As we move towards the end of the year, it is important to spend a few minutes thinking about your strategy.
For far too many of you, strategy is something you throw around and don’t really understand or know how to make actionable.
For too many of you, strategy is just another buzz word that fits in between “synergy” and “data.”
To help you get the new year off to a good start, I thought it would be a good time to revisit the 3 questions that you need to answer to make sure your strategy is focusing on the right opportunities in the new year.
Only 3 questions?
Yes.
Only 3.
Here we go:
1. What is the value we want to create for our clients and prospects?
Everything begins with value.
Your value needs to be significant and focused on things that your prospects and customers value and can’t do for themselves.
That might be something as specific as a product or a service, but it can also be perspective and POV.
No matter what, you need to make sure that before you start on anything else that you start with value that is focused on your customers and prospects.
2. Who is the actual customer or can put me in touch with the buyer directly?
I’ve found over the years that too many people spend too much time talking to people that can not advance them towards a sale.
In the context of growth for your business, you need to be focused on reaching buyers.
These people are usually responsible for some kind of revenue goal.
Or, they have performance responsibilities for a team.
Or they have a budget.
3. How do we reach them?
This is the fun stuff that encompasses that magic word: marketing.
Depending on your industry and your buyers, the places you reach your buyers is going to be much different.
You might find that education plays a role in your marketing.
Or, you might find that you need to rely on advertising.
Whatever you find needs to be focused on reaching your buyers, not anyone else’s idea of what your buyers are.