| |
| |
|
Marketing Resource Center |
|
|
|
Creating Your Future with a Marketing Plan
Almost everyone who dreams of starting their own business is familiar with the fact that they should create a business plan. However, often that's where many people stop. When you created your business plan, what did you do with it? You actually have the base for the next step, which is creating your marketing plan. Without the plan of how you are going to market your business, the business plan is just an empty jumble of words speaking of dreams and desires. The marketing plan takes those dreams and creates a strategy for how to make those dreams come true. There are several different suggestions on how to put a marketing plan together, but all plans have at least seven or eight steps. These steps include preparing a mission statement, describing the services provided, identify and understand the competition, spell out the marketing objectives and strategies, create the action plan, and create a monitoring strategy in order to determine what works and what doesn't. Prepare a mission statement List your ideal client Describe your services Who is your competition? Marketing objectives and strategies Get very specific with your objectives, such as how many clients will you have by what date, how much revenue you will bring in by what date, and exactly where these new clients will come from. Who will you include your marketing to? For financial objectives, you need to be clear about what growth percentage you expect and how you will achieve that growth. Marketing strategy Examples of basic marketing strategies include networking, brochures, ads in newspapers, various programs or presentations, press releases, to just name a few. Some may cost you a great deal, but there are many marketing strategies that cost you very little or just your time. Gauge what your time is worth and how busy you are to determine how much of these strategies you will do on your own. You will further determine this by the next step, however. When a strategy works, repeat it. If it fails, and you did it right, drop it. Learning to develop strategies that work for your particular situation and personality will take time and practice. Create the action plan Monitor results Client comments are invaluable for creating or enhancing your market literature. With permission, these comments can be used as testimonials. Creating a marketing plan is not something enough people take the time to work on. I have found this to be the hardest part for anyone in small business and have had to spend many hours, myself, struggling over some of these answers. I can't emphasize how important it is to do this work, however. Skipping this step can mean the difference between success or failure. Many people who start a small business are aware of creating a business plan, and stop at the stage of the small market plan topics listed in the business plan. However, the business plan is just the first step. The marketing plan is not the final step, either! This document is the template for creating your marketing calendar that will set your projects in motion for the year. You are creating your future with the marketing plan, and then watching that future become reality with your marketing calendar. Marjorie Geiser is a registered dietitian, certified personal trainer and life coach. Marjorie has been the owner of a successful small business, MEG Fitness, since 1996, and now helps other health professionals start up their own private practice. To learn more about the services Margie offers, go to her website at http://www.marjoriegeiser.com or email her at margie@megfit.com.
MORE RESOURCES:
Marketing - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Trade Show Display Booth - A Marvelous Contact System Trade show booths are one of the best direct contact systems with end consumers. The face to face meeting opportunity with customers can provide some excellent results?provided you have a good communication strategy in place. Small Business Pricing: Setting A Price For Your Product / Service The importance of pricing can not be underestimated as incorrect pricing can often result in the failure of a business. New businesses often make the mistake of either charging too little or too much for their product or service. To All Internet Marketers - How To Get My Business? More and more people are realizing that the Internet offers great potential to set up a healthy business for pennies on the dollar. This is good news for internet marketers - but it also means that they need to lift their game. Are Corporate Awards and Corporate Gifts Beneficial for Your Business? With the increased challenges that all companies are faced with, many corporations have implemented various initiatives to continue to grow corporate earnings and shareholder value, some have discovered the strategic value of corporate awards and corporate gifts. From the boardroom to the frontlines to the client across the country, corporate awards and gifts offer many benefits to enhance performance. Overcoming Resistances To Marketing a Practice-Part 2 In Part 1 of this article, "Resistances to Marketing a Practice" the seven most common resistances helping and healing professionals (counsellors, therapists, naturopaths, homeopathetic doctors, massage therapists, body workers, etc.) have to marketing a practice were identified. Psychology of Setting Prices Pricing is one of the four major components of marketing. Psychological pricing forms one of the key elements of demand pricing wherein the consumer demand is the main focus. FREE Means MORE Business Why give freebies?We have all seen freebies at trade shows and we have all probably seen the person that goes from booth to booth collecting as much of it as possible. There is always someone that only goes to get the free stuff, but then again there are also people that go there to learn about new products or services. Your Secret Marketing Weapon As a professional service provider, you're paid for what you know. People come to your firm for the expertise you offer, first and foremost. Boost Profits: Market to the Gay Community Research shows that the gay and lesbian market is worth cultivating, no matter what your product or service. Despite the cultural changes during the past fifty years the gay and lesbian market is still relatively untapped. Earning the Right To Sell With Stats - 10 Steps to Greatness We could learn a thing or two from pro sports.Baseball players use stats to tell the story of their season and their career. Embracing The Future - Marketing Yourself, Your Business And Your IntroductionMany businesses and organisations have a perception that marketing means promotions and advertising. They think being good at marketing is producing a glossy brochure and having an ad on the local radio or television. Planning Your Postcard Marketing Campaign Before you create your postcard, do a little planning. Ask yourself:1. Writing Sales Letters That Sell The most important part of any marketing you do is direct marketing. This includes letters, postcards, brochures, newspaper or magazine coupons, telemarketing, TV or radio direct response commercials, e-mails, and the copy on your web site. Getting New Clients - When Only a Few is More Than Enough Many of the business owners I speak with are looking for a relatively small number of new clients. It isn't that they're not ambitious, it's just the size of their businesses doesn't warrant a larger objective. Creating Customer Value The purpose of business is to create and retain a customer.Much has been written about customer orientation, customer relationship management (CRM), Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) metrics, Customer Centric organization models, customer retention, customer care?add any high sounding word with 'customer' preceding or succeeding that word and you have a new model, a new theory. Networking, iNetworking, What Is The First Rule? Networking on the Internet is the same as networking inperson, or is it? Let's take a conversational tour togetheron this topic.At an in-person networking event you wouldn't just attendnot to network. Powerhouse Marketing With Persuasive Postcards The lowly postcard?it's more than just a "having fun, wish you were here" delivery system. This tiny billboard is actually a powerhouse of a marketing tool with almost unlimited uses. Advertising Campaigns That Get Results "Advertising doesn't work." I hear it from my clients all the time. Free Sample Sales Letter: Example of How to Write a Persuasive Business Marketing Letter Here is an example of a business-to-business sales letter mailed to auto dealers by a firm that markets gift cards that replace paper gift certificates. Anything in brackets [like this] did not appear in the letter but simply appears to describe the mechanics of the letterAuthor: Alan SharpeTarget audience: General managers of auto dealershipsMailer: Sharpe AutoCards [a fictional company for the purposes of this sample letter]Purpose: Generate appointments for salespeople[MAILING ENVELOPE][Is 5 x 9 inches in dimension and has a window, through which appears a portion of a gift card, personalized with the prospect's name. Five Mistakes Absolutely Guaranteed to Drive Away Your Best Clients We all work hard to attract even one paying client. In fact, we work hard to attract serious inquiries.
|
| home | site map | Advertising Articles |
| © 2006 |
