Have you read your ketchup bottle lately?

Have you seen these words on a name brand ketchup bottle lately: “Not New and Improved”?

When you really think about it, how can that brand compete in the ketchup marketplace without something new and improved very often?  Is this a marketing ploy or a marketing tactic?

Many people live by a schedule.  They get up at a certain time each day, eat at regular intervals and even set their days around the news or a show on television.  Habit.  Regimented.  NOT new!

If you have a home-based business, you may tend to research and try many things in order to find success. Some days you can be found surfing for marketing information or website design tricks. Other days you could be peeking at our competition, to see what they are up to. Unfortunately, too many times, you may see an idea and like it enough to change the course of your business; without thinking about the positive or negative impact it may have on your success.

Change can be good, but only if it is an improvement and not changing just for the sake of boredom, to have something to do or if you feel it puts you on the same path as a competitor.

In order to be sure that the changes you want to make are for the better, you must ask questions (read: polls), test the strategy and carefully analyze the results of your changes to ensure that you are, indeed, moving in the right direction with your business. If you have a loyal following, they need to be receptive to the changes and they need to understand your reasons for changing. Ultimately, they will be the ones most affected by your decisions.

Be careful of following trends and expert opinions in your business, without proper testing and analysis of the results. The bottom line is most likely your bottom line, the one that pays the bills. New and improved is not always for the better, just remember the label on that ketchup bottle before upending your business for something new and improved.

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©2016 ~ All Rights Reserved ~ By Tammy Harrison, wife, mother of four children.  Tammy can be reached by emailing her at hrhtqop (at) gmail (dot) com.