lifecycle management can help businesses find and fix inefficiencies to get products to market faster.^{Disclosure 5}
• Looking at all aspects of the software development lifecycle means tech pros can make improvements and implement security measures well before launch.^{Disclosure 6}
• Even marketing teams have found success mapping the customer lifecycle (or customer journey) to better target messages to new prospects (sparking curiosity) or loyal customers (who might be inspired to promote your product by word of mouth).^{Disclosure 7}

In all these cases, it’s easy to see that a lifecycle approach can benefit a business’s bottom line, timelines, and more.

The business lifecycle advisory approach takes this same basic principle—namely, breaking down an aspect of a business into smaller segments—to examine typical or potential challenges, solutions, and opportunities for gaining or maintaining a competitive advantage in the marketplace.

Traditionally, banking relationships—in personal and business sectors alike—have been largely transactional and not very customized. In recent years, however, B2C (business to customer) banks have begun shifting away from this one-size-fits-all approach toward a model that puts customer experience (CX) at the center of decision making. This has resulted in the creation of product and service bundles, as well as more differentiated options for things like loans and accounts. Banks began using data analytics to deliver more creative and customized solutions to clients. In 2019, professional services firms like Boston Consulting Group and Genpact suggested that retail and commercial banks follow suit.^{Disclosure 8}

In “Commercial banking and the customer experience imperative,” Genpact noted that customer experience is a key differentiator today—and they suggested that banks map their “customer journeys around the axis of your customer’s needs rather than the bank’s products.” At the time the report came out, they said, “although commercial banks are making wide use of customer-journey mapping, they tend to apply it within product or functional silos.”^{Disclosure 9}

Truist has been focused on the client experience for years, providing individualized, contextualized products and services that meet today’s needs—while also keeping future goals and plans in mind.