How Fast Growing Businesses Make Smart Decisions

Summary: It's fun working with fast growing companies. There's an energy and dynamic about them that I love. One of those dynamics is the leadership team can be highly creative. Lots of ideas abound. This is both good and bad. It's bad because each idea has to fight for its own attention. It's good because there's so much damn possibility! BUT... We need to make decisions, right? We can't just keep thinking of ideas without implementing. So which creative ideas should have resources allocated to it and which should NOT? Here's how: 1. SOME DECISIONS ARE OBVIOUS Really, they are. I was talking to a client the other day about profiling his best customers. Without giving too much away, he found that 70%-80% of his customers... ... Live a certain distance away ... Make a certain income ... Are in relationship. That's it. Just 3 qualities that the majority of them meet. How does this help? Well, it's obvious dear reader. If a sales rep for a new magazine... or billboard company... or website calls him for advertising space my client can make a rational decision. Does the publication help him reach potential clients that meet the 3 criteria above? If yes, then it warrants further discussion. If not, then it's a clear "no". I have another client who owns two fantastic restaurants. She gets decent traffic numbers to her website. She also has thousands of people per month through her restaurants. When we first started chatting we discussed the virtues of scaling UP the website traffic component. And while it has merit there was a much easier decision on the table (excuse the pun!). That decision was... ... doing more with her existing customers. Just a few simple moves she's making are going to be worth hundreds of thousands to her business in the next year. And those moves are almost cost free and risk free. So, like I said, some decisions are obvious. This brings me to my second insight... 2. THE HUMBLE MARKETING TEST I live in the real world. I "get" why companies don't test more. I "get" that it can be a pain in the butt. That resources need to be set up in advance - in the form of designers, technical people etc., - for tests to take place. Especially on the Internet. And it can be hard to put those resources in place while you're busy running a business. Right? But still, as I see it, that's really a convenient excuse. Because I've found whether you test or not is more a consequence of culture than resources such as money or people. So, my question is... "What culture do you cultivate in your organisation?" Another question... "Do you foster a culture of experimentation and exploration?" Because if you answer "yes" to question #2 I bet ya that your business is doing well. Testing does NOT have to be a complicated process. It could be a few phone calls. Let me give you an example... I had a meeting Monday afternoon with two savvy operators. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss a live event that we may be holding. A truly exciting event that'll be a huge, huge success. Partly because of the celebrity we're trying to bring over. Partly because we may be holding the gig at the headquarters of one of the most admired companies in the tech world. However... We are faced with a few genuine challenges. So, during the meeting, we were brainstorming ideas about how to overcome the challenges and I said this (and I'm paraphrasing to leave out a few confidential specifics): "Guys, I have a thought. Contact at least 10 JV partners you know. Tell them that we're in discussions with Admired Tech Company A about holding it in their auditorium at HQ. Also tell them we're looking to have Famous Celebrity B be as a keynote speaker. Ask them would they mail about this gig if they kept most of the ticket price?" Voila! A test.