3 Tips for Business Health!

I suppose a marketing consultant is a bit like a doctor for business. I’m called when the business isn’t as healthy as it could be. I visit the business, check the symptoms, conduct an exam to discover the underlying cause, and work with the client to develop a prescribed course of action. And, like a doctor, I feel disappointed when a client leaves with a clean bill of health, prescription in hand, and goes right back to their unhealthy habits.

It seems the most difficult habit for business owners to break is the urge to try new things, changing course monthly, if not even weekly. And I get it. It’s like the doctor telling me I need to exercise daily for three months in order to see improvement. At first, it’s easy, but then it gets easier to just go back to what I’m comfortable with. Or, get frustrated at the lack of improvement and try, desperately, to find what’s going to work in days – not months.

The truth is that strategy takes time to manifest into results. When a business continues to change course every week, they will never discover what works and what doesn’t. Here are some tips for effective execution of your strategy:

1.    Give it time! As a business, you should review your strategy on a semi-annual basis. Your strategy is the road map of your business, informing where you want to go and how to get there. You won’t get there overnight. It will take time and patience.

2.    Gather enough data for meaningful measure. As a marketer, I’m an advocate for testing variables to determine what works and what doesn’t. However, you need to allow enough time to gather a statistically relevant set of data. If you change a communication strategy every week, you’ll never really know what works for you.

3.    Separate business from personal. As a business owner, it’s sometimes difficult to see where you stop and the business begins. As a person, you’re always representing your business. However, your business should always represent the business strategy. The most common mistake I see is business owners who treat the business social media accounts as personal ones. Keep your business posts intentional, audience appropriate, and strategically aligned.

To stay focused on the course, I keep a copy of my market plan posted on the wall. I refer to it often to remind myself of where I need to be and where I’m heading next. If you could benefit from a business well check, email us at kris@marketingflexibility.com or visit www.marketingflexibility.com.

Stay well!