I’ve talked about signposts and signposting in a previous blog. As I’ve discussed, it’s important to know where you’re going even if you don’t know exactly how you’ll get there. When you’re headed to the beach, you might have 10 different paths or roads that you could take to get there, yet you always know the general direction in which you’re heading, and that nice lazy day in the sun listening to gently breaking waves remains your intended destination.

In business too, if you have a clear strategy, a goal to aim at you’ll reach your destination more easily by following clear signposting.

Are your signposts clear?

Signposts give us clear communication and clarity of direction, but only if they are clear, concise, contextual, and relevant. It’s the means by which you know you’re on the right road. The same is true in business. It doesn’t really matter if you end up taking detours along the way as long as you keep an eye on your end goal, while you proceed with a sense of purpose and certainty. You’ll get there, even if it might take a bit longer than you’d first envisioned. Clear signposts don’t tell you everything, they just tell you what you need right now, in order to keep moving forward in the right direction.

Yet we don’t just need clear signposts for ourselves, we need to be providing clear signposts to our clients and suppliers too, so that they know what to expect, when, and in what way. That way we help them stay on their journey too.

How Does the Use of Signposts Change as You Journey?

Signposts aren’t the same at every point of the journey. They change and evolve. As you travel they give different information and guide you even if you are in unfamiliar territory. Detours that you are forced to take might make the road more scenic, but you’re still using the signposts to ensure that you are heading in the right general direction, albeit perhaps with more potholes or off-road tracks. That’s the same way you can see your business.

Confirmation

You trust the journey you’re taking with your business, but you also need an eye for the signposts to reinforce that you really are headed where you need to be. You might be in the fast lane and then have to take a detour. It might be a bit rocky sometimes, but you can trust in the signposts along the way the direction you are heading in will get you to your destination.

Where You Are

Signposts offer a gauge to your progress. You’ve got a clear picture of where you’ve been, but also where you are right now. We can’t read the future to know if the path might get rocky or smoother down the road, but we can move forward with confidence and assurance. Don’t forget to give your clients the signposts they need to know where they are too.

Take Action

That’s where the Action comes in. It’s not enough to simply continue on the path, you need to make course corrections, based on your measurements of progress, your sense of direction and the conditions you find yourself in.

How Does Signposting Inspire Confidence and Trust?

Great signposts give you clarity on where you are going. The signs you provide for others give them the clarity they need and when clarity in communication and direction inspires confidence.

Your business can stand up to the rough patches when you continue to gauge your direction, confirm where you are, and continue to take action. Your clients will keep coming back to you for what you do if they know, from your signposts, where they are, with clarity, certainty and confidence.

Are the signposts you need clear to you? Are the ones you give others clear to them?