Do you want to empower existing employees to be industry experts?
– Which areas of your business do you need training or assistance with?
Operational
– Can you improve on any element of your supply chain to improve profitability?
– Are all logistical elements of your business up to scratch?
Industry/customer awareness
– Are you looking to secure alternative revenue streams where you need to raise your own industry profile?
– Do you want to be considered as a major player within your niche?
– Do you need to reach a wider audience?
– Do you need to boost awareness within a specific demographic?
EXAMPLE
At the beginning of 2019, this is what business objectives looked like for The Wern.
Revenue
– Increase revenue streams from consultancy to coaching, books, teaching, courses and products.
– Increase turnover by 50%.
Operational
– Review effectiveness of current suppliers and contracts.
Growth
– Establish email marketing database.
– Grow existing social media channels by 200%.
Awareness
– Grow my profile as a PR expert for small businesses and entrepreneurs to underpin the above goals.
TIPS
– Your business objectives should be brief and to the point.
– A business goal shouldn’t read like an essay, make it achievable.
– A measurable goal means that everyone who is working on the business is heading for the same direction.
– Double-check that your business objectives also fit your personal objectives.
1.2 Communications objectives
The next header in the template or your own workbook is for your communications objectives. For this segment, I want you to think about how and why you want to hype yourself. From your business objectives we have an end goal, but this activity is to dig deeper into the voice you will use to hype yourself. The best relationships are based on truth and in order to hype your business we need to help pull out the voice of the true you.
ACTIVITY
Think about the following questions:
– Are you trying to establish yourself as a voice of authority? In what area?
– Are you an entertainer?
– Do you want to be a quirky, fun brand? Or are you trying to educate consumers about a new product category?
– Is there an education role in explaining your business offering?
– What is unique to your business personality?
– Can you describe your tone of voice?
– Can you use adjectives that mimic your true personality?
EXAMPLE
To accompany The Wern’s business objectives, I started the year off with the following communications objectives:
– A no-nonsense industry expert that is friendly but direct
– Keeping honest by sharing business vulnerabilities and lessons learnt on the journey
– To lead by example, demonstrate how I use PR to amplify my own business.
TIPS
– Take some time to really think about communications objectives.
– Check against your business goals.
– If there are multiple staff in your business, consider different objectives for each member.
– This is about how you speak.
1.3 Your why
Before we proceed, I want you to stop and check. What is motivating you? Why are these your business goals and how have you come to the decision that you want to communicate in this way?
ACTIVITY
In your notebook under the header ‘Why’ consider the following questions to determine your motivation.
– Where are you now with your business?
– Is this a side-hustle or do you want it to be your full-time business?
– Do you want to travel for work and does this business allow that?
– Are you hoping to grow a team?
– Do you want to secure investment?
– Would you like to one day sell your company?
– Is this a lifestyle business?
– Do you want your business to fit around childcare/family responsibilities?
– Think deeply about why you want to grow.
– Where do you want to be?
EXAMPLE
These are the whys behind my business, each step digs a little deeper:
– The current PR agency model doesn’t work for most of the emerging SME market in the UK. I want to provide an à la carte menu of services to cater for different needs.
– I love PR and want to share my knowledge to help other business owners learn how to promote their own services.
– I care about independent businesses that care about people and I don’t want them wasting money on PR agencies if they can do it for themselves.
– A work/life balance is important to me and this is a trait that is also prevalent in many independent businesses.
– I want to build a
