Great quote from hockey legend Wayne Gretsky! And what’s true for hockey is true for business. Yet so many businesses don’t take shots — and not just because of the economy.
Entrepreneurs lack the time or staff to put new “shots” into play. A services provider, for example, had a great idea for using a whitepaper to establish his firm as the expert in a particular niche. But by the time he got around to writing it, the opportunity had vanished. He missed 100% of that new business potential.
Large organizations miss out by focusing only on the game, not the shot. For instance, an Association’s training revenues were falling as more and more members were choosing lower-priced training packages from competitors. Instead of taking a shot — like creating a stand-alone landing page — decision-makers folded the training issue in with their bigger-picture “game” of redesigning the entire Association website. The delay cost the Association revenues from 100% of the members who went elsewhere for training.
For mid-size businesses, indecision is often the “shot stopper.” At one business, for example, growth began to slow and the marketing manager determined that the company’s future lay in expanding into two vertical markets. He talked to EchoPoint about one of our Strategy & Tactics Roadmaps. His objectives and budget were clear and from sales scripts and online marketing, to phasing in website improvements, the plan would have had him “taking shots” almost immediately. But then he hesitated: what if he could rev up existing markets without risking money trying to enter new ones? Months later, however, he hasn’t committed to either direction, growth has stopped dead, and competitors have already moved into those vertical markets he’d intended to target.
Bottom line: Don’t take “wild throws” with poor quality materials, off-base tactics or bad messaging. But do find a way to get more shots off. If you don’t have a plan, get one. If you don’t have a budget, set one – even if it’s small. If you don’t have time, contract with a marketing project manager. And most of all, do it now — before opportunities vanish and competitors move in.
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