Business success takes time. A lot of time. It also takes a lot of work, a lot of planning and excellent execution of a winning strategy. Read on to find out more about laying the crucial foundations to build a high-achieving company.

Relationships

People buy people, and the strongest indicator of how successful your business will be is how well you can build, develop and maintain relationships. The latest marketing trends involve building databases and creating funnels, which is great, but the best customers with the highest lifetime value come through strong relationships based on trust. Successful businesses gain long-term profit from loyal customers, and although building those customer relationships takes a lot of time, you will reap the rewards in the long term.

Market identification

When we ask businesses who they want to target, the answer is always ‘everyone’. This is a critical marketing mistake because by trying to reach everyone, you will water down your messaging and dilute your marketing budget. If you have a clear niche, you focus hard on understanding the problems that niche faces and create messages, products and services that solve those problems, you will find a route to success.

Image

Your brand is important, and it’s worth investing in. The way your website looks, the images you use on your social media, the look and feel of your offices all make up your wider brand identity, and this adds value in the eyes of your current and potential customers. But your brand isn’t just about your logo, or about the way your marketing materials look. It’s about the way your employees act and the messages you share. Be really clear about what you stand for – have a strong company philosophy, vision and values. Make sure your teams live and breathe your philosophy and your customers will follow suit.

Strategy

Last but by no means least. Your strategy needs to sert your direction for at least the next two years. Are you already planning your service delivery for 2022? If you are, great! Your strategy should set the foundation for all your objectives and decisions. It may change over time as the market adjusts, but it will be a strong indicator of the direction you’re travelling and your aspirations for growth.

At Whyy? Change we’re planning our apprenticeship courses for autumn 2020 before we’ve even started delivering the 2019. We’re developing our strategy based on market data, demand for subject areas and customer feedback. We’re treating each customer as if they’re our only customer, and we’re looking forward to learning and growing in the coming year.

Find out more about what we do or get in touch if you want to chat about our marketing, leadership or continuous improvement courses.