Throughout December I’ve been finalising my 2021 business plan. It’s a bit late, I know, but at least I did it. I tried to be rigorous. I followed a framework. I combined realism with ambition. I compressed it all onto a couple of sheets of A4.
There are a lot of marketing activities I could be doing in 2021 to grow my business. Do I create a Youtube Channel? What about Instagram? Maybe I should undertake an email campaign? A podcast would be cool. I am overwhelmed with choices. It was like flicking through Netflix looking for a movie from the thousands available without a clue on what to commit to. It was all a bit too much.
The biggest lesson for me in business planning is that deciding what not to do is just as important as deciding what you should do.
Ruling stuff out is hard.
A couple of years ago I was working on a project where I was critiquing a company’s marketing activities. What became clear was that many added no real value to the customer or the business. They were simply the consequence of inertia or habit. Or someone’s favourite project. Or something invented to ‘please’ a specific customer at the time. Nobody had taken the time to eradicate these legacy activities.
However, once you get started, stripping back is cathartic and liberating.
I remember how much I enjoyed the Maria Kondo book, ‘The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up’ a few years ago. There’s a great joy to be hand in removing excess and bringing everything back to its bare essentials. It’s something I try to practice.
So, what are the practical steps involved when deciding what not to do? This is what works for me.
1 Audit Everything You Do
Review everything you do in your business. What aspects help deliver your goals? Which ones link back to a key strategy? Make these your priority.
Then decide which ones you want to remove. The ones that drag you down. Removing them will save you time and money.
If you run your own business, audit which clients give you the most stress or take up too much time. You may then decide to stop serving them.
2 One In, One Out
After you’ve completed your audit, you could still decide to introduce something new. If so, eliminate something else at the same time. One in one out. It’s a simple rule, but helps guide decision-making and keep everything manageable.
Whenever I buy a new article of clothing, I always get rid of an old one. I have limited wardrobe space. As a consequence, I think twice about buying something new or else act ruthlessly when throwing away old stuff. Thank you, Maria Kondo.
If you introduce a new activity into your marketing plan, consider what it replaces. Your plan will be much sharper as a result. Time is a finite resource. Don’t waste it on nice-to-do activities that add limited value.
3 Perfect Fewer Things
Pin down what you’re particularly good at. Where you add real value to your customers. Things you enjoy. Make these your focus. Become brilliant at them.
If you’re only going to focus on 1 key channel of communication make it the best it can be. Only offer products and services where you excel. Create a reputation for excellence. Don’t be average at lots of things.
One of the world’s leading marketing thinkers is Seth Godin. Every day he writes a blog post. You can find him here. Every day. year after year. He’s published over 7 000 posts. He’s not on Twitter. He just blogs. That’s his thing.
Derek Sivers, in his book ‘Anything You Want’, had some wonderful advice when faced with decisions on what to do. He summarised this as ‘Hell Yeah or No’. Only say ‘Yes’ to the important stuff, the stuff you love, then throw yourself into it. If it’s not something that really wows you, say no.
So in summary
When looking ahead into 2021, ask yourself ‘What am I not going to do this year?’ To help answer this, audit your activities, then start stripping back the ones that drag you down. Those that add no real value. That takes up too much time. Instead, over-commit, and over-invest your time and energy on fewer activities that you truly value. Say ‘Hell Yeah’ to these. It’s not easy, particularly if you’re naturally curious and enjoy experimentation. Resist the temptation to simply follow others. Be rational. Be decisive.
It will make your life and your business more streamlined, more enjoyable, and ultimately more successful.