Story, Customers and Messaging - one might assume that the first thing we need to do as we roadmap out of the pandemic is to sell, sell, sell but in fact, I think we need to focus much more carefully on communication, communication, communication. We need to remember that our customers have also been through a pandemic and may now be looking for something slightly different or a want to feel cared for in a new way. They may be confident, fearful, more demanding, more mindful or simply more picky about who they buy from. Take time to focus on checking out how your customer's needs may have changed. Do they need to hear specific information or do they need to understand your core values in a new light? Now is the time to reconnect with your target audience and start a conversation. Micro businesses are in the best position to react to what customer need to know and hear most. Your story matters to them so much right now. New research is already showing that consumers in the UK are much more interested in values, sustainability, ethical sourcing, small enterprises and community participation than ever before. Research is also showing that consumers are more likely to change brands if they're not hearing or seeing what they need to know.
Growth Planning - most of us are either in a position where we have to prioritise income generation or we've been busier but not necessarily savvier. It's a good time to think about growing those aspects of our business that will provide strong, settled income as well as resilience to future shocks. Think about growing subscribers, growing ways for your customers to buy from you easily, grow your capacity to make passive income or grow the opportunities to build income. Your growth plan will be unique to you but devising a plan now will be important for the next 12 months.
Skills Upgrade - all of us have had to learn new stuff over the last year - think Zoom calling for a start! Although we have learnt a lot, are we streamlining everything we do to make life easier for us and better for our customers? Have we simply added more stuff to our repertoire while adding unnecessary complexity? Have we actually made life better? Now is a good time to take some time to assess all the tech you use and all the digital stuff you don't yet. How can you make improve your skills to make marketing simpler, booking systems better and payments quicker? I hope that some of this has been food for thought and look out for an email in the next 24 hrs about 3 free 90 minute workshops coming your way to dig into these areas and help you 'roadmap' well.
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