Questions every business owner should ask

MARKETING QUESTIONS

#1: WHAT'S NEXT?

 The single most important

marketing question may be this one. One of the flaws in most businesses is the

existence of Dead-Ends. A transaction occurs without naturally, logically,

deliberately setting up or leading to the next transaction. That's a Dead-End.

Make a list of Dead-Ends in your business, then fix them.

#2: WHAT DO THEY WANT?

It has to

do with needs vs. wants, and unmet desires — do you really understand what

motivates your customers and prospects? Make the list of the top ten things

that motivate your customers to take action, and the top ten desires they have

#3: WHAT DO THEY WANT YOU'RE

NOT GIVING THEM?

What else would they buy from

you? Then either create it, find it, do joint ventures to provide it. Since the

most difficult and expensive part of business is acquiring customers, you

should always be searching for ways to earn more money from each

customer.

#4: What Business Are You

REALLY in?

The classic -- are you running

the railways or you are in the transport business?  Are you running a restaurant

or are you in the special celebrations business or romance business or

businesspeople' lunch business. 

#5: Why should your customers

do business with you instead of ANY and EVERY other option available to them?

ENTREPRENEURIAL QUESTIONS

#1: What If????

What If

— you couldn't continue doing business as you do now? What If — that

person you keep thinking about firing but don't, quit tomorrow? How would you

function, re-arrange tasks? Make a list of ten really provocative 'What If'

Questions to ponder.

#2: What (Still) Really Bugs

You, Day In, Day Out?

Keep refining the list of

serious, reoccurring stressors and annoyances you want to eliminate from life,

then work on doing so.

#3: What Are Your Top Ten

Strengths?

Personally, as well as your

business' strengths...then, what are you doing to leverage them and profit from

them to the max? What interferes with doing so?

#4: What Are Your Top Ten

Weaknesses?

What are you doing to fix them

or compensate for them? How did they hurt you last year? What will be done

differently this year?

#5: What Do You Want Your

Business To Look Like In 12 Months? 36 Months?

Outline a complete, detailed

“picture”, list out the obstacles, reasons that picture isn't already reality

and then five to ten possibilities for removing each obstacle, bridging each

gap.

#6: What Insanity Are You

Guilty Of?

The classic definition of

'insanity' is: doing the same things the same ways but hoping for different

results. #6A: What do you accept as “nature of your beast” that can't be

changed or improved? What do you believe to be absolute truths about your

business, prices, customers, competitors — which you haven't tested in at least

a year?

#7: What THREATS Exist to your

business or prosperity — and what are you doing to protect yourself or insure

against them?

Keep digging, keep asking and

keep answering.

* * * * * * * *

 

Arun Pujari is a business coach. He helps small to medium sized business owners,

who are not happy with the results they are getting in their business, and the

way their business is moving forward.