Do you spell “audit” o-s-t-r-i-c-h?

So a funny thing happens when you create valuable content – words, words, and more words. You struggle to find the ‘perfect’ language for your audience. It’s never ‘perfect’ of course… but you work really hard to nail it as great as you can to suit your audience.

I launched the 7 Day Foundations & Flow Audit for your business . Little did I know, the word ‘audit’ caused a bit of a stir in a private group of peers where I was sharing & seeking feedback (peer testing is a fantastic resource).

I dug a little deeper. It turns out for some, the word ‘audit’ had a gut negative reaction. I really didn’t expect that.

Uh oh. I know my audience well, and I felt this concise little word delivered exactly the intent of what I was offering… so I wasn’t keen to pursue researching if I should change it. But, a big challenge in business is getting too personally married to our own ideas, so, I dug into it with my own audience.

I posted a brief, unbiased post on my public Facebook wall to gather feedback. I knew that most of the responses would be from ideal clients, peers and people I respected. No surprise, I got great insights.

With this quick little survey, I determined a few important things:

• the word is still exactly what I want for my audience & this free offer
• if someone doesn’t like the word, they aren’t my audience
• it’s always good to unmarry your own ideas & test against the most relevant audiences (again)
• what you think is awesome may not be (in this case, I still think it is – but still will keep evaluating)
• the opinions of a few do not necessarily mean throw out the baby with the bath water

Curious about the concerns with the word ‘audit’? Well some felt it reminded them of government reviews of taxes. When I dug deeper, I noticed the concerns all came from Americans. While Canadians (me and most of my audience) certainly don’t relish tax audits, it seems to have less of a ‘sting’ in the word than for our neighbours to the south.

And, these were well-meaning peers but they are not my audience. My audience knows a business audit from Truth & Tonic is a specific review and a positive, albeit honest, insight to their business with an outcome only designed to improve their financials, flow AND fun in their own business. (For goodness sake, if it isn’t fun, it isn’t worth it! Even the hardest parts can be enjoyable.)

Any negative response to an audit is like an ostrich sticking their heads in the sand. Don’t be an ostrich. You’ll find yourself ostriching a year from now, so get on with it. Audit audit audit… before you make your next business plan.

You are welcome to join the free 7 day Foundations & Flow Audit now!