It’s easy to become okay with the status quo when things are running along perfectly well in your business. You’re happy to have that wonderful, and hard earned, breath of fresh air. Then suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, you’re blindsided and find yourself hurtling down a steep incline.
How the heck did that happen?
In business, it’s plain and simple. If you’re not getting better you’re getting worse. There is no in-between. You have to be diligent at all times, otherwise your competitors will be happy to step in, fill the gap, and give you a nice little nudge to put you on that downward slope.
You have to look past the obvious if you want to be the king of the hill, because often it’s the questions you’re not asking that can kill your business.
The bottom line is, you have to continually challenge your assumptions. Let’s take your customers, for example. More data has been created in the last two years, than in our entire human history previous to that. Your customers are accessing that wealth of information, powered by their mobile devices. They can get anything they want faster and easier than ever before, including products and services just like yours.
So, have you asked yourself how you measure up?
How are you continuing to cater to their wants, needs and desires?
And have you checked in with them recently to see if anything has changed?
If you haven’t checked in and gotten feedback from your clients in the last year, then you’re definitely due. Their needs are changing.
They’re looking for ideas. They want to know which products are rated as the best, in pretty much every category, including “best toothbrushes”, which is up 100%! And they want to know what products and brands they should avoid.
In short, they’re looking to get as much information as they can, before they commit to buying.
Are you giving them what they want?
And, do you know where you are on those lists?
With all the information and new technology driving the market in new directions, it should be no surprise that trends in marketing and purchasing are in rapid-fire adaptation too.
More people than ever are using their phones for searches and purchases. 77% of customers are reading reviews before they make their buying decision, and a whopping 93% of online purchases have been influenced by social media.
It begs the question then, what are you doing on mobile to drive purchasing behaviour?
And, are you giving your prospective customers the information they want, in order to purchase from you?
When it comes to trends of any kind in business, you have to be in the know and stay ahead of the curve, or you’re going to get left behind in the dust.
Then you have to think about the evolution of your own business as well, and how much it’s changed over the years. Guaranteed, your business is very different now, than when you first started.
Have you adapted how you talk about it?
Do people know why you’re truly remarkable?
Are you putting forward your real value? Or are you focusing on what you deliver, and your process, instead of why people want it?
If you want to keep your business in growth mode, and avoid that downhill slide, you have to continually monitor and make sure your market position is relevant and exclusive to what you deliver. Check in, analyze, regroup, adjust, and then do it all over again.
Sometimes easier said than done, we know.
If you need a little help or want a fresh perspective, we invite you to have a chat.
