IT IS always difficult to take an inside look into the make up and operation of any business whether small or big from external point of view.
At times the outside look and the unattractive buildings’ from which an entity conducts its business operations may not depict the actual business operation of that organisation and this may lead the passerby’s to write off the business and think of it as not important.
However, today in our weekly column discussions I thought it business wise to look at a document that comes in as bridge and covey its true intentions to the outside world.
This document is known as a business profile.
A business profile is a document that describes the business in summary and conveys everything about itself to the outside world.
It is a market tool that opens its hidden agenda about itself and sets its tone about itself in a fashion that opens its business operations to its customers.
A well-defined business profile will attract a sleeping customer to wake up and realise that business products and services being offered are being missed out.
In modern business marketing strategy, missing out on the business profile, is like missing out on tomatoes and onions in a delicious relish.
A business profile is abstracted from a business plan and its concentration is on marketing what it can offer to its customers in a clear way.
Dropping of a business profile at a customers’ door step is enough wake up to entice the customer to fall prey to offered products or services.
A brief look at a business profile will review who the owner(s) of the business is or are. It will review whether it is a partnership, sole proprietorship or incorporated company.
It will state where the operating offices are and when it was registered with the government’s relevant authorities such as the Patent and Registration Agency (PACRA) and the Zambia Revenue
Authority (ZRA) etc.
It also states the business mission statement and its vision. It has the main thrust of what stands to offer to its customers and the carrying edge over its competitors.
A business profile should be crafted in such a way that it answers the questions that lingers in the minds of the customers such as where the products can be found or rather where the services can accessed from.
A well-detailed business profile will review its price structure for its products or the services being offered.
Business profile must be true to its word  and any disclosure should be what the company offers in terms of products or services otherwise anything short of itself may spell disasters for the business it represents.
The business profile design must be beauty in nature in such a way that it is eye-catching may explain its intention to its customers outside.
A business profile speaks in silence to its prospective customers and differs from a sales executive who impresses with marketing talk.
This is why before the business profile is released to the customers it should be brainstormed upon and approved by the sales team and the management.
I saw a business profile included in its formulation the strength, its weaknesses, business opportunities (SWOT).
But I thought why should business profile discusses weaknesses and be distributed to the outside which lead to the organisation exposing its self to the outsiders!
The outsiders are not supposed to know about business weaknesses but if anything the profile should talk about the strength of its intentions to offer confidence to the customers.
Therefore a business profile is a flag carrier of a business especially describing its products and services among other things to the prospective customers with a clear strong message of its marketing strategy.
Comments: wklpublications699@gmail.com, 0950458228 or email