“MARKETING COMPLACENCY” - TIPS ON HOW TO AVOID
As a business owner, do you feel like you’ve been freewheeling for too long without seeing any real growth? The source of this problem may be marketing complacency.
Marketing complacency happens; you’ve significantly ramped up the business with a great team of people who have now been working together for a while. You’ve had some great successes, debts are minimal, cash-flow is continually positive but you sense that your people are starting to rest on their laurels.
While your positive financial position may provide feelings of being comfortable, be aware that too much contentment in a business can often lead to complacency which is not conducive to growth and innovation.
Unless you recognise the early signs of complacency and do something to change it, your business (and people) will continue to coast, ultimately leading to wide "competitiveness" gaps emerging for more aggressive competitors to explore.
Here are 15 questions to be continually asking yourself to a) avoid the pitfalls of marketing complacency and b) to refresh areas of your current marketing strategy:
1. What exactly are the benefits of the product/s and services I/we are selling?
2. What current and future needs of my/our customer, do my/our product/s and services satisfy? Are these needs apparent or hidden?
3. In what way do my/our products and services improve the life of my/our customer?
4. What exactly is the profile of my/our customer/s?
5. Where are the greatest numbers of my/our customers?
6. How does my/our customer/s normally purchase my/our products and services?
7. Why do my/our customers buy my/our products and services?
8. Who or what is my/our competition?
9. Why do my/our customers buy from my/our competitors?
10. Why should my/our customers switch from my/our competitor/s?
11. What are 5 to 10 reasons why my/our customer should buy my/our products and services?
12. What is my/our area/s of competitive advantage?
13. With what customers already identified, could my/our products and services make an important difference?
14. Is there a part of the market I/we can specialise in; i.e. a niche marketing opportunity?
15. What are the major obstacles standing between me/us and my/our marketing success?