The old adage that “you get what you plan for” is often even more accurate now than it has been in the past, and we’re running out of 2013 to get both business and personal planning done for 2014. As a matter of fact, if you’re a small business owner, and you haven’t thought about what you’re going to do with your business during 2014, you’re behind the curve in the time required to get it accomplished.
We’re firm believers that you need to have a business plan that includes marketing objectives and employee targets–and it needs to be completed and ready for implementation by the first of each new year. Otherwise, you’re not really running the business—you’re letting the business run you.
Now, we’re fairly certain that most business owners want to feel as though they manage what happens to them. And we’ve seen too many clients that thought they knew everything about their business—from the backgrounds of the employees to the primary, secondary and even tertiary level suppliers, to having thought through what they might do if an employee leaves—or if they are forced to create an opening.
Let’s think about manpower planning. Too often, employee departures aren’t planned. An employee may find a better job that pays more, or has better benefits, or where they know the owner or a group of employees, and “presto”—they may be giving you two weeks notice, or they may just be calling in and saying, “Goodbye, loser.”
It’s true. Some situations you simply can’t plan for. But the ones that you can plan for—if you don’t have a plan, and you consider yourself a responsible business owner—need to be addressed.
And in thinking about marketing, every year, we reassess what we think a business should spend on marketing. In 2014, there are some significant issues that are going to be impacting sales and will create both some significant marketing opportunities and some difficulties.
First, the roll-out of Obamacare. This has many impacts on small business, not the least of which, a direct impact on small business marketing. So some of our clients are saying, why, marketing? Simple answer. Marketing is the business discipline that helps you create top of mind awareness with your clients, patients, or customers. It is the direct link between the stakeholder thought process of, “Hey, I want X” and the thought that “Hey, XYZ business can furnish me with X.” But things get in the way of that thought process. Your need for specific pricing can get in the way. The perceived value held by the customer, client or patient can get in the way. Knowledge that another product is available that is superior to what you are offering can interfere. The value perception that what you are offering may not meet the need the customer, client, or patient requires can be an issue. All of these can be seriously impacted by the amount of money your customer has to pay for the service or product they need.
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