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How To Know If Your Business Lacks Direction.
One of the biggest factors that leads to business failure is a lack of clear strategic direction.
Like we learn in the fairy tale ‘Alice in Wonderland’, “If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will take you there.”
Clear direction comes from having clear vision, and vice versa, a lack of direction is due to a lack of vision. Having a relevant, practical, and clear vision is vital for a business owner to build a successful business. A vision is the equivalent to a blueprint - without one, it becomes very difficult to progress and build your business. Without a vision for your business, it is impossible to know if you are heading in the right direction.
Following are some warning signs that tell you whether your business lacks a sense of direction and is in need of clear strategic measures:
When asked where your business will be in one year, you don’t have an answer. If we ask your partners or management team the same question, and you hear wildly different answers.
You have some idea where you'd like your business to be in the next year, but you have no clue what you’re going to do to make it a reality.
Your company is not going to meet its revenue goals this year. Although many reasons may exist for this, you’re not sure either on how to grow it going forward.
Your brochure, website and other marketing collateral have inconsistencies. You can’t understand the content but more importantly, neither can anyone else. You notice that whenever you explain your business to a potential client, you tell different stories about how you provide value.
You’re ignoring your competition. You have no idea who your number-one competitor is and what they're doing, who their customers are, what products they offer, what their pricing is, or what their key message points are. When your customers ask you to explain why your company is different, you don’t have a good response.
Everything on your to-do list is treated as a priority. You don’t know where your time is best spent.
Friends, family and colleagues can’t refer your business because they aren’t sure exactly what value your business provides and to whom. They often ask, “What is it you do again?”
When presented with a business opportunity, you're unsure how to assess whether it’s something your company should pursue. In fact, you tend to pursue all opportunities for fear you may miss the big one.
You enjoy what you do, but you aren’t passionate about your business. You’d quit everything and follow your true passion tomorrow if you could.
Your business development efforts consists largely of attending networking events, but you spend most of your time talking to people you know. You also rely solely on word-of-mouth for new customers.
Why do your customers buy from you? You don't know. The majority of them continues to do business with your company, but you’re not sure what keeps them coming back because you’ve never really asked.
You notice your clients doing business with other companies for the same services you provide. When asked, they say they didn’t know you offered those services.
Your employees don't know what success looks like for your company. And your incentive plan doesn’t sync up with performance expectations.
You often complain when your customers call because you just don’t have time to talk to them. You notice your staff complaining, too.
You never do any market research or ask for customer feedback because you (think you) know your market. You’ve been in the industry for years and you (think you) know what customers need and want.
You pricing is determined by looking at your competitor’s prices and discounting slightly. All your prices are based on your competitors’ offerings.
You're unable to articulate what your company does best.
When asked why you’re in business, your only response is profit.
Do any of these statements sound familiar? If so, it’s time to get serious about your business and get focused. If every part of your company isn’t pointed in the same direction, you can end up going in circles and frustrating yourself and your employees.
Why not get strategic now and set your business up for success going forward?!
We can help!
We are WNC aka "The Small Business Hospital". We provide entrepreneurs with the practical diagnostics, coaching and consulting services they need to build healthy small & medium enterprises (SMEs), so they can enjoy more life balance and personal freedom.
Book a 15-minutes no-fee consultation with one of our Associate Business Doctors to learn more about how we can help you and your business to move forward..
Alternatively, you could get started with a Business Health Assessment? Perhaps, you know your business needs to move to the next level but you're not clear on how it's currently performing across different business areas, let alone what needs to be improved, we can run your company through a Business Health Assessment for just ₦3,000 / $6.50 /£5. It's a quick and simple but detailed check-box questionnaire that takes about 10-15 minutes to complete. Once we have your answers, you'll receive your detailed results and prescriptions within 72 hours, via WhatsApp & Email.