This may seem like a strange analogy, but your business is like a car. As the owner, you are obviously the driver at the wheel – it’s your job to steer your business in the right direction and avoid accidents. Just like careless drivers, negligent business owners have a higher risk of crashing and causing damage.
Similarly, your business is made up of lots of different parts that all contribute to keeping it running. This is where the analogy really gets great as we can see how the different elements of your business fit together and relate to those of a car!
Customers are your fuel
Your car can’t move if it has no fuel. Likewise, your business will not go anywhere if you don’t have any customers. They are your fuel, keep your business running and ensure that you get to where you want to be. As such, you need to focus on maintaining a great supply of fuel for your business! Be sure you never run out of customers or go too long without gaining new ones. The more you can retain, the better – a bit like how not burning through all your fuel makes your car more economical.
Your marketing strategy is the engine
The engine of your business is very much the marketing strategy. This is the powerhouse that makes the fuel work and sets you on your way. A business with a bad marketing strategy will never go anywhere. Similarly, a good strategy makes the most out of your customers, making you speed past your competition.
Also, engines are full of little components and other working parts, much like a marketing strategy. You have different things that work together to create a sales funnel that converts leads into paying customers. Consider the fuels and lubricants that keep an engine running in a vehicle, this is basically your customers and lead generation tactics. You need to keep generating leads to let the marketing strategy flow without any hiccups. In the end, this lets your customers flow through and spend lots of money.
Employees are the transmission
In a car, the transmission is responsible for helping you move through the gears. If you have a dodgy transmission, you might be stuck in first or second gear all the time. Essentially, your car can never reach its true potential. The same goes for your business; you need great employees to help you cycle through the gears and reach top speed. This is the only way you will keep your car moving swiftly ahead of the competition.
Productive employees keep the gears moving at all times and let you reach your potential. Bad ones will slow things down and make it impossible to achieve your goals.
See, it’s not such a strange comparison after all! You have the customers fueling your business, the marketing strategy acting as the engine, and your employees moving you through the gears. Then, there’s the driver that makes everything work together.
Here’s a final thought for you: much like a car, a business is only as good as the person behind the wheel. Keep that in mind if you want to run a successful company.
