2013 is no place for phonies. Social media continues to draw consumers and businesses together and if you don’t provide authentic value, the pool of potential clients or customers will keep getting smaller and smaller.
How do you provide authentic, valuable products to your customers?
If you’re lost in the woods, answering these 5 questions will help you build an authentic company your clients and customers value.
Each question builds off the previous one. Take some time finding the right answers and by the time you’re done you’ll have a solid understanding of where to take your business in 2013.
1. Why Am I in Business?
Putting food on the table is a good reason to have a job, but not a good reason to run your own business. Why are you doing what you do? Something else must gnaw at you. An inequity, a quixotic vision no one else sees yet, a fiery belief you can do it better than the rest.
Explaining why you’re in business to your clients, customers and the World is what builds a passionate and engaged audience.
“Do you want to sell sugared water for the rest of your life? Or do you want to come with me and change the world?” – Steve Jobs
2. Who Do I Help?
Take a second to imagine your reason for being in business. Look around. Who are you serving, who is using your product/service? Where do they life? What clothes do they wear? What did they do before your product/service came along?
Your business can’t exist in a vacuum. Not even the most brilliant inventions or the most clever websites are for everyone. Identifying who you can help will guide what you need to do to find new customers.
“Don’t find customers for your products, find products for your customers.” – Seth Godin
3. Do I Solve a Problem?
How do you make people’s lives better? Do you improve their lives in a way they even care about? A new flavor of gum might excite some people but pair that new flavor with improved dental health and you have a product that makes a difference.
If you’re not sure how you’re really helping your clients/customers, try asking them. A simple ‘why do you like shopping here?’ or ‘why did you decide to work with me’ to one of your existing customers could start a discussion that gives you new insight in to the people you’re helping.
“Quality in a service or product is not what you put into it. It is what the client or customer gets out of it.” - Peter Drucker
4. Who Else is Working on My Problem?
You’re probably not the only person banging your head against your specific problem. Finding others working on similar problems is a fantastic source of perspective and insight. Allies can challenge your assumptions while helping you move towards your goals.
Allies, partners and friends can open doors and help you spot obstacles you didn’t even know existed. Even when working something new, we’re all standing on the shoulders of giants. Take stock of your network and search out opportunities to grow it.
“A friendship founded on business is better than a business founded on friendship.” – John D. Rockefeller
5. What 2012 Mistakes can I Avoid this Year?
It’s OK to make mistakes, just don’t keep making the same ones. Reflect on 2012 and write a list of things that didn’t go so well. With each of them write down what you wish you had known earlier. Are there any common themes? What assumptions caused these problems?
Changing your mindset opens new opportunities and possibilities you couldn’t perceive before. While you don’t want to dwell on mistakes, you also don’t want to forget about them. Review, reflect and revise.
“Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young.” – Henry Ford
You can’t prevent yourself from moving in to 2013 a little older having answers to these questions will make sure you’re a little wiser.
The post 5 Questions to Improve Your Business in 2013 appeared first on Spot Color Marketing.