Strengths, Weakneses and Trends for Business health
Your Business Health Matters.
It doesn’t matter what type of business you run, whether it is a service based business, a training business or one that sells actual physical products, it is a business. Having said that when we sell from the business, we sell to people. Essentially your Business Health, including cashflow, and projections is determined by people.
Again it doesn’t matter if you think you sell to companies (B2B) or sell to consumers (B2C) you are selling to people. So if we are selling to people what do all people have in common?
Emotions.
Neuroscientists emphasise that emotions play a central role in decisions – in decision-making and progress. Customers “purchasing decisions are based on emotions, just as people buy based on emotions, even if they justify it with logic. It could be the emotion that goes something like this:
“I am going to look great in this tonight” or
“I’m can’t do this anymore, someone needs to help” or
“This will help me get the recognition I’m wanting”
Then you might find the logic steps in and emotional thoughts go like this:
“I am going to look great in this tonight” (emotion) “I needed a new dress, and it was on sale, so I saved so much” (logic)
“I’m can’t do this anymore, someone needs to help” (emotion) “This is exactly what we need for our team” (logic)
“This will help me get the recognition I’m wanting” (emotion) “We need this to move the sales forward, it is proven for Business Health and was recommended” (logic)
People make their buying decisions based on their emotional instincts and justify those decisions to themselves. The lesson here is that everyone likes to think that they are being logical in their decisions, but the emotionally unconscious part of the brain buys in and buys out.
Economists would have us believe that we are all rational. No matter how much we want to believe that we are rational creatures who occasionally act emotionally, the truth is that people very often do not act rationally when buying. People buy on the basis of emotions and then justify it with facts and logic.
So why is that important when planning for our business? It’s important so that we see what trends people are displaying, and maybe we can tap into them. If we do, maybe we can become trend setters. Or maybe we can take the greater heights that were not even considered before. So whether you have a product or a service, you need to find what emotions are driving your purchases. Find these trends, tap into them and you are onto a winning formula.
Consistent analysis and planning help Business Health
The health of your business doesn’t just happen. You need to work on it. Consistent analysis and planning for your business is the best way to keep an eye on growth areas, strengths and weaknesses. In the annual planning and strategy meetings that we conduct with our customers every year, we ask the management team to assess whether there is a positive or negative trend in their business at this time.
Using the traditional SWOT analysis is an excellent tool to identify the strengths and weaknesses of your business and the opportunities it enables. It certianly has it’s place in your business. It helps businesses draw up strategic plans, achieve goals, improve operations and keep the business relevant. Sometimes though, this take a very insular look at the business, and you are not looking outside enough. Now might just be the time to look further.
That is why we also look at trends. Trends in the marketplace can assist you to review what others are doing, or what the consumer is wanting right now.
Action: Now is the time to take action. If your revenue has dropped by 50% or more, then you need to do a review. Enagage a consultant, or do it yourself (however a consultant can often help you see areas you hadn’t thought of). Get your team together; face to face or virtually, and focus on the trends that you can take advantage of.
Look at ways your business can pivot; is it your rpoduct or service offering, your business model, the market you serve, or can you change your offering? Brainstorm ideas with your team. Gather their valuable input.
The key: Make quick decisions on priorities and action for the next 90 days. That way you can see your revenue go up quickly.
As with planning, it is important that you also review your KPI’s. This will help you identify areas where your company can improve and maximize its opportunities, while identifying negative factors that may affect your chances of success.
Looking at trends can help identify markets that you do not cover, which could be an opportunity for your business.
Emotions are also super important for your marketing – but that is another topic.
If you would like assistance on how to implement your new pivot strategy in a way that aligns your team, and really works with your operation contact Merinda today.
Merinda