Are your giving your clients what they want? Do you know what your clients want from a business like yours more than anything else in the world? If you knew the answer to this question would you market your small business differently?

Most small businesses seem to fall in to one of two camps on this issue. A small number create a product or service based on something that they really want to do, but they really have no idea if anyone would ever want it. A much larger majority tends to have some general knowledge in a particular area, but what they communicate is so broad and vague that they end up reactively taking whatever business they can get through the door.

I'm blown away when I ask someone what it is that their clients value most from their services and they don't know. If you don't know what your clients want, then how can you ever hope to provide great services to them?

Take some steps to position your business for success that others in your field just can't generate.

First of all, I do think you should determine what it is that you do best.

* What are you committed to and totally passionate about?

* What are you out to cause?

* Who do you want to help and what do you want to help them get done?

If you love what you're doing it makes the game of business a whole lot more enjoyable.

Figure out what it is that your target market would love to have more than anything in the world from a business like yours.

* What are their greatest challenges and issues that your company could get involved in helping them overcome?

* What is the greatest result or outcome you could ever hope to deliver to your ideal clients?

* If time and money weren't an issue, what service would you offer that would consistently produce the greatest possible outcomes?

Take some time to carefully consider and write out your answers to these steps and questions offered above. You may not know all the answers, but do the best you can. Then call up a handful of your best clients and a couple of your most trusted business contacts. Offer to buy them lunch and then sit down to talk through what you've come up with to get their input.

Sometimes if you want to know what people want, you just gotta ask. But, your conversation will go deeper and you'll get better results when you do it with your thoughts already outlined.

Once you know what your clients want, you can begin aligning your service offerings and developing your core marketing messages around that. And suddenly marketing becomes easier.