The Best Question I've Been Asked In Ten Years of Marketing Consultancy and Training

It never ceases to amaze me what a rich and fertile ground the classroom is in discussing all things, business, sales and marketing. It's safe to say that over the last ten years that I have run Road Scholars Training and Strategic Consultancy, I have been asked thousands of questions by students and clients alike and many of them very powerful questions that show that the person asking it was really thinking through an issue.

Well the other day I think I was asked the best question I have received in a decade. Namely:
"What type of business more that any other is destined to fail i the market place?"

Now I'm sure that within any country if you contacted your Bureau of Statistics you could easily work out what the most predominate industry within each country failed businesses come from as a percentage of the total operating businesses. But although that would be interesting, that's not what this gentleman meant.

What he wanted to know was what physical characteristic or behavioural norm if any, do these 80% of SME businesses that are destined to close within five years of opening have. As I said before, great question.

In my experience looking back at countless businesses that have suffered this fate I believe there are two things in common within this broad group of otherwise unrelated businesses.

They are:
1. At some stage these businesses run out of working capital and die but I would suggest that this first point is a symptom and occurs as a result of the more important first causal issue. Namely:
2. They fail to provide their target market with real value.

I'd like for the sake of this discussion to suggest to you that value can be imparted in e of two key ways.

1. By increasing the benefits your target audience receive by dealing with you and buying your product  and
2. By decresing the effort required to deal with you and purchase your product.

Now think about any outstanding business and the 2 or three things they do that delight their customers and prospects. Do they come under the banner of 1 or 2 or both of the criteria that provide more value.

These businesses of course have not failed and will be unlikely to while they  provide this type of incentive to preferentially use their brands over other lesser rival brands.

Now think about your brand and starting writing down ways you can provide that sort of value to your brand and your target audience to ensure that your business never joins the 80% that failed to do so.

And until next time, good luck and good marketing.

Regards,
Daniele.