20/20 VISION FOR 2020
We are all more than familiar with the term ‘20/20 vision’, defined as the clarity or sharpness of vision measured at a distance of 20 feet. Here at strategic marketing communications agency, dyjaho, after a restorative Christmas break spent with family and friends, we spent the first working days of 2020 engaged in focused, team-wide planning and reflection, asking ourselves three key questions and mapping out the journey to our objectives:
- What do we want from the year ahead?
- What can we learn from the year gone by?
- What process, systems, skills and people do we need to have in place to bring our plans to fruition in 2020?
The results are our own 20/20 Vision or, if you like, our vision for 2020. And we’re now cracking on with getting it done.
As we look forward to the year ahead, we would like to prompt all business owners to do the same.
What does your own 20/20 Vision look like?
Clear and actionable, or muddled and confused – if it exists at all?
We passionately believe that brands and organisations will only survive and thrive if they have a clear vision for the future, built on well-informed strategic thinking. A brand vision states clearly where your brand is heading – your goals and aspirations. Your vision should be a short statement of intent, something challenging but achievable.
For example, at dyjaho and our property offering via Real Estate Marketing, our vision is to become “the marketing communications agency that everyone wants to be with”. In this context ‘everyone’, refers to clients, prospective clients, employees and suppliers. We believe that if we can deliver on this vision, then we can be confident that we are delivering real value for our clients. This vision is really helpful to us when it comes to decision making. In simple terms, if any action we take will not advance us towards the achievement of this vision, then we shouldn’t do it.
This is not just about external audiences. In our experience, sharing a clear vision with employees can have a surprising effect on morale and confidence – it’s a fantastic way to galvanise and energise teams and ultimately provides a real platform to deliver on a business’ commercial objectives.
Are you guilty of an unfocused approach to new business development?
If you struggle to find your ideal clients and grow your business, maybe it’s time to consider what it is that really makes you different from everyone else within your market. When you try to attract everybody, there’s a fair chance that you may end up attracting nobody. A lot of new business owners like to gloss right over this key piece of their brand vision. They think, “I don’t care who I’m attracting. I’ll take any client or customer that is willing to pay me for the work.”
At dyjaho, we have learned this as company. That was our mentality when we were starting out. But when we took defining our ideal client seriously, we started growing an engaged community of clients for whom we are a really good fit and deliver real value. This is a key reason why knowing and owning your brand vision can be extremely impactful.
If you do decide to embark on a journey of discovery to articulate your vision for your brand and/or company, bear in mind that initial discussions or workshops with your colleagues are likely to reveal very different starting positions. We often find ourselves helping various stakeholders within client companies to understand different points of view and opinions relating to the various elements of brand strategy. Take time to tease out these opposing positions and build consensus, with the help of some well structured planning tools and techniques.
In summary, a clear (20/20) vision for your brand in 2020 will help to make this year a year to remember. If you need help defining yours, get in touch with us today.