Is it time to review your strategy?

Maybe its time focus inwardly on your business.  I am not talking about sending emails, checking your social media, or anything like this.  I am talking about being strategic.  Is your business strategy still right and relevant today?  Or does it need to be reviewed?

We can all fall into the trap of losing sight of what our strategy is (or even starting a business without an actual strategy FFS!!!).  This is a mistake.  Don’t be silly about this.  You need to be smart.

Here are FIVE of your key business strategies you could review to grow your business today:

Your financial projections – do they need to be adjusted?  Are you monitoring your income closely enough?  Is your revenue where it needs to be?  What profit is this translating to for your business?  Are you earning more than you expected – do you now have the opportunity to invest more into your business than you thought you would?  Are you missing your revenue targets?

Your product or service mix – does this still feel right for your business? Is it still giving your clients what they actually need? Have their needs changed over time and as a result your service needs to evolve to be sure it stays relevant? Are there new technologies that provide you with an opportunity to offer something new?  Is there one product or service that is outperforming all the others that needs to be further developed? Does your mix take potential customers on a journey that means they will continue to want to work with you?

Your marketing communications – are you getting good results?  Do you know and understand the numbers – yes data! – around your activity?  Are there messages that are stronger or weaker you need to pay attention to?  Is it time to review the creative you are using?  Is it time to review the media you are using – invest more in instagram and less on Facebook for example?  Has the time come in your business to stop relying on ‘free’ social media and actually starting investing in paid for advertising and PR? (Tip – if you have been in business for more than a year and are past the DIY stage the answer to this is most likely yes!)

Your team – do you currently have the right support in your business to create sustainable growth?  Is it time for your to invest in admin support / bookkeeping support / social media support – day to day running of the business help?  Is it time for you to invest in high end support that will help you up-level your business – you know there is more opportunity, you know there is money being left on the table but you are not sure how to get there alone – with the support of a qualified Business Strategist or Consultant? Whatever it is my recommendation is to take the leap and build your team to support you in where you want to go. Or, maybe you need to review an existing team – do you need to reward and promote someone who has far more to offer than what you are asking if them? Or perhaps you have outgrown a team member and you no longer need them?

Your self-development – yes this is an important strategy for you to stay on top of!  Are you practicing self-leadership in your business?  Is this something you could learn more about?  Is there an aspect of your business, your market, your industry that has changed or shifted that you need to be re-educated about?  Are there personal mindset challenges you need to address in order to achieve the success you want to in your business?  Are you living a healthy lifestyle that supports you in your business?  Are your relationships good and do they add to your overall wellbeing or are they a drain on you personally – do you need to address them?

THIS LIST IS BY NO MEANS ENDLESS!  There are many many more aspects of your business strategy you could focus on, review, and evolve.  These are only some to think about, and these are only some questions you could ask yourself.

AND this is not something you do once and then come back to in 12 months time – you need to be strategic on an ongoing basis.  Always aware, always growing, always evolving, always responding, always creating.  Good strategy is smart and it is by no means fixed.

At the risk of sounding like a total strategy nerd – this is also a really fun thing to do in your business – I love it!  Find a way to make this enjoyable for you.  You might need to bring someone else into this process with you. You might need to dedicate specific time to this to make sure it happens.  Whatever it is never lose sight of your strategy.  That’s not the smart thing to do.