Everyone should be reminded from time to time of the basics that make a business successful.  Even if you are not in business the basic concepts apply and most of the times those who succeed are the ones that understand these realities.   For your benefit I will try to compress those concepts into five basic points.   Products and Services

• What are you selling?
• Why did you decide upon these products/services?
• Would you buy and use these products/services?

Customer

• Who is your ideal customer?
• What are the demographics of this ideal customer?
• What is the best way to contact or advertise to this customer?
• What will motivate them to visit or buy from you?

Marketing

• What are the demographics of your area?
• Who is the competition?
• What makes you different from your competition?
• What are the costs of your products/services?
• How much it costs to acquire one customer?
• What is the ideal price range of your products/services?

Team

• Is there a training program for your employees?
• Do they understand and believe in your products/services?
• Are your team members trained in sales?
• Do you provide business cards to your team members?
• Do you track team member’s performance?
• Do you have a reward system for your team members?

Web Site

• Do you have a web site?
• Does your web site stand out from the competition?
• How often do you update your web site?
• Is your website optimized to bring in new customers?
• Will an established customer have a reason to visit your web site?

I know that some people will have problems translating this to their environment; there will even be some that say the above concepts don’t apply to them due to the current regulatory environment.  My experience, as a professional in the healthcare business arena, is that these questions have the potential to guide and make a difference in any business.  Just try them and see if they can help you as well.