sjsmith.com.au - blog

Planning for the big stuff

Getting Your Ducks In a Row

Last week I talked about my passion for lists and how I use them in my business. This week I'd like to explain a little about how you can conquer those big projects that sometimes feel overwhelming. You may be planning a new product or service line, changing the focus of your business or planning to move to new premises.  All of these things are major business changes that need a whole heap of things to fall into place to get you there.

Let's talk about launching a new product line as an example.  This is particularly relevant to me at the moment as I move away from crochet items towards prints and downloadables.  The first thing that needs to happen is you need to plan and execute the line.  This requires a manufacturing schedule. How many products are you going to start with. Are you having variations of any of the products? Products then need to be made and assessed for quality. Are they consistent with your brand? Do they form a cohesive line? Once you've tested the products and assessed them both separately and as a range you now need to plan how you will announce your new products.  What media or social media do you need?  Do you need an advertising budget?  Are you going to retire any existing lines or products?  All of these details need to be detailed and scheduled.  Once you've drafted all of the steps you need to make to get your product made and on the market you need to add them to your diary.  

Finally, once your product or service has been released to the world you need to schedule time to follow up as to whether it has been successful.  Are sales what you expected? Do you need to consider a different promotion strategy? Do you need to promote to a new market segment? Do you need to tweak your product? What has your feedback been like?  Hopefully, it has exceeded your expectations but if it hasn't what lessons can you learn as you move forward?

Till next time,

Sarah-Jane X