, ,

How To Write a Business Vision: Gain Clarity & Motivation In 3 Easy Steps

Running a business is a lot like navigating a ship. We move forward into the deep unknown, conquering small currents, big currents and all kinds of obstacles. And more often than not, we do this without a lot of guidance. We simply keep moving forward, learning as we go, in the hope that somehow we will arrive at our destination. 

The big question is, however…

Do we actually know what our destination is? Do we have a clear idea of where we are heading? And do we know when we have arrived?

When running a business, day in and day out, it’s easy to get caught up in the operation, without ever really thinking about where we want to end up. Maybe you never had a clear idea of what your destination is, taking it one day at a time. Maybe you did have a clear direction at the start but simply lost track. Or maybe your dreams and goals have changed completely and it’s time to redefine them.

When I first started out in business, I always heard business coaches and successful entrepreneurs talk about the importance of having a clear vision. It all sounded great, but nobody told me how to actually create one. It has always been this abstract thing that every business owner needs, but nobody knew how to go about it. 

It wasn’t until one of my business mentors taught me how to create a clear vision for my business that I truly understood how powerful it really is.

A clear vision is a compass in your business. It’s the guiding force that keeps you on track when you are sailing through rough waters, you’ve lost your way, or when you feel pulled in different directions. So, how do you get clear on what you want in your life and business and turn it into a compelling vision?

How to write a business vision

Here are 3 steps to creating a vision for your business that will help you gain more clarity, increase your motivation and ultimately live a happier life.

1. Define Your Values

You can’t write a great vision without first getting clear on your core values. What are core values? They are the things that you care about deeply and that are absolutely uncompromisable.

Take some time to think about everything that matters to you. Write everything down. Don’t leave anything out. You might want to ask yourself these questions.

  • What really matters to me?
  • Why am I in business?
  • What do I stand for?

Write down all the answers you can come up with. Try to aim for at least 30 answers or more. When you really can’t think of anything else, it’s time to group what you have written into 3-6 words that will represent and encapsulate all your answers. 

Here’s an example of how you can group your values

You might have gone into business because you are looking for financial freedom. But also because you wanted to travel more or spend more time with your family. In order to do that, your business needs to be able to run without you. You’ll need to be able to physically remove yourself from the business. Because ultimately, all three things mean “Freedom”, you could make that one of your core values.

Once you grouped everything that’s important to you into 3-6 words, order them by significance and write a short paragraph for each of your core values outlining what it encompasses and means to you.

You now have a set of core values that you can refer to every time you need to make a decision in your life or business to make sure it aligns with what truly matters to you. I suggest you print out your values and put them somewhere visible, so you can refer to them frequently.

2. Start Dreaming Big

Step one was about your needs. Needs that need to be fulfilled in order for you to be happy and live a balanced, purposeful life. Step two is about your wants. Make a list of everything you can think of that you want to have, do or experience in your lifetime. Do you want to skydive (I highly recommend it)? Are there any particular places you want to see? Any special people you want to meet? Any particular achievements you want to make happen?

It’s important that you don’t limit yourself when doing this exercise and simply allow your creativity to flow. Get creative. Don’t overthink. Don’t get caught up in your beliefs of why you can’t have or do a certain thing. If you dream about it, put it on paper!

Here are two questions that might help you.

  • What would I do if I knew I could not fail?
  • What would I do/have if I had all the time and money in the world?

3. Write Your Vision

Now that you are clear on your core values and allowed yourself to dream for a while, it’s finally time to craft a compelling vision for your future. A story that you can read to yourself from time to time (or daily) to remember what you are doing it all for. 

Keep in mind that this is your personal vision for your life, so make sure it speaks to you. As you learn and grow, your goals and vision might change, too. That’s perfectly fine. Take some time each year to review and rewrite your vision, add anything of importance to you and take out those things that don’t really matter anymore.  You can simply start like this:

“It’s 3 years from now and…”

Then describe in detail what you want your life to look like. Use present tense and write as if these things have already happened. Describe how it makes you feel. Feel into the moment as if you are already living this life. The clearer the picture you paint, the more powerful it will be when you read over it again in a few months. 

Have you ever tried to identify your core values or written a vision for your business before? What’s your experience? How has it helped you? Do you find the above exercises helpful? Leave me a comment below! I’d love to hear your thoughts.

 

10 Comments/by
, ,

4 Smart (Not So Obvious) Ways To Grow Your Business

In essence, there are only three ways to increase your sales:

  1. Increase the number of customers
  2. Increase your customers’ purchase frequency, and
  3. Increase your average transaction value

However, there are a number of not so obvious ways to grow your business and increase profitability. Here are four ideas to help you scale without putting the focus on sales. Ready? Then let’s dive in!

1. Automate processes to increase efficiency and reduce cost

Today, there are thousands of tools out there to help you automate repetitive business processes. Simply automating a few things can help you significantly reduce wages and free up valuable time. When looking for ways to grow our business, we often overlook areas that don’t directly contribute to your profit. Here are a few things you can automate quickly and easily that could put money back in your pocket.

  • Social Media Posts
  • Invoicing
  • Email Marketing
  • Online Advertising
  • Lead Generation
  • Sales Processes & Follow Up
  • Internal Task Management
  • Review Management

Tools like Zapier and Make can help you connect various services and software platforms to make processes even more efficient. 

Some examples:

  • When you have a new lead -> automatically add a contact to a list in your email marketing software -> then send a follow-up sequence until they take the desired action
  • After a customer makes a purchase for the second time -> send them an invitation to write a Google review
  • When a purchase is made on your website -> automatically raise an invoice in Xero to match with the imported trasnaction

These are just some basic examples, but the possibilities are endless, and so is the time you will safe by automating these tasks!

2. Launch a re-targeting ad campaign

Many business owners already use ads to attract new customers and generate new business. However, if you only run direct ads, you are missing out on a huge chunk of potential customers by ignoring this simple strategy. Re-targeting ads are a powerful tool that allows you to show specific ads to people who have already interacted with your content in the past, adding continuity to your customer experience and significantly increasing the chances of turning them into customers.

Se if you can offer them something of value in relation to certain pages or blog posts they have visited on your website. 

Example: A yoga studio might show a re-targeting ad for a free yoga pass to people in their area who have read blog posts on the benefits of yoga on their website. When people see the ad, they can enter their email address to claim the free yoga pass and automatically be subscribed to an evergreen campaign. (See next point)

3. Stop focusing on once-off promos and develop an “evergreen” marketing strategy instead

The majority of business owners think of marketing and promotions in terms of once-off activities. It might look something like this:

  • January -> Promotion #1
  • February -> Promotion #2
  • March -> Promotion #3

While this might work well, it also requires you to constantly come up with new promotions, which can be exhausting and feel like you’re never quite catching up.

Instead, focus on implementing an evergreen marketing strategy that sends new leads or customers a series of pre-designed offers from the moment they join your list. Then keep adding new offers to that sequence. Over time, this strategy allows you to develop a marketing machine that continuously produces sales without ever having to worry about what your next promotion is going to be. You just need to make sure that offers in that sequence are timeless and not seasonal.

All you need is a good email automation tool, like Mailchimp or ActiveCampaign, and there are many more options available. 

4. Make Partnerships evergreen, too

Partnerships and joint ventures with other businesses that complement yours is a powerful strategy. You might have already partnered with another business in the past to run a one-off campaign promoting your products or services. Maybe you’ve asked the other business to hand out vouchers to all their customers.

See if you can turn this strategy into an evergreen campaign, too, like in the previous example. Look for businesses that already have an evergreen funnel and see if they are happy to plug your offer right into it, while you can do the same for them. 

Example: One of my clients owns a massage clinic, while another owned a yoga studio. I got both of them to add an email to their existing evergreen sequences promoting the other business. Now, everyone who receives a massage at the massage clinic also receives a complimentary gift card for a yoga class, while everyone who joins the yoga studio receives a voucher for a massage a a few weeks later.

It’s a win-win and once implemented, this strategy will continue to work for years to come.

There you have it. Four (not so obvious) ways to grow your business. All four strategies are what I call “set and forget” strategies that you only have to set up once and will benefit from forever.

Have you automated any processes in your business? What marketing strategies have worked well for you? Let me know in the comments below!

19 Comments/by
,

3 Things Your Business Needs BEFORE Spending A Single Cent On Ads

The biggest challenge most of my clients face is knowing what to focus on in their marketing. It can be incredibly overwhelming with all the different options and tools out there – social media platforms, advertising platforms (print and digital), search engines, autoresponders, tech tools, productivity tools – the list goes on and on. How do we know what’s right for us, and at the stage, we’re currently in?

The big mistake many business owners make is that they focus on lead generation BEFORE getting their conversions right, only to realise that they’re spending way too much money and time on marketing without getting the results they’re after.

In my 90-Day Marketing Transformation, we follow a clear marketing roadmap to help you focus on your marketing activities in the right order, so you can maximise results while minimising cost and effort. It’s divided into three pillars.

  • ATTRACTION
  • CONVERSION
  • AMPLIFICATION

 The order in which you focus on your marketing activities is crucial. As you will agree, it doesn’t make sense to launch an ad campaign (amplification pillar) before knowing that you can actually convert these people. It would be like increasing the amount of fuel you pour into a car that only has 2 wheels. More fuel won’t make it go any faster unless you have a working vehicle.

The Marketing Roadmap – 3 Ways To Grow Your Business in 2024

First things first. Most business owners would like to jump straight in and throw money at ads (either print or online) before having laid a solid marketing foundation. You wouldn’t start building a house before having a solid plan and foundation to build on. In the same way, you need to address your marketing activities in the right order. Here are 3 things you need to focus on BEFORE spending a single cent on advertising or other costly marketing activities.

1. Create a Lead Magnet

A lead magnet is a tool to help you build a list of potential customers. It’s something of value to your target audience that you can send them for free but in return for their name and email address. This is a crucial part of any marketing strategy and should be the very first thing to decide on, as it gives people a way to connect with your business even before they’re ready to buy. Here are some examples of lead magnets you could use in your business.

  • Free guide or ebook
  • Free video or tutorial
  • Discount code or value voucher
  • Free checklist or time-saving template
  • Free report with information that’s highly relevant to your customers

I – for example – offer a free 17-point website checklist, as that is something most of my clients struggle with. You may also find these free downloads helpful as examples for strategic lead magnets.

2. CRM & Email Automation

Once you decided on your lead magnet, the second step is to choose a CRM (Customer Relationship Management Software) and an email marketing provider that you will use to build your list. Some CRM’s already have email automation built-in. There are loads of options out there, some very basic and some with more advanced marketing automation features that you probably won’t need at the start. The important thing is to just get started.

When starting out, a free service like Mailchimp may suffice (they offer a free plan until you reach a certain number of subscribers). Here are two options that I personally recommend for small businesses and which I have used myself.

Other popular CRM systems include:

3. Map Out Your Customer Journey

Once a potential customer opted in for your free lead magnet, what are the next steps you want them to take? What information will they be looking for before they are ready to become your customer? It’s important not to treat every person as if they are ready to buy from you right now. Instead, focus on building a relationship with them first, so that when they are ready to buy your product or service, your business becomes their natural first choice.

Here’s what that customer journey looks like in one of my other businesses (a yoga studio).

  • Step 1: Claim a FREE Yoga Pass
  • Step 2: Send Introductory Offer
  • Step 3: Upgrade to 10-Class Pass or Membership
  • Step 5: Offer Workshops & Retreats

For most people, it’s too much of a stretch to go from never having tried yoga before to committing to a membership or a yoga retreat. But a free yoga pass will help them get started and move towards that goal.

This is a natural progression that eases people into their journey of becoming long-term customers, slowly moving them from free to higher-priced products. Timing is a crucial element in marketing. Make sure that the messages you send people are relevant to the stage they’re currently in. This can be automated using email automation software (see the previous point) or using a messaging bot.

The key is – always focus on educating and connecting with your customers more than you focus on selling.

8 Comments/by
,

3 Simple Metrics With The Power To Transform Your Business (And How To Track Them)

Today, it’s easier than ever to collect vast amounts of data in our business. There are many low-cost POS (point of sale) systems out there with some fantastic reporting features that you can take advantage of to help you grow your business and make better management decisions.

And if you think data and metrics are boring, I want to encourage you to reconsider. Because once we know what to look for, these numbers can become very exciting!

For small business owners, every dollar counts, which is why it’s so important to track our progress and keep an eye on various metrics. Of course, there are countless metrics we can measure, some more important than others depending on the type of business you are operating.

But let’s keep it simple for now with these three metrics that have the power to completely transform your business. If you know you could do better when it comes to numbers, they will provide a great starting point.

Average Transaction Value (ATV)

The average transaction value (ATV) is pretty self-explanatory. It gives you the average of how much your customers spent per transaction on average. Simply by focusing on increasing our ATV, we can change the entire course of our business. 

How to calculate Average Transaction Value

Simply divide your total sales on any given day by the total number of transactions on the same day.

Example:
$5000 turnover / 100 Transactions = $50 ATV

We can increase our ATV through:

  • Upsells (“Would you like to make that a large?”) and
  • Cross-sells (“Would you like a camera bag to protect your new camera?”

No matter what business you’re in, there is always something extra you can offer your customers. Let’s take the above example and assume we trade for 340 days per year. If we increased our ATV by just 5% (i.e. by $2.50), our daily turnover would go from $5000 to $5250.

Doesn’t sound like much, right? Well, by the end of 340 trading days, we would have increased our turnover by $85,000. Not a bad result with a few upsells. 

What upsells, cross-sells and package deals could you offer in your business?

Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)

The Customer Lifetime Value indicates how much the average customer is worth to our business over the course of their patronage. It’s a simple metric with big implications and one that’s often overlooked by small business owners.

Knowing the lifetime value of a customer is a crucial part of understanding how much is reasonable to spend on acquiring a new customer. Measuring CLV is also a good way to determine whether your business is taking full advantage of its customer relationships.

In many, if not most cases, it costs less money to increase revenue from existing customers than it does to acquire new ones. Still, most business owners are more focused on acquisition than retention.

How to calculate Customer Lifetime Value

CLV = Average Transaction Value * Customer Frequency * Average Customer Lifespan

Example:
$50 Average Transaction Value * 1 purchase per month * 12 months average retention = $600 CLV

Your CLV will determine how much we can afford to spend on acquiring a new customer and subsequently, which marketing channels make sense for our business.

How much is a customer worth to you? How much do they spend each time? How often do they visit? And how long do they stay your customer? Improving each of these 3 variables will have a huge impact on your bottom line.

Cost of Customer Acquisition (CAC)

What does it cost you to acquire a new customer? While the importance of knowing the cost of acquiring a new customer is obvious, surprisingly a lot of business owners don’t pay as much attention to this metric as you’d expect them to. Keeping customer acquisition costs top of mind can benefit your business in numerous ways.

For starters, many companies spend more than they estimate on customer acquisition, and in many cases, they continue to invest in marketing channels that make little sense given the lifetime value of their customers.

How to calculate Cost of Customer Acquisition

CAC = Total Ad Spend / Number of New Customers

Example:
$500 Facebook Ad Spend / 50 New Customers = $10

If our Customer Lifetime Value is $600, it makes sense to spend $10 to acquire a new customer. However, if our CLV would only be $20 we might need to look for a new strategy to acquire new customers or first focus on increasing your Average Transaction Value, Purchase Frequency and Retention Rate.

What metrics have you tracked that have helped you grow your business and make better decisions in your marketing?

11 Comments/by