It’s frustrating to watch your business struggle. Like most leaders, you’d do anything to make it better, but the real problem isn’t what you think it is — something much more important is stopping you from thriving.
Your Business Vision is Unclear
An unclear vision is why you’re frustrated with your employees. It’s the reason you’re not closing sales. And it’s to blame for your company’s stalled growth. Without a clear vision, businesses die.
You’re shaking your head. “No, that’s not it,” you say. “It’s because my employees are lazy. It’s because I don’t have enough money to pay for a good website. It’s because a recession is looming.” Those things may matter but they’re not why your company is struggling. More than anything else, the success of your business depends on the clarity of your vision.
Most business owners never give vision the credit it deserves. Instead, they spend months fine-tuning processes and job posts. They shell out thousands of hard-earned dollars to third-party recruiters and web developers. They read dozens of books on strategy and motivation and fill their search bar with questions such as “How do I increase revenue?” “How do I attract top talent?” and “Who’s the best web developer in my area?”
Instead of wasting time and money, let’s be clear: Your team isn’t working efficiently because employees don’t understand where your business is going and how they fit into that plan. Your ideal audience isn’t converting because they don’t know what you do. And your business isn’t growing because you can’t clearly express why it matters.
The good news is that creating a business vision is as easy as answering a few questions. And this blog will help you with that.
What is a Business Vision?
A business vision is a set of goals and objectives for the future of your business. It’s a clearly defined understanding of who you are and what you do. Everyone in your company should know the business vision.
The vision of your business can also include a financial goal, your company’s values and processes, and your strategy for the coming years. But in this blog, we’re going to laser focus on an easily-repeatable vision statement that you can use across your business. The most important factor you need when creating this vision statement is clarity.
How Do You Clarify Your Business Vision?
Can you describe what your business does? Can you describe it in two sentences or less? If the answer to the first question is “yes” and the second is “no,” then you don’t have a clear business vision. So let’s break it down to the bare bones. Here are two main elements you need to address.
Who Do You Serve?
- Their wants. What do they want that your business offers?
- Their pain points. What do they struggle with every day that your service could help?
- Their values. How is your business aligned with their values?
- Their life circumstances. What circumstances are they in that they would be aware of your service?
- Their needs. What do they need that your business offers?
What Do You Do?
As a business, you need to be laser-focused on the products you offer and the services you provide. Many businesses are desperate for sales and so they try to do a little of everything. But customers can’t buy into your vision when you’re pointing in seven directions at once.
Boost your sales by being clear about who you serve and how you serve them. Your service should solve a problem that your customers have. And your customers should be able to know what problem you solve when they look at your website, social media, or emails.
Where Can Your Business Vision Take You?
What does a successful future look like for your company? Do you want to hire five new employees? Grow your revenue by 33 percent? Acquire 15 new clients? You need to know, and so does your team.
Share a clear vision of where your business is heading. Then show your employees where they fit in the picture. How does their particular role contribute to the business’ goals? What do you see them doing in the company’s future?
So many frustrations with employees and coworkers stem from unshared goals and expectations. Avoid the drama and set a clear vision so your employees can run alongside you into success.
Do this even if you’ve hired great people. It doesn’t matter how good your team is if they don’t know where they’re going. Clear vision trumps talent every single time.
Why Does a Business Vision Matter?
Some companies can tell you what they do, but few can tell you why it matters, and that’s why their business won’t grow.
Clients may appreciate what you do, but they won’t buy unless they understand why it matters to them. You need to give clients a clear vision of how your product or service will make their lives better.
Not only that, but a clear business vision will help with:
- Team culture. When your company is aligned, team culture is healthy. There’s no ambiguity or frustration with a team member’s role or goal.
- Productivity. When everyone is steering the ship the same way, the ship will get to its destination faster!
- Profitability. No more wasted money on shiny new marketing tactics, self-help books, or turnover. A clear business vision can help your company become more profitable and scalable, which will attract both future customers and future employees so you can continue to grow.
Put Your Vision Together
Your clients don’t need to know each and every one of your business goals. But they do need to know what you do and why you’re doing it.
Here’s a simple formula:
We help (the people you serve) (what you do) so (why it matters).
For example, at Hughes Integrated, we help growth-minded companies with digital marketing tactics so they can grow their business with confidence.
Once you have a clear vision, put it everywhere. Include it in your email signature, write it on your company letterhead, and talk about it at every meeting. Make sure every employee knows it by heart, and that every potential client hears it in seconds.
Clarifying your vision takes time and thought, but it offers a better return on investment than anything else you do today. Clarify your vision and watch your business grow no matter the season.
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