Information Management - What Do You Need to Know?

Matrix Key: Financial Viability - Resource Management - Information

 "Knowledge is power." - Sir Francis Bacon

Take a look at all of the Financial Viability components on the WholeLife Matrix. When you run a business, you quickly learn that you must manage all kinds of information if you want to remain financially viable.  It helps to break that information into two distinct categories - internal and external.  Internal information are all the performance metrics your company produces that tell you where you stand financially and productively.

Just as important are external reports that highlight how your business is performing compared to the marketplace.  How do you stack up?  How are you perceived?  How can you track your influence on the market?

Here are four key pieces of external information that you should be tracking:

1. Market Research - what is the appetite for your product or service?
2. Prospect Research - who buys that product or service and where can you find them?
3. Client Database - who buys that product or service from you?
4. Competitor Research - who does as good a job or better at selling your product or service?

 Imagine if a company started up today and tried to sell covered wagons to young families.  A ridiculous example to be sure, but one that shows the importance of keeping your finger on the pulse of what's happening in the market, and how it impacts your potential customers.

Are you ready to win?