A couple of years ago President Trump made the headlines by walking on-board Air Force One with a trail of toilet paper stuck to the bottom of his shoe. Despite being surrounded by aids, press members and security guards, no one stopped him to let him know that he was embarrassing himself in the public eye.
What the President needed that day was a critique partner – someone who wouldn’t hesitate to be honest and forthcoming about things which aren’t right.
What does a critique partner do
On top of providing marketing support to businesses, I am also a writer. Writing is by necessity a solitary task. I sit at home in the quiet and type out the words that come into my head. If I stopped there, I’m fairly certain my work would fail to find an audience.
Instead, when I’m done, I save my file and send it over to my critique partner. My critique partner is someone who is knowledgeable about writing and capable of picking apart my stories, highlighting the pieces that are failing to land and making suggestions of how I might fix them.
My critique partner saves me from walking out into a room with lipstick on my teeth and toilet paper stuck to my heels. She brings an expert eye and an honest voice to the table, not hesitating to let me know where I’ve got it right and where I’ve got it wrong.
When it came time to set up this business, I looked for someone who could do the same. I reached out to trusted colleagues and friends whom I knew understood my industry, my target client base and my offer. I cheered when they validated my thoughts and took on board their criticism on things that weren’t quite hitting the mark.
Where can you find a critique partner
I won’t lie to you, finding a critique partner isn’t easy. You should avoid asking close friends and family as they may lack the distance required to take an honest view of your work. I certainly don’t get the same feedback when I pass my writing to my dad and my critique partner. My dad thinks everything I do is excellent. My critique partner doesn’t have the same biased lens.
In established businesses, the Marketing team often plays the role of an internal critic. The Marketing team does research into the target audience, learning about their wants and needs, what appeals to them and what elements they assess in making a purchase decision. They bring these insights to the table helping to evaluate new products and propositions, providing feedback on what has the best chance for success.
If you don’t have a marketing department, you may want to hire in an outside consultant who has experience working with businesses in your industry.
Alternatively, you can look to start-up advisors, trade associations or other businesses in related, but not competing categories. Reach out to successful leaders, making sure to take time to build a relationship with them before asking them to provide advice or guidance.
In my case, my writing critique partner is the editor of a site where I contribute. She provided great feedback on my early submissions. After we’d had a chance to get to know one another, I asked if I could send other writing her way. She was happy to help out because we have a connection and she feels invested in my success. I have two business critique partners – one runs a PR agency (Tribe PR) and the other runs a marketing agency in another country (Feel Better Marketing). Both understand my industry well but neither views me as the competition.
A critique partner doesn’t replace your own judgment
At the end of the day, your business is your own. You have the final say in what advice you will or won’t take. A good critique partner understands that and accepts that some advice might be ignored.
When your critique partner gives you feedback, both positive and negative, it is important to weigh that feedback and think about why they mentioned it. If it is positive, can you learn from it and apply it to another area of your business or another aspect of your product or service offering? If it is negative and you disagree, hunt until you find the kernel of truth that sits at the core. You may find that a tiny tweak or slight repositioning can solve the issue.
When starting and running a small business, it is important to have a certain amount of cheerleaders around you. Times will get tough and you will need mental and moral support to help you through them. However, it is equally critical that you have someone on your team who will tell you if you are making a mistake. Don’t fall into the trap of selecting only Yes Men to view your plans and materials. Foster relationships and conversations with respected members of your business community, evaluate their recommendations and work together to make your business a success.
(The Marketing Chair can help with critical reviews and feedback on your go-to-market plans. Get in touch to find out more about what we do to support start-ups and product launches.)
