We spent some time over the weekend helping a friend working on a repo. No, not that kind. A repositioning!

Our pal is contemplating a repositioning of his business. It's a major undertaking, and always turns up more issues than the "usual suspects".  The emotional impact of changing something you've been attached to, even if unsuccessfully, for years is a huge challenge for any company founder. It's those feelings that keep us holding on, sometimes for much longer than we should. Happily, our buddy is committed to making his business work in a new technological environment.

To get started, we asked him a set of questions. Later, he reflected that he wished he'd had the list a long time ago because these are the kinds of questions business owners should ask regularly. He made me promise I'd share them here today. Because I'm a woman of my word, here are the questions:
  1. How is your product/service positioned against its competitors or competitors for your customers’ money?
  2. What do your customers want most? What’s most important to them?
  3. How can you show that your product/service is the best way to get that?
  4. What are your core business values?
  5. How do those intersect with your customers’?
  6. What can customers expect from your product/service?
  7. What can they expect from you as the business owner?
  8. How would you like your customers to describe your product/service, your business and their experience with your company?
  9. Where does your customer base get most of its information about products/services like yours?

Take a few minutes to answer these questions today. Then see if your marketing and PR are working to support it. You may find an opportunity to enhance your outreach to drive more business.

What questions should we add to this list?