Turn hopes and dreams into plans and profits.
Working on the EOS Vision/Traction Organizer? Here are a few exercises that point you in the right direction.
Why are you here?
Not here on this planet. (That’s probably a question for someone else.)
No, what we’re asking is, why are you here on this blog? Reading this post, the third in our series on how to pair estound’s Unified Marketing System with the popular Entrepreneurial Operating System?
In a world where so many people report feeling “somewhat” or “very” disconnected from their jobs, in a world where “quiet quitting” is a thing, why are you choosing to push yourself and your business to be the best?
That sort of passion is innate. Some people just have it. But channeling it into business success? That requires work. You have to articulate a clear, yet inspiring Vision for the future.
If you’re currently working through the Entrepreneurial Operating System, you’re probably spending a lot of energy defining that Vision. At the end of the day, you’ll have what the EOS calls a V/TO, or a Vision/Traction Organizer. It outlines values, creates a calendar, and sharpens your commitment to your customers.
And it also includes a Marketing Strategy.
Because a V/TO is inextricably linked to a company’s values and desires, this is one of the few exercises in Traction that isn’t data-led. There’s a lot of brainstorming involved.
At estound, we’re practitioners and fans of EOS. And we’ve found that when we augment the V/TO’s Marketing Strategy section with the brainstorming exercises recommended in the UMS guidebook, magic happens. The right targets and goals naturally surface. You start to think about your customers not as a theoretical demo, but as humans and lifelong fans. And you have the insight you need to know what makes your business unique in the eyes of the world, as opposed to in your own mind.
Three ways to determine who makes “The List”?
One of the first marketing exercises you do in the V/TO is called “The List.” And it begins with everyone on the leadership team sitting down and discussing what makes a great customer.
Here are three exercises from UMS you can use to complement and inspire this exercise:
Write your business’s eulogy.
For many people, imagining something new is difficult. They either think too small, and replicate the present. Or they think too big, and suddenly their dog grooming business has branched out into IT consulting and hovercrafts.
It’s often easier to take the opposite view: imagine what the world would be missing without you.
To do this, try writing a eulogy for your business.
First, imagine you’re a loyal customer, speaking at the funeral of your business, several years from now. What would that customer miss most? What did they rely on you for? And how did you make them feel, every time you were together?
Next, try writing this eulogy from different perspectives. A passionate fan of the product would miss using it… A purchasing agent might miss your transparent billing process… A decision-maker may share stories about your sales pitch…
Running through this exercise a few times will give you ideas for what your differentiators are and how you can win customers for years to come.
Fill out the UMS Persona Worksheet.
It’s human nature to mistake your ideal customers for your current customers. After all, they’re the ones buying your product! Wouldn’t the ideal customer just be today’s customer with an unlimited budget?
Sounds nice, huh?
But your actual ideal customer may be someone else entirely. Maybe the one you understand best. Or the one whose pain points naturally overlap with the product you provide. Or the purchasing agent with the power to place an order.
So before creating your V/TO List, consider taking some time to fill out a UMS Persona Worksheet. It’ll give you creative ways to define your target audience. And it’ll help you identify when in the buying process they’re most receptive to your message.
(By the way, if you don’t have a copy of The Unified Marketing System, you can download templates for the Persona Worksheet free from our website.)
Know your LTV:CAC.
We know, we know… Sometimes we sound like a broken record. But it bears repeating.
A marketer’s most important task is optimizing the ratio of Lifetime Value of a Customer to the Cost to Acquire a Customer.
LTV:CAC.
Growth companies and entrepreneurs often hold their ratio around 3:1 to chase market share, while profit-minded corporations stay around 7:1.
How does this relate to the EOS and the V/TO?
When you construct your target list, consider including the customers most likely to provide high LTV.
This isn’t the only thing driving your V/TO, of course. But it’s an important, data-led idea that, as a marketing pro, you should be prepared to bring to the table.
EOS isn’t the flavor of the month. It’s more like the foundation of success.
If you’ve read through this entire series of posts, you’re probably not going to be surprised when we say this:
The beauty of EOS is that it’s built on business basics.
A clear vision. Measurable goals. Aligned teams. None of these are new concepts. What’s special is how they’re laid out so that any business owner can implement them. And reap the rewards.
The same is true of UMS. It’s a way to organize time-tested marketing principles.
Maybe that’s why the two systems work so well together.
So whatever brought you here, to this post, we can’t wait to see where you’re going next. We’re sure it’s going to be awesome.
