With the 1st of April just around the corner, I have been trying to find out where the whole concept of April Fools Day started, and like with many such traditions there were several theories. From Pope Gregory XIII adoption of the Gregorian calendar to a folk’s tale linking April Fools’ Day to a town called Gotham in Nottinghamshire where the people of Gotham town behaved like fools to avoid losing their main road to the King. Wherever it stemmed from, on the 1st of April we take what we hear with a pinch of salt, cautious of making a fool of ourselves for believing something that may not be true.
The analogy to being fooled by false truths can often be seen in business. We don’t spend the time to find out what is really going on around us, we get so caught up in our own web of events and thoughts that we don’t take time to find out what is really going on.
It is our fear of getting it wrong that leads us to make fools of ourselves without even being aware of it. Are you asking your customers for feedback on your product or services? Or are you like the restaurant manager asking them if everything is okay as soon as they fill their mouths with food unable to politely give you the real story? Are you taking what your team is telling you as gospel or exploring ways of finding out what is really happening in the field and within your business? Are you reinventing the way you do business, fool proofing yourself for the future?
Looking at your business strategy is not something that you do as a once off; it is something you should constantly be doing. You should be testing what you are doing in your business and finding ways of improving what you offer. Markets change, so do your customers needs, that’s why it is so important to make sure you are always looking for new opportunities. I am not suggesting you have to look at changing or adding new products or services to your portfolio although in some businesses this is a requirement. I am referring to looking at what your business offered in the past, what it offers now and what it will look at offering in the future. Do you think I am a fool? Ask all brick and mortar retailers who did not think online sales would take off what they are thinking now.
So as the annual day of the fools draws closer, grab your team and look at reviewing your marketing strategy which should be driving your business into success for the future.
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