by Deborah Jackson
Want to be clearer about your goals, more effective in your marketing and enjoy more growth in your business? Ask yourself these questions.
1. Why am I in this business?
Focusing on what you're delivering - the vision and mission of your business - can help you get through hard times or even just down days.
Being clear about why you're in business can motivate you to achieve the growth you desire, so you might like to surround yourself with reminders that help the answers to this question stay top of mind. Examples include keeping a file of your most treasured testimonials nearby or making a vision board depicting what your business is helping you to achieve – perhaps a new home, relationships or a vacation.
You might also like to create and repeat a set of affirmations or use other mindset mastery techniques that reinforce your burning desire.
2. Why am I doing this?
Is your business intentional or accidental?
An intentional business is one in which you always ask yourself why you're taking a particular action. What's the best result that can come of your action? What’s the outcome you're looking for?
’Why am I doing this?’ is a challenging question designed to get at the truth - so it can sometimes make us feel defensive. But it can also save money, save time, and get everyone on a team on the same page – so it’s a question worth getting comfortable with.
3. Why did that work? Why didn't it work?
It's critical to review why your marketing efforts met your goals or didn't, and to do so in a way that doesn't blame or shame yourself or anyone else.
Most people are quick to consider why things fail, but less inclined to ask why others succeed. (I guess they're too busy celebrating!)
However, it's easier to replicate the success of a marketing campaign when you can track its results back to a collaborative partnership, the strength of a promotional offer, or timing your activities to occur just before a holiday weekend.
So ask: Why didn't my offer sell? Why was that particular article so popular? What do I need to remember for next time?
4. Why should they buy what I’m selling? Why now? Why me?
People need a reason to buy. They also need reasons to buy now, and reasons to buy from you rather than someone else.
Keep in mind that even if prospective customers don’t ask you these questions overtly, they'll be thinking about the answers to them while evaluating you and your offering.
Spend some time answering them, and then clearly articulate the reasons in all your marketing messages. To do so effectively, you’ll want to be very clear about the niche you’re targeting, research your target audience as if your business life depended on it (it does!) and position yourself as an expert in your field.
5. What’s special, unique and superior about my offering?
Soloists often get tripped up during the branding process by trying to determine what they do that no one else can.
This question becomes easier to answer once you take into account that you don't have to be the only person doing what you do, or the best at it in the world. You just need to be the single best choice for YOUR target market.
Once you’ve determined the answer to this question your next task is to develop a confident, compelling answer to respond with next time a prospective client asks why they should choose you over someone else.
Do you ask yourself similar questions about your business? Please share those you find the most effective.
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