Complexity is your Enemy: 5 Ways to Keep Things Simple in Business

2. Tap into niche markets.

Are you spending loads of energy trying to appeal to way too many different ‘types’ of clients and customers? Perhaps you’re scared of narrowing your target audience down to one group or industry because you don’t want to isolate the rest?

The problem with this approach is that it lacks a clear strategy. As a result small business owners often find themselves going round and round in circles trying to speak and please everyone It’s labor intensive and unnecessary.

Instead, as a life and career coach I always encourage clients to get crystal clear on their primary customer initially. Focus all of your efforts on speaking directly to them. Depending on your business you can later expand your target and add secondary and tertiary target audiences, but it’s best to nail one niche first. Clarity as to exactly who you’re working with makes everything, including your marketing and business development, much more focused and easier to manage.

3. Refine product or service proposition.

Never fall into the business trap of thinking the more choices you give a customer the more “worthy” your business will become. Huge mistake.

For instance, have you ever walked into a shop or shopped online and there was simply too many choices; thus you felt overwhelmed? What happens? Wait! Let me guess. You either end up not making a purchase or decide to go for what you know and trust rather than taking a “risk?”

More than anything, your customers need you to make their experience simple and easy. Instead of offering a long laundry list of products and services just for the “sake of it,” ask yourself what offerings bring your company the most profit for the minimal time investment? Could you focus on selling those rather than dividing your attention across less profitable product lines? Wouldn’t that make things so much more simple!

4. Actively focus on business development.

There is a whole host of business development activities you could participate in: from networking to marketing, social media, sales cold calling, staff forecasting, public relations and more. But you don’t have to do all of them. In fact not every business growth activity is going to be right for your business.

For example, it would be inappropriate for me to cold call and sell my coaching services. However is you’re a boutique recruitment consultancy then getting on the phone is key in reaching decision makers. Instead, identify the channels that are going to get your kind of business the highest return and nail those first rather than trying to juggle everything you ‘could’ do.

5. Explore content marketing.

One of the most commonly used and effective content marketing tools is your company blog. When you or your team develop the content make sure the reader has a clear message they can easily understand. Your company blog posts can include sharing strategy and new insights your customers may not have thought about. Before you or your team publishes posts on your company blog, clearly identify the purpose of the post and key messages.  The result is increased value and for your reader, which cultivates trust.

Talk to your customers in a way that empowers them. Don’t utilize content marketing to satisfy your ego — always write to fulfill your customers needs.