17 Jan You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know
Are you trying to learn everything about everything in an effort to save money? Sure, it’s tough to admit you need help but if you continue being everything to everyone, you’ll burn out and resent your business.
Many years ago when I was first starting my business I was a General Virtual Assistant and learned the hard way about the importance of choosing a niche for your business rather than just saying, “I want to serve EVERYBODY.” Of course, you want to make money so instinctively business owners tell themselves that it’s better to appeal to more people than a selective few. But somebody in a training I was taking quite frankly said, “Do you want to be known as Walmart or do you want to be known as Neiman Marcus?”
The point is Walmart appeals to everyone but they depend on the sheer volume of customers to make their profit. Neiman Marcus, on the other hand, appeals to a very specific demographic which has the disposable income to spend and they don’t shirk at those retail prices. So Neiman Marcus can make the same profits as Walmart by serving a more selective customer base.
A similar argument can be made for why business owners should work with marketing consultants: owners can’t possibly know EVERYTHING there is to know about marketing as well as knowing everything about their chosen niche. There’s just not enough time in the day and you’d stretch yourself too thin.
Owners are more focused on their business niche (rightfully so) providing relevant services and products for their customers whereas marketing consultants have a greater understanding of marketing strategies overall and work with businesses in many different niches. If you’re trying to learn everything you can about sales funnels, for example, you’re taking time away from your money-making marketing efforts to your niche customers, which could negatively affect your profits. Whereas your marketing consultant can give you advice about efficient sales funnel strategies plus help you implement them while you continue with your marketing efforts.
Think about large corporations. Does the company president know everything there is to know about the inner workings of the company and the daily processes? Probably not, that’s why there’s a CFO and department heads; they focus on their own specialties and advise the president, who then makes decisions based on that input. The same can be said about your company; you’re the president of your company and your marketing consultant can advise you about which steps will yield the most profits.