Are You Gambling With Your Business?

Gambling should be left to Vegas. I like to think of it as a bit of entertainment, not a something to rely on. I suppose there are some professional gamblers that will disagree with me, though! In business, we tend to gamble in certain aspects of our company. Why is that?

Due diligence is very important in a all facets of a business. You wouldn’t just hire someone off the street as a network administrator would you? Of course not! You would bring them into interview, ask them technical questions and may even give them a competency test. Even when vetting a new vendor, you have them pitch their ideas, look at past work and ask for references.

So why is it that businesses gamble with their marketing campaigns? I see many small businesses decide they are going to sell their products or services to a certain segment of consumers without any reason other than, “I think I would be a good fit for them”. This is a huge gamble with your time and money, which are in short supply most of the time.

Doing a little research can go a long way in finding out when, where and why your consumers buy. In addition, research can provide vital insight into improving your product. Who knows better about what they want than the consumers themselves?

I know, I know. Research is expensive. It’s time consuming. It may not result in information that you want. Well, what is the alternative? Doomed marketing campaigns that do nothing but waste time and money.

So, if you don’t want to hire a marketing research firm, at least put together a quick email survey and ask half a dozen questions to your clients and target market. If done right, it will result in information that you can use.