We’ve come across a great process of self-discovery to help you determine the current realities of your business, what your ideal outcome would be, and action steps to get where you want to go to achieve business goals. Like all good things, this methodology was too good not to share. Today we’re going to talk about CIGAR: What it is, and how you can apply this method.
Welcome to Marketing and a Mic. We’re here to give you various digital marketing tips, trends, and useful guides to help your business get results. CIGAR stands for Current -Ideal – Gaps – Action – Review. It’s designed to help you “flesh out” what’s going on with your business and identify key elements that are preventing you from where you want to be. So, if you’re business is thriving and you’re as happy as a clam, this show isn’t for you. But if you’re business could use some tweaks, keep watching because we’ve got some great information to share.
THE CIGAR METHOD
‘C’ stands for CURRENT REALITY
Where are you now and what is your situation? This is generally used to identify an area of concern such as “I’m working hard for a promotion I keep getting overlooked” or “our business keeps missing our deadlines on orders.” “Current Reality” is evaluating your pain points. What are the things you are frustrated about?
Example: Let’s say you don’t have any internet presence, you don’t have a good first impression, people can’t find you.
‘I’ stands for IDEAL
This statement is based on what would constitute a good outcome for you compared to the current reality. This is where you identify what would be the optimal solution to our current situation. You view your Ideal as “this is what I really want to happen.” Your IDEAL can be anything from meeting deadlines to building better team morale in your company.
Example: Having better brand awareness, more visibility, and improved online reputation, you look like you have it all together.
‘G’ stands for GAPS
Gaps are like airlocks. They stop things from happening. They are the holes that exist in the operation that is preventing the current situation from becoming the ideal situation. This is when you ask and answer the question, “What will help to eliminate this gap?
Example: Don’t have time, don’t have the resources, don’t have the right people.
‘A’ stands for ACTION
This is simply deciding what action I need to take to do something about my ‘current reality.’ This can be considered a two-part process. Not only do you need to determine the actions that will ignite the change, but the commitment to undertaking it. These action steps need a definitive process and deadline of when they need to be completed and how they will be completed.
Example: Make time, find the people or outside agency that can help implement it.
‘R’ stands for REVIEW
The review stage comes after suitable action has been taken. It looks at the situation in terms of results.
Example: Trying it out and see how your results are. If two months have passed and nothing is happening, then you need to revisit your gaps. A simple method to start this “self-discovery” process is writing it down. Break up your CIGAR letter by letter and fill out each section of your worksheet as complete as possible.
Final Thoughts
That’s it for us today. We’d love to hear your comments about the CIGAR Method and if you think this could be a useful tool to achieve business goals. Join us in 2 weeks as we dive even deeper into this topic and discuss how to scale your business for growth and determine your “readiness” for change. Don’t forget that our podcast also goes live on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and you can catch the replay on Instagram.
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