Recall your school days. Why, after countless checking of your essays, do many still opt to get someone else to proof read their work before submission? How many times have others spotted glaring mistakes that could have proven costly for you?

While these errors may have resulted in the deduction of a mark or two for poor grammar or an incorrect spelling, in a business context the implications are significantly greater.

A fresh pair of eyes can provide new perspectives and ways of thinking that offer alternatives to how you plan to tackle a situation. Ask a business colleague, your accountant or an outside strategic marketing resource. Bounce new marketing ideas off of them and challenge your thinking. The outcome can be far more successful than you would have achieved on your own.

Here are 6 crucial reasons why you need an outsider’s perspective on your business marketing:

No Emotional Connection

It is often senior management that are pushing for improvements, but sometimes this requires changes to be implemented and they can be the most reluctant. This is due to their attachment to the organization and their unwillingness to implement changes that highlight a previous error of judgement – sometimes made by themselves. If this is present in the higher echelons of the organization, this results in a risk averse culture that permeates its way throughout the company. An outsider working with the team can spot opportunities that an internal resource may have overlooked.

They Apply Best Practices from Other Businesses

In many instances, organizations come up with great ideas about how to improve their business performance. Often, the ideas are not implemented because they are untested, raising concerns about whether they will prove successful. Change can be risky and costly if not implemented well. However by consulting an expert that has a wealth of experience, you can draw on their success and experience from a range of different industries. They are best placed to warn the client of the potential problems they may face and put in place processes to avoid them.

It’s Easier to Question How Things are Done

In too many situations, people have a reluctance to be seen as the ‘bad guy’ who queries how things are being done. They may fear being labelled as ‘trouble’ and subsequently dismissed by the organization. As opposed to questioning how things are done, they let the problem escalate. According to the Harvard Business Review, the organization ‘implement[s] tried and true approaches to problems, not because they’ll always work, but because they’re not thinking about doing things differently’. An outsider, on the other hand, is willing to question any assumptions you have made and highlight them before the implementation stage, when it would be too late.

It Avoids the ‘We’ve Always Done it Like This’ Mindset

If something has worked for your company in the past, people have a tendency to keep implementing the same thing even though the situation is likely to have changed. Take Kodak for example, one of the most famous corporate failures in recent years. Having firmly established themselves as the market leader in the photography sector due to their film-based triumphs, they eventually had to file for bankruptcy in 2011 due to their unwillingness to change how they operated. They even discovered that they had a ‘10 year window of opportunity’ before digital photography would supercede film based solutions. They had been in operation over a century and could be described as ‘stuck in their ways’. An outsider who was not constrained by their previous ways of working, may well have pushed for change and ultimately avoided their demise.

They Bring Fresh Ideas

There is a plethora of research that has discovered that managers have a tendency to recruit people that remind them of themselves. This results in a group of people acting and thinking in the same way with no fresh ideas coming into the organization. Input from an outsider with different experiences can provide the fresh ideas needed to ensure the business is on the right track.

They Can Help Drive Growth

With business confidence on the rise in the aftermath of the global economic recession, many companies are now seeking huge growth levels. According to The Guardian, ‘growth requires fundamental changes to the way a business operates [with] expert help normally needed.’ A marketing audit can provide the fresh perspective that can make these ambitious growth targets attainable.

You will often hear in a football context that when a team is struggling, they choose to bring someone else in, who provides new methods and new ways of thinking. The result is a complete upturn in their fortunes and a much enhanced performance with the same resources. In a similar vein, a different perspective could be just what you need to ensure your business is on the route to further success.

If you’d like a fresh pair of eyes on your business and to benefit from our skills and experience, feel free to get in touch. We can provide the fresh perspective you require by conducting a marketing audit of your current marketing activities.