We are so blessed at IIHS to work with some amazing consultants that all contribute to the knowledge base that we are able to share with our students, members and stagers we mentor and Tara O’Connell is one of them. This month she is talking about the importance of securing your foundations in business.
Forbes recently announced that online sales are growing at approximately 10 times the rate of brick and mortar business sales. So regardless of if you have an online business or a bricks and mortar business, you need to be online.
But have you noticed that it’s getting harder and harder to stand out from the online crowd? Let’s face it, online is a pretty crowded place!
There are over 25 million online businesses in the world, but only 2% are making more than $1000 PER YEAR! That’s not my idea of success!
So what can you do to have potential customers choose you in such a crowded online marketplace? How can you stand up and shine brighter than all the others in your competitive airspace so that you don’t just survive in business but you THRIVE in business?
I believe there are 6 key ingredients to ensuring your business success. Today we’re looking at the first ingredient and that is Strong Foundations.
Foundations are as important to your online success as they are when building a house. If your foundations aren’t strong cracks will appear sooner or later, and you’ll never be in a position to up-level.
So what’s included in the Foundational Ingredient?
#1 is putting yourself in your customers shoes. Get crystal clear on what problem you are solving because it’s the SOLUTION that your customer wants to buy, not necessarily the service that you’re selling. It’s the increased pleasure or reduced pain that your service will give them.
#2 is define and get to know your Ideal Customer like you would a close friend so that you can deliver what they want and need; be where they are online & offline; and have them top of mind whenever you’re planning and marketing.
#3 your final foundational ingredient is to have plan. This is where you can create a vision board, a personal and business goal setting activity, identify your strategic goals (WHERE you want to be in 12 months or 3 years). This is the BIG picture … complete with BIG goals. Then you work back identifying what you will be doing to achieve those goals. It’s during this planning phase that you ensure your online presence is strategic, consistent, and that you’re taking people on a journey to know you like you trust you … and ultimately buy from you! Because we all do business with people. And if customers aren’t getting to know you, chances are they’re getting to know one of your competitors.
The structure of your online presence is so important. If you are just firing out random information with no real plan or call to action, that’s just another form of Hope Marketing.
By getting these foundational ingredients set up now, you’re well on your way to success by shining brighter than the others in that crowded online marketplace!
Next month I’ll be sharing Ingredient 2 – A Mindset for Success!
Finally, you may find my Shine Business Checklist useful when strengthening your foundations. It’s a free fillable PDF that you can download here.
Have a wonderful month!
Tara x
Tara O’Connell is creator of the globally successful App “The Baby Diaries”, now downloaded on every Continent in 15 languages; and creator of her signature “Shine Online” training program where she helps small business owners to achieve and enjoy success. Tara is an award winning entrepreneur, author, speaker and CEO at Tara-OConnell.com where she inspires and empowers small business owners around the world to take action and achieve business success.
