We live in a world where “means are as likely to determine ends as ends are to determine means”. When last did you check the relevance of your products/services? Why are your customers/clients using your products/services? For example, did you know that manufacturers of smartphones don’t compete for “ears”?
What percentage of your smartphone usage is specific to making calls?
“The average adult makes or receives 5 calls a day and 37% of users have a phone primarily for making calls. In a list of top ten uses of a phone in the UK, voice calls did not make the list”. (Credit: post by Herman Singh)
According to Herman’s post, the top 10 daily uses of smartphones in the UK are:
1. Text – 88%
2. Email – 70%
3. Facebook – 62%
4. Camera – 61%
5. Reading news – 58%
6. Online shopping – 56%
7. Checking the weather – 54%
8. WhatsApp – 51%
9. Banking – 45%
10. Watching videos on YouTube – 42%
What is your unique value/selling proposition?
Do you believe it is still he same it was last year, or 5 years ago, or when you started your business?
You’ve heard this one, “People don’t want 6mm drill bits, they want 6mm holes”.
Nowadays drill bits compete with glue, and many more alternatives.
Expected ROI is determined by what you as the Business Owner want in your bank account.
ROI is first and foremost impacted by Gross Profit.
GP starts with what you sell, and more importantly the solution you offer.
Many Business Owners frown at the mention of Plan and Strategy, and I believe rightly so. There is no one
way, best way of developing a plan, strategy.
So, what happens? Owners get stuck in thinking, believing that the more they sell, or the cheaper they
sell, or both, the better their ROI will be.
Put differently, they do what they’ve always done, and then they settle for what they get.
My experience is that many Owners believe they must outperform their competitors.
The challenge then with planning, strategy is the more successful businesses are imitated by Owners that
do not understand that the “strategic process involves designing a custom strategy for the specifics of each
situation”.
Just because you are in the same (and is it really the same…?) industry does not mean you have the same
challenges.
There is a difference between strategic planning and action.
Action is impacted/determined by resources – people, time & money, at any given point. Action is what we
do now.
When the director of a movie shouts “Action!”, its all about the now. Much later when all actions are seen
together, do we get to see the original plan.
Similarly, think of a golfer, tennis player, and a cricket batter.
The golfer focuses just on the shot that must be played now. So do the tennis player and the cricketer.
Three very different games, with the same approach – know the end goal; focus on your action now. Take
your eye off the ball, and the end goal is in danger.
What are you doing to keep your eye on the ball?
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