Help! I'm drowning in STUFF!

• The phone rings and you rush to answer it.
• Emails come in and they need your "urgent attention".
• Staff are knociking at your door.
• Customers are queueing to speak to you.
• The local newspaper is waiting for the ad to get the deadline.
• The customer newsletter needs to go out but it will have to wait.
• Sales are flat.
And worst of all, profits are falling.

Does any of that sound familiar?

Over 95% of businesses operate like this. And the reason is that they don't have a strategy. No clear plan. No idea of what they will do and just as important, what they won't do.

They are always fighting fires and leaping around from one short-term tactic to another.

An old boss of mine once said, "Strategy is what you do when you've got nothing else to do." He was joking but that is the approach that most companies take. They don't think they have time to decide what they are going to do or create a plan that they will work to.

One reason is that traditional planning systems are huge processes, producing a report as think as The Yellow Pages. And how often do you read every page in that book?

So, I help clients produce a one or two page strategy document written in simple terms that everyone can understand. No management-speak, just easy-to-use one-line points and targets.

Your business will function better if you have a documented strategy for all aspects of your business including marketing strategy, Internet marketing strategy, customer acquisition strategy and so on. Be very clear. Be different from your competitors - develop your USP or Unique Selling Point.

And a one-page action plan.

The first time it might have gaps but all plans have to be fluid to adapt to changes.

But...

A poor plan well executed is far better than a great plan badly executed.

So don't fret about having all your ducks in a row.

GIG - Get It Going.

Email me at Andrew@gigmarketing.biz and let's get your business moving forward.