You have to break out of your existing limit in some dimension in order to grow. One way to look at your business limits is through the Four P’s of Marketing.
(A little rusty? Get the refresher course at The Four P’s of Marketing.)
Now break them
- Draw four big circles on a piece of paper. Put one of the Four P’s in each circle, and leave some room to make some notes.
- Now describe your business inside each circle. Let’s start with, say, Place. Write down a word or two to describe how you currently target place. Is it your local area? A few towns? Have you defined towns of a certain size, or customers in cities of a certain size?
- How could you break out of that circle? Try to think of Place in a different way. Do you deliver? Do you work on-site? How much do you do online? Do this with each circle.
The exercise of defining what you do now, helps you to think about how you can change. And you have to change in order to grow. But now you have a big list of possibilities to pursue.
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Becky started Small Biz Survival in 2006 to share rural business and community building stories and ideas with other small town business people. She and her husband have a small cattle ranch and are lifelong entrepreneurs. Becky is an international speaker on small business and rural topics.
It is amazing how we can build self-imposed barriers around our business, following rules that don’t need to be followed. The Four P’s of marketing get a lot of criticism, but they are necessary components of a business plan. However, they should be viewed as a gate, not a fence.
Simply brilliant exercise, Becky.
Thank you, Jay. I like the gate vs. fence idea. What do we choose to let in? And what do we choose to keep out?
Hi Becky
Cool exercise,thought provoking. I want to open the gate,how do I open it & keep it open.
Darrell, you don’t want the gate open all the time. You have to define what your business is. Set some limits. Otherwise, you have no niche, no purpose.
Love this exercise. It’s a fantastic way to innovate your business. Thank you Becky.