When you’re marketing your business you need to be clear about your direction or you risk being randomly pushed and pulled by prevailing currents. Sometimes this may result in unexpected bonuses, but more often it will lead to confusion and chaos.
One minute you’re a specialist in one thing and the next minute you’re off on a different tangent. Some people are resistant to planning as it seems too rigid and confining. It needn’t be. You can dream your dreams and set your goals while still remaining flexible and open to opportunities that seem to come out of nowhere.
When you started your business, you may have written a business and marketing plan because people told you every business ‘should’ have one or maybe the bank wanted to see a copy before giving you a loan. I know I didn’t value my business and marketing plan until I’d been in business for a while. I used to read about things like SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analyses and USPs (unique selling propositions) and think ‘What’s the point? Let’s just get on with it’.
I now have a combined business and marketing plan, which I review annually— or more often if I need a boost of energy.
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