Time to ask yourself some silly questions

Melbourne Herald Sun, January 7, 2011

A new year is always a good time to stop and take stock. People are on holiday, your clients are usually quieter so you can sit back and ask yourself, and your business, some questions.

Start with the basics. Why are you in business? Is it just your job, money to live on?

Do you want to make a target sum in a set number of years and then cash in and get out? Do you want to build a big, expanding business? Are you trying to prove something?

It's important you know clearly where you are going - it then becomes your road map.

Another odd question. What are you selling? It's amazing how many companies are not clear about their product.

Do you sell filters or do you sell pure water? Do you sell dresses or do you sell dreams, or sexiness? Do you sell houses or do you sell lifestyles, or investments?

You need a clear vision of your product so you can sell it to your customer.

But who is your customer? If you say "everybody" I'll scream.

You have to reduce it down to a picture in your head of who the customer is. A man or a woman? How old? How much do they make? Where do they live? What do they want?

Put a picture of your "customer" on the office wall - cut one out of a magazine - and look at it before you start every morning.

This doesn't mean you can't sell to others or approach non-targets. But it does give you clarity of aim.

Where are you priced? Are your goods expensive, or bargains? Are your services mass-market or exclusive? What is your standard mark-up?

Generally it is not a good idea to hop around with pricing. If you have a store or a restaurant your pricing is set down for all to see.

But in many other businesses it comes down to what the market will bear. And it won't bear too much messing around.

Imagine all your competitors on a ladder ranked by quality and price. Where do you fit on the ladder - at the top, the bottom, in the middle? Where in the middle?

Think hard about your company and its products. How do others see you?

Imagine it as if it were a shop. Is it freshly painted, with clean glass and elegant windows dressing? Does it feel welcoming when you enter? Are the goods well displayed and easy to understand?

Your company may not have a shop, but it has shop windows. Your advertising, web site, brochures, emails, phone answering. They all create the perception that the customer first sees.

Even if you’re a plumber or repair technician, your vans, uniforms, staff attitudes, follow-up are the windows into your shop.

So here’s the final silly question. Does your market know who you really are?

That vision you have of yourself, in your head. Does it shine clearly from the business? Do your staff know and share your vision?

They are the key. I suggest you write these thoughts down and when the staff are all back, take them somewhere quiet and discuss this with them.

Get them excited by your vision and you will have a prosperous new year.