Even though it’s just a change of numbers on a calendar, it’s hard not to be excited about the new year. The last few have been tough, and it’s tempting to believe that we’ll get to push a magical reset button in 2023.
However, we already know a few of 2022’s challenges aren’t simply going to disappear. During these short winter days is when we need to outline our plans for the year, define our priorities and take our best shot. It’s also when we’re most in the dark about what the year will bring.
Just because we don’t know what lies ahead doesn’t mean we can’t plan for the future. We may not know what the economy will do or how and when the supply chain will start to loosen—anyone who says otherwise is selling something. But if you’ve been paying attention, you already know plenty.
They’re Rubber, You’re Glue
You probably already know that customers want more of a relationship with the businesses they support. If you haven’t fostered a strong relationship with them, they’re more likely to bounce. Building business relationships is the same as building any other healthy relationship—get to know your customer well, communicate with them, and anticipate and meet their needs the best you can. If you nurture those relationships now, your customers will be more likely to stick with you.
Of course, creating that stickiness doesn’t always come naturally to specialized B2B companies, but there are plenty of examples we can look to for inspiration. This is what hospitality and retail businesses have been doing for years. They reward loyalty and make it easier for customers to do business with them. In every conceivable way, they let customers know that they’re important and valuable. These industries are obsessed with thinking of new ways they can save their customers time, relieve their frustrations and make them feel cared for.
In addition to communicating with customers more often, you might also start to think of ways you can anticipate and solve more of their problems. Can you add software licensing to your list of solutions? How about including more tools and how-tos on your website?
It’s tempting to think of these initiatives as side projects; they’re nice ideas that aren’t fundamental to your business goals. But most business owners are just as exhausted and anxious as you are. Big wins are harder to come by for all of us. So, if you can save them five minutes here and there, that’s huge—and memorable.
Rough Out Your Rough Spots
You don’t need to know what will happen around the globe in the next 12 months in order to make a good strategic plan. Most of us know what our business’s weak spots are, and that’s a great place to start. Outline some initiatives to address your weaknesses and generate more revenue, knowing that things may very well change. It happens, but that’s no excuse to forgo making plans.
Your 2023 business plan should be a living, breathing document that can be adjusted as needed. But without any plans in place to achieve your business objectives, time has a way of slipping by without much to show for itself.
Once you’ve clearly outlined your goals and how you’ll achieve them, tell your staff how they can help get the results you want and how you’ll define success. Even if your business is small, it’s easy for 10 different people to hear a single speech and walk away with 10 different interpretations. Communicate your goals and KPIs for the year in writing and, if you’re able, create incentives to align your staff’s efforts with those goals.
One of my favorite takeaways from Marco’s 2022 go-to-market strategy was just how much a group of people can achieve when their goals are aligned and their hard work is rewarded. You may not achieve all your goals, but if your experience is anything like mine, you’ll be pleasantly surprised by how much you can achieve in a single calendar year.
Your Horoscope for 2023
Like all of you, I’m in the dark about where the economy is headed and when and how our supply chain woes will be resolved. But I do predict that some of our more aggressive competitors will try to use these things as leverage to pry our customers from us.
Your customers may hear one of your rivals promise that they can deliver the same printer sooner, or they have more repair parts in stock, and can therefore guarantee faster issue resolution than you can.
Speed is nice, but having a business partner you trust is always better than a one-time deal. Your efforts to create sticky relationships with your customers, whether that takes the form of increased digital marketing, adding more tools and solutions or both, will make those fly-by-night promises much less attractive.
Your competitors are entitled to take their shot—that’s just business. But if you’ve tended properly to yours, their shot is likely to miss the mark.
