How much is ignorance costing your business?

By TJ MacDonald |

If you care about what people think, and know that is good for your business, then, already, we are on the same team. Sadly, not everyone learns what is good for business. To some degree, virtually all businesses are being robbed blind by ignorance. So the odds are, that include’s you.

Stick around and we’ll see how you fare. More importantly, we’ll start examining how to turn what you are silently loosing into extra profitable business.

I think you agree, there is a lot that needs to be learned to have a successful, profitable business. Much of that involves the knowledge, skills and attitudes needed to run the business. But the biggest, most profit-influencing learning needs are in people who are your business – the people in your marketplace. What they come to know, think and do shapes your relationship with your market.

When talking about Marketplace Learning I’m tempted to describe it as the activity that stops ignorance robbing your business as it stifles sales and drains profits.

But that’s not quite true. It’s only half the story. You see marketplace learning may be doing a marvellous hatchet job on ignorance – but you’re still getting robbed. Because somebody else wields the hatchet and all the benefit is going somewhere else! Hmmm! Due to other ignorance, perhaps…?

How much is ignorance costing your business?

Let me start by asking you a question. You probably know exactly how much overheads are costing your business, what your production and distribution costs are, what every one of your essential expenses are costing you. You may even view them as investments, because they’re helping you make money. But there is one cost that is skimming cream right off the top of virtually every business. And that’s IGNORANCE!

Do not dismiss it. It’s one of those costs of doing business that plunder away unnoticed. Fortunately, once recognised, it can be converted into profitable, revenue generating assets. If you know how…

A good starting point is to ask yourself,

“How much is ignorance costing my business?”

Let me predict your answer. My bet is, if you had been present when I recently asked a roomful of business owners, you too would have responded the way some of them did. Most looked back at me quizzically, the movement in their eyebrows saying “I’m not sure what you mean.” Some began murmering with neighbours, clearly enquiring “Do you know what he means?”

A few sat arms crossed, shoulders braced, glaring back at me in the aggresively defensive attitude of someone who’s just been called stupid. Its been decades since I’ve watched the A-Team, but I could clearly hear Mr T booming back his trademark challenge, “What you talkin’ about FOOL!”

Well, I may have felt foolish asking that question if it hadn’t been for the fourth, very small group - only four of them actually – sitting separately around the room. They fidgeted in their seats, averting their faces ever so slightly. I know. I saw. I was searching, looking for lightbulbs that lit up in some eyes. As if embarassed, they avoided my gaze. Then I knew. Unlike most of the room, they understood what I had asked and suddenly realised that the answer could be a lot! And could be very embarrassing if I asked them to comment publicly. So I didn’t.

But you are not in a crowded room. You shouldn’t be embarassed. So, let’s get back to the question. How much is ignorance costing your business?

Just in case I’m stepping on toes again and somebody’s defensive hackles are rising, let me be quite clear. I’m not calling anyone stupid. Stupidity relates to lack of mental ability - that’s not something I’d expect here. Ignorance, on the other hand, is a problem that is far more widespread in business. The problem we’re concerned with is lack of knowledge, a simple state of being unaware of something important that the lawcourts have in mind when they warn “Ignorance is no defence”.

Neither am I criticizing your own little chinks of ignorance. We all have things we still need to learn, some of which you probably already have in hand. That wouldn’t be surprising. After all, commitment to one’s own personal and professional development is a common trait in successful people.

OK, moving on with this problem call ignorance… I hope you realise that the big black hole for business operators can be located… in the minds of other people!

My premise is this:

Before people buy from you
There are things they need to know, be able to do, or be thinking…

This also applies – but at a more complex level – before they voluntarily enter with you into an ongoing business relationship. And it most definitely applies before they would dream of encouraging others to do business with you too.

From the buyers perspective there are many choices, maybe too many choices. Often buyers are not aware of their choices – sometimes not even aware of their promlems and needs.

From your perspective, if the buyer knew what you know (or at least all you need the buyer to know) there should be only one choice.

The gap between what your prospect already knows, thinks and does, and what is needed for them to do business with you can be called… IGNORANCE!

This is not being derogatory, nor even judgemental. It is simply referring to a condition, a state that exists. It applies not only to the minds of buyers, but to the minds of everyone of influence in your marketplace. (If you need a reminder of who that might be, watch for a later article, or post a question to bump it up the priority list.)

The way marketplace ‘ignorance’ affects sales is another topic worthy of more discussion. Until then, we can agree it will vary greatly among businesses and in different contexts. For example, specialised products and services that compete on technical differentiation from competitors have key issues that are unlikely to exist with generic commodities sold on price.

Also, the knowledge, thinking and behaviour that has to be learned by an impulse buyer at their local checkout counter is different from those accompanying a “one-time-offer” from an unfamiliar Internet vendor. Obviously neither are anything like the learning experiences needed within the complex network of participants in the process of buying a new fleet of Boeing 787s.

The challenge for all businesses is to know when and how they are exposed to ‘ignorance’. In other words:

what is it that people in your marketplace need to know,
be able to do, or should be thinking
that will make them want to do business with you?Not only today, but tomorrow, and on into The Future! You can then start asking, what can I do that helps them learn this. What can be done to ensure the right people learn the right things at the right time that will be of benefit to both our relationship and our business? You will then have a meaningful frame of reference around which to build your business development and marketing plans.To jump into specific marketing tactics before you have determined what your market needs to learn is a little like launching an invasion before you know who is the enemy. Or to prescribe medicine before discovering why the patient is ill. .A current malady is that too many businesses are being held back by reactive following of marketplace learning rather than pro-actively leading it in the direction they need it to take.

Hopefully, the thoughts and discussion that follow will help turn that around for some businesses. As well as discussing the nature of marketplace learning and its impact on business development, there are many strategic and tactical topics just waiting for a forum.

A few of the ideas I want to share with you include:

How marketplace learning affects marketing results – and business as a whole
Why learning left to chance is like russian roulette
Why strong marketing messages and sales copy draw on adult learning principles
Are current marketing methods relevant in a Knowledge Economy?
How low-cost e-learning technologies can be used for business development
Persuasion, motivation and call-to-action in marketplace learning
The influence of Web 2.0 on business communication

While on that final note, here’s some more good news. Thanks to web technology, this does not need to be a monologue – a one-way street delivering only the gospel according to me.

If you have a question, ask it. If you have an opinion, express it. If you have ideas on relevant case studies for discussion or guest minds we should probe, please fire away. Suggestions are welcome.

Let me wrap up by saying, I don’t expect to change the way everyone does business. But I do intend helping those who see the importance of learning in business – and its importance to business. It’s certainly important to me and, more and more, I’m discovering how important it is to others. So this space is for like-minded business people who value learning, leadership and opportunities to grow.

Let’s talk again soon. Until then…
Learn well, lead well, and thrive!

TJ MacDonald