Despite having mentored quite a few businesses to date, I am still amazed at how business owners overcomplicate all sorts of things.

The message - I have recently been concentrating on USPs* and making sure that the right message, which is all about what the business delivers and why it’s special, is being received by the right people at the right time.  But nailing the message seems to be a tricky exercise as business owners overcomplicate it.

Mixed messages and complicated sounding USPs is what I have found in most circumstances and the relief of the business owner when we have worked through simplifying their message and nailing what really is unique about their business, is tangible.  As a result marketing strategies have gone full steam ahead as it is so much easier to market a business with a simple message and a clear USP.

Make a mission to revisit this in 2012!

*USP – unique selling point, point of difference to set apart from competitors, defining competitive advantage.