Hindsight2020: Part Three

We've spent quite some time looking back over 2019 already; first establishing the general highs and lows of our year and then looking in more detail at our business and personal practices. Today is perhaps the most daunting task at all - the reality we can't escape - the numbers! Eek.

I'm mostly kidding. While intimidating, these numbers - like everything else we've looked at - are a work in progress. They are a measure of how things currently stand, a foothold for you to use as a leg up in the new year. They are not a reflection of your skill or your worth but rather the effectiveness of your business strategy. To improve upon our strategy, we need to check how it's currently performing.

Online Stores

How many people visit your primary store each month? How did these numbers change in 2019? Can you pinpoint moments of increase or decrease and connect it to a product launch, a change in your marketing activity or adoption of a new app?

Check your secondary stores/other selling platforms and ask the same questions. Did one platform decrease as another increased? Are your customers elsewhere now? Do you see a flood of activity after promoting on social media?

I've noticed that for me, even when I have a high rate of visitors that they rarely translate into customers. This prompted me to ask the following questions; do you know what may prevent someone from buying your product? Could it be too expensive or that they lack trust in your brand? We need to write down potential blockades so we can work to address them.

Funds

Take look at the total funds you made in sales during 2019. Now look at your total expenses. Let's do the math and subtract the expenses from the sales and see how your profits fared. Better than expected? Worse? How do you feel about them? Write it down.

My profit post expenses was negligible and man is it frustrating! Yet that frustration fuels me as I drill down into these figures. Whatever you're feeling, you can harness that energy as you tackle the next tasks.

Products

We're going to write a little versus list; what were your most and least successful products of 2019? How much profit do you make each time you sell these? Do you know why these worked/didn't?

What percentage of your sales come from your best selling product versus your most profitable products?

When looking at our product offering sometimes we can see what feels like an obvious gap; in 2018 I thought 'I sell mainly high price point items and the lack of a low price point item may be off putting to customers'. So I invested in some stickers and made sure my badges were readily available. When it came time to review 2019 I realised that these are great but I'm not positioned to sell them. They don't fit where my brand is heading and worse, make it look more haphazard.

When umming and ahhing about your product offering there is a handy little tool called the PVP scale. It is this; Personal Fulfilment/Value to Marketplace/ Profitability. You mark your product out of 10 for each and then add it together for the total score. This gives you a good view of how that product is performing (both personally and within the business) and can help you make a more informed decision about its future. This can come in handy when it comes to goal setting later.

Platforms

How many types of social media do you use? Write them down in order of ranking; most to least. Note how many followers or subscribers you have on each. How did this number change in 2019? How do you feel about this change? How would you like this to look this time next year?

I noticed that while I haven't seen massive growth, the numbers on all of my accounts are increasing and I can boast - not that I'm going to - about some incredible people that are included in that list.

However these connections have been slow to grow and I'd like to speed it up. I want to bring my Instagram following up from 1211 (at the time of writing) to 2k and my Depop from 688 to 1k. These aren't massive leaps and should be achievable through a concerted effort and - you guessed it - planning!

Posts

What were you most and least successful posts or social media campaigns of 2019?

How do these break down between likes/comments? Do you know why these did or didn't strike a chord? Are there recognisable strengths you can apply to future content?

My most successful posts of 2019 tended to be what I deemed 'final piece' posts. These are posts where I finally revealed a thing I had previously been showing 'in progress' behind-the-scenes footage/photos. I think these resonated because people had shared the journey from conception to completion. They shared in the landmark achievement with me. I also noticed that photos with my face in them seemed to fare better (weird) and also when I shared new - yet to be perfected -product ideas.

It's not unreasonable to assume that people like to connect with the human behind the account and see that the process of creation is non linear. It makes everything more relatable. I see the merit of this as a trust building tool. People aren't connecting with a faceless company, they're connecting with me (and my face).

Mailing Lists

In Ryan Holiday's 'The Perennial Seller' he says "if I could give a prospective creator only one piece of advice it would be this; build a list - specifically - an email list". Now you're probably grimacing because mailing lists are less fun than social media, no? Just me then. He goes on to say "imagine that for reasons entirely outside of your control that there was a media and industry black out of your work. Imagine that due to some controversy or sudden change in public taste you were suddenly persona non grata... " In todays online climate this is not an unheard of scenario; whether you're a victim of vigorous online censorship or hate driven 'cancel culture'. If all your stores and social media resources were no longer available to you, how would you stay in touch with supporters? Yup. Mailing lists.

So take a look; how many people are on your mailing list? How did this number change in 2019? How do you feel about that change? If you can track the number of opens/clicks etc for your list then take advantage and identify the most successful emails. Are there recognisable strengths you can apply to future communications? Certain topics or layouts that seem to resonate more?

What purpose do you want your mailing list to serve in the coming year? Remember that having someone subscribe to your list is a show of trust on their part; they want to stay in the loop and trust you not to abuse this contact by spamming them with shite. Your aim should be to return this trust by providing value to these most diligent of supporters.

Final Thoughts

That's it. You've done it. Those are the numbers we needed to cover! So I just have one final task for you; it’s time to write a summary of 2019.

Record - honestly - how it went for you and your business. Look back over all the notes that you've made whilst progressing through this series of posts. Note the highs and lows; what worked, what didn’t? Where was there growth and where were there missed opportunities for growth? It may help to write like you’re addressing a third party - like a board of directors or shareholders - acknowledge the wins but also be clear areas for improvement. What challenges did you face and what progress did you make? What do you need to step up for 2020? What direction do you wish to pursue in the coming year? What are your instincts telling you? Where does your passion lie?

It's time to bring 2019 to a close and time to get psyched up for what’s next for 2020.

Much love,

Tiffany xo