NFIB

Finding Your Strengths
04/ 12/ 2004

by Vicki Gerson

Do you know what direction your business is headed? In order to get moving on the right path, you need to find your unique business strengths. Once you have these strengths firmly in mind, you can decide on a business strategy that is best for you.

Answer the following before identifying your business' strengths:

* What functions does your company do well?
* What are the company's weaknesses?
* What opportunities or challenges loom ahead in the markets your company serves?
* What are your basic alternatives?
* What kind of company do you want to be in five or ten years?

If you are having problems finding the answers, ask key employees for their input. Once you can answer these questions, it's time to consider the following six points in order to determine your unique business strengths.

* High quality vs. low price: It is not easy to find high quality merchandise at a low price. Most likely you will need to make a decision for one or the other. To determine which to choose, it's necessary to know who the majority of your customers are and what type of merchandise they are purchasing.

* Narrow vs. broad product line: Get some sales figures on the products you're now selling. Find out if certain products have low sales appeal, and get rid of them. If you are only involved with one or two products that sell well, you may want to stay narrowly focused. However, if you believe there will be newer products within the next year or two that will pull customers away from your products, it's time to branch out.

* Trendy vs. traditional products: Hot products may be trendy for a year or even less. If you want to sell trendy products, you must always be searching for new ones to rotate into your product mix. Traditional products have a longer shelf life.

* Brand name vs. generic products: Some businesses only sell brand-name products because that is what their customers want. Other businesses have customers who are more concerned with price than brand names. You need to know your customer base in order to reach a decision.

* Customized vs. standard products: If you make customized products, you should have customers willing to spend the extra money for a special product. Customized furniture, customized stereo installations for the home or car, customized craft products and customized signs do have markets. Standard products, on the other hand, tend to be less expensive.

* Niche vs. mainstream market: If you are making or selling custom bird houses, that is a niche market. But, if you're selling a selection of standard bird houses, that is a broader market. A niche market will have a smaller customer base than a general market. If you are selling from a store front to just a particular community, there are fewer potential customers. However, if you have that store front plus an attractive Web site to attract customer from North America, you have broadened your niche customer base.

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