1. MARKETING

Alice, the Cheshire Cat
and the Art of
Planning Your Business Growth

“Which way should I go from here?” enquired Alice.

“Well, it very much depends where you want to get to”, replied the Cheshire Cat.

“I’m not sure where I should go.”

“Then, it doesn’t matter which path you take”, retorted the Cat.

When it comes to pushing your business forward, do you ever feel like Alice? You try a little bit of this, and then a little bit of that - sure your efforts do generate some business, but your visits to the Mercedes showroom become less frequent and reluctantly you conclude that the old banger is going to have to stay in the family for yet another year. Irritatingly, everyone else boasts about how their order books are bulging, whilst you could swear that your phone’s been cut off.

It’s so baffling! You’ve got considerable expertise in your field; you’ve attended 1 day seminars on how to market your business; you’ve consumed far too many early-morning networking breakfasts; you’ve sent out your loverly brochures to all and sundry, yet the world is still not beating a path to your door – what on earth is going on? Maybe this marketing malarky is a bit more involved than you first thought!

When I speak to small business, my first question, invariably, is “Who are you aiming to sell to?” And utterly predictably, the response I hear is “Anyone!” When I then ask “Does that include prospective clients in Outer Mongolia?” I’m told “Don’t be silly.” If I then follow up with “Well, does that include anyone under the age of 5?”  They say “Now you’re being just plain daft!”

But I’m not really - my aim is to get them to recognise that they are NOT selling to anyone. Already by having excluded those under 5 and living in Outer Mongolia, they’ve unconsciously segmented the market. To grow their business, they must turn this segmentation into a conscious process. And you cannot develop without some sort of plan. You see, as Alice learned from the Cheshire Cat, if you’ve not given any thought to where you want to get to, it matters not a jot which way you go – in other words you’re rudderless and drifting!

Without a plan of action, it becomes extremely difficult to know where to start selling your services. Consider the planning necessary for a simple car journey. Before we set off we invariably go through a systematic thought process: Where do we want to get to?; Which route should we follow?; Approximately how long it will take to get there?; Do we have enough cash?; How much extra time should we allow for setbacks?; Are our driving skills up to it?; Have we discussed our plans with any passengers?; and so on. We do all this without a whimper – ‘cause we KNOW that we’ll end up in the poo if we don’t do it. Yet when it comes to our business – our very life blood; our only support for our starving family - we skirt around all of this and make it all up on the hoof. Marketing Plan? No, load of nonsense! Target specific clients? No, I sell to anyone! Etc, etc.

The majority of small business owners put more thought into planning their summer holiday than they do into the systematic development of their business! THIS IS MADNESS. So why does it happen?

Many small business owners say that creating a plan is a waste of time, something they’ll never use and only devised to satisfy the bank. Others say, “I’ve simply no idea where to start.”

But, creating a basic yet workable plan is actually extremely simple and helps you, more than anything else, to clarify the best direction for your growth. As a starter, do this now! Simply decide where you want to get to; how you’ll do it; and when you want to get there. Go on, stop reading and do it right away! Nothing fancy, and in less than 5 minutes, you’ll have stopped your compass from swinging wildly and your way forward will have become much clearer.

Having done that, you can now start to fill in some of the detail, e.g. Which types of businesses are most likely to need your particular skills and why? Where are they? Are there enough in your stamping ground to earn you your revenue goals? What is the best way to capture the attention of these prospective clients? How will you do it and when will you do it? And so on.

Although Marketing can be extremely complicated (it is after all, a 4 year Honours Degree in University), it doesn’t have to be! Do you need to understand the workings of the internal combustion engine to drive your car? Of course not! I can operate my computer well enough to satisfy my needs, yet I’ve only scratched the surface of what it is capable of. So, start simply, and then progressively expand on it as your confidence grows. If you require business growth, you’ll need clarity and direction. And this can be achieved if you just spend a little more time and thought than you would to plan your holidays – and it’s a zillion times more important!

©  Brian Griffin 2007

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