Do you know where you are going?

A wise man once said “If you don’t know where you are going, any road will take you there!”  Yet business experts agree that goals power businesses. By defining your business goals for the coming year, you’ll be able to target your marketing efforts to reach them.

Carefully aiming your marketing efforts has two wonderful benefits:

1. You’ll need to invest much less money in your marketing program because you’re not wasting dollars by scattering tactics all over town.
2. The leads you generate with a targeted program are higher quality because they fit your definition of exactly what kind of prospect you want as customers.  This makes for much easier sales!

So, what are the long and the short range goals of your business?

Start by answering these questions:

Where you are today:

1. Who is buying my services now?  One audience (homeowners only) or more than one audience?  (homeowners, commercial management companies, architects)
2. My primary customer is: (include age of home, household income, occupation, single or married, etc.)
3. My customers are located:
4. They would say that they are buying from our company because:
5. Who else do I want to sell my services to?  Why?
6. The type of work that is most profitable for me is:
7. The type of work we enjoy doing most is:
8. The type of person I most enjoy working for is:
9. My closest competitors are:
10. My company is different/better than my competitors because:

Where you want to be:

1. If I envision my company five years into the future, what do I want it to look like?
2. How big will my business be?
3. What will my role in the business be?
4. What services will I offer?  (Design, construction, etc.)
5. If I walked up to someone on the street of my town and asked them what they knew about our company, what would I like them to say?
6. How far am I today from achieving what I want?

The answers to these questions will open up an entirely different view of your company. If you’re not sure of some of the answers, ask your clients! A simple phone call-survey may uncover advantages that you haven’t been taking advantage of.

This information about your company will help you see a larger picture which will be a great help in deciding on the direction you’d really prefer to take.  Take the time to reflect a bit on how you want your company to affect your future. Then create the marketing plan that helps you get there.

What About You?

Have you done this exercise before? Are you stuck answering any of the questions? Let me know!