Are You on the Right Path?
by Brad Ellisonb.ellison@luftigwarren.com
Our company recently switched web hosts and moved our website and blog to Hubspot. Hubspot is a service that is designed to help create and nurture leads for the long term success of your company. The goal of the move is to generate significantly more traffic to our site and get some new leads for our sales team. The problem is that pre-move, our website/blog was getting almost 5 times as many views as it is now.
A lot of companies after a similar major shift question whether they made the right decision or are on the right path. Does a dramatic decrease in blog reads mean you’ve made a grievous error…or could it simply be a temporary lull before your traffic explodes? Here are a few questions you need to ask yourself.
Was your path change well thought out?
One way to help determine if the path you’re on is the right one is to evaluate the circumstances of the course shift itself. Was there strategy involved? Was there thought and effort put into researching a change of direction or was it a haphazard or random decision? A well thought out strategy is more likely to be successful than not, it may just take some time to see the results.
What else did your change affect?
Frequently when you switch to something new there are unintended consequences. It doesn’t mean you should give up on the change and revert back to what you were doing before, but it might be time to alter your approach and your tactics. Step back and consider other areas of your business that may have been impacted by your change.
Have you started to see any improvement at all?
For me, taking an 80% hit on blog traffic right off the bat was tough to swallow as the Social Media Manager. However, each day, I see our traffic increase bit by bit. This is a sure sign that we are on the right track and the change we made is for the better. If, on the other hand, you are seeing no growth after a big change, another course correction may be necessary.
Are you 100% committed to the change?
You know what ultimately turns your new path to a road to failure? Believing (and acting like) it was the wrong decision. If the course correction was strategic and thought out, you MUST commit to it. It may turn out to have been the wrong decision, but unless you commit yourself and your business to the new direction, you’ll never know if it was a good decision or a bad one. The old adage “whether you think you can or think you can’t, you’re probably right.” Attitude counts for a lot, so buck up and kick some butt!
The late Jim Rohn summed up the issue pretty clearly:
"The difficulties you meet will resolve themselves as you advance. Proceed, and light will dawn, and shine with increasing clearness on your path."
The great news for all of us is that whichever path we are currently on can BECOME the right path. Hard work, determination and a bit of ingenuity can literally change the outcome without changing your course.
Respond: Have you ever made a course correction? What were the signs you saw that you were on the right or wrong path?
Image Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/greeneydmantis/637296139/ via Creative Commons