Remember What Happens When You Assume?

Today, we each crumpled up three pieces of paper, and tossed them into various boxes around the room to win monopoly money. I won $400. Another $600 was given to me by a guy in class...I then turned the money in for cash, and went for a beer at the end of the day.

What's the lesson?

TARGET MARKETS

Choosing your target markets, and why.

The first time we went through the exercise, all the boxes had the same value, interestingly enough, most of the class tried to hit different boxes, some were further away, and harder to hit, and others were close by, easier to hit. Why did 13 people change direction and go for different boxes in different spots, even if they were all worth the same value? Well, some people chalked it up to - branching out their target markets. Others, just liked the challenge.

The second round had boxes or different values, and they were shifted slightly to make the game harder. People then changed their focus on the different sizes of boxes, and their different cash values. Why did we do this? What relevance does it have in regard to choosing who we as business owners target in our day to day operations? Well - I guess you are going to have to join the BDC to find out that dirty little secret.

It did get me thinking though, why did my brain pick certain boxes. Well the first time; I picked the closest one, for fear I wouldn't sink the paper ball in to the box, after two successful tosses, I decided to muster up my courage, and spread myself out...I went and tested the waters of my market circle. And missed the box completely. My brain registered that I need to make absolute certain, I nail my market down, and what I am going to promise them, before I head out into deeper waters.

And the boxes with different degrees of difficulty and value? Well - I went for the one with the highest value and bombed, then went to the the $200, slightly larger box, and wound up successful. This time, I knew my brain was just going for the dollar value, and I was ignoring my target market completely. Two out of three balls wound up on the classroom floor, karma for ignoring my target research!


Discussing target markets, and how we plan to deliver out product to those markets brought up some very interesting work for the latter portion of the day....

Creating Assumptions

You know the adage, "Never Assume, it makes an ass out of you and me?"

Generally it's a take on life we try to, well - take. Don't assume you know what she's going through. Never assume it's OK to do what you want. Don't assume you can say that to anyone...Everyday we try to focus on fact, and not on assumption. You know what though? It's a little different in the business world.

When looking at target markets, or sales projections, or a potential client base, you need to develop your business plan, around assumptions. These assumptions are not numbers, facts, or figures pulled from the sky.....These assumptions, are based on where you see your business going; your target market, your marketing plan. These business assumptions can and will affect how your business operates. It is important to base these assumptions however, on realistic. In the business world, assumptions are used in a wide variety of situations to enable companies to plan and make decisions in the face of uncertainty.

So when it comes to the world of business, it's OK to throw paper balls in class, and make several assumptions!