Audit Your Actions for the Best Year Ever
by: Beryl Powell
You have declared this year to be the best year yet for your business and you set what you thought were great business and marketing goals. Now half-way through January you are not so sure. It seems the vision you had when you launched your business has changed. Now your goals do not fit the new vision for your business. What’s a small business owner to do?
Well, start by reviewing last year. What did you do to generate revenue? What did you do to keep in touch with your clients? What was your message to potential clients? What did you do to build alliances? Did it work? What should be done differently? What should be scraped and never tried again?
Now take a look at your mission statement. Does it still state who your company is, what you stand for and why you do it? Remember your mission statement is a statement of purpose. It’s your calling.
Revise your vision statement so that you are actually working to achieve what you truly want. Your vision statement should be based on the best possible outcome you can imagine for your business. It should inspire you, motivate you and stimulate you so that you are always working to achieve your dream.
Now that you have a picture of last year; what worked and what didn’t plus, you have revised your mission and vision statement. Clarify your goals. Define exactly what you want to achieve. Be sure it’s achievable and a challenge. Set a deadline to achieve it. Then make sure your business and marketing actions will provide the activities you need to reach the goals you have set.
Does your marketing message create a desire for what you are selling? Does it picture your company as the solution to your target market’s need? Does it state what you will help your clients achieve? Does it make an enticing offer to make a potential client want to call you now? If doesn’t, revise it so that it does.
Does the target market you’ve chosen really have a need for what you are selling? Not sure? Then now is definitely the time to create an ideal client profile. What pain, problem or issue is a potential client experiencing for them to have a need for what you are selling? What are the characteristics of the perfect client? Make a list. Then you’ll know your ideal client when you see them and/or talk to them. You will know who you shouldn’t waste your time on.
You do know what you are selling; right? What it is, what does it do, the features, the benefits, who should buy it, what it helps them achieve? Most importantly you know why a client should buy what you offer instead of buying someone else’s offer.
You must always know who your competition is, their strengths and weaknesses and how your company compares? Do you have a strategy in place to compete with your competition? Do you visually stand apart from your competition?
How do you deliver your marketing message? Remember it’s never good to have all of your eggs in one basket. So your marketing strategy should consist of a variety of public relations, advertising, marketing, networking and promotional activities. Have you created a detailed task list of marketing activities and the dates to implement them?
Have you identified your sales process? How do you convert contacts to suspects, suspects to prospects, prospects to clients? Have created the marketing collateral to ease a contact down the pipeline?
Of course you know it takes money to make money. How much of your revenue are you investing in your business? What’s your marketing budget? How much do you plan to spend on skill building? Yes, you must always improve your skills and tools. You have to stay up with times.
It’s important to realize that change is inevitable as your business grows so, make the necessary changes to your vision and mission statement as needed. You must also realize that success does not happen overnight. It does take work; hard work, a willingness to take a risk or two and of course planning. Everything combined will definitely 2007 your best year ever.
Beryl Powell; Business Manager, Marketing Coach, Small Business Trainer and President of Completely Virtual, a business support firm focuses on assisting, directing, inspiring, and motivating Solopreneurs to start, operate, promote and grow their business successfully and efficiently.
About the Author:Beryl Powell; Business Manager, Marketing Coach, Small Business Trainer and President of Completely Virtual, a business support firm focuses on assisting, directing, inspiring, and motivating Solopreneurs to start, operate, promote and grow their business successfully and efficiently.
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