No matter how simple we make marketing, small business owners will stress trying to determine their mission, vision, goals, strategies and tactics. These are the foundation of your marketing plan.
Selecting the best target market for your business is the most important but difficult part of the marketing plan. Business owners will make many excuses when asked why they have not chosen a target because they believe that targeting limits their opportunities.
Everyone likes to talk about creating a marketing plan. It’s the fun part of marketing, the creative aspect of your planning process. But strategy without execution won’t help your business succeed. In fact, marketing execution is how you achieve results.
A simple marketing plan is your road map to achieve your goals and guide your decisions. It consists of both a marketing strategy and an action plan. Once you have the strategy, you need an action plan to guide your marketing execution.
How is your marketing working for you? Did it help you increase visibility, generate more leads or find new lucrative clients? Even if you feel your marketing was successful, conducting a simple marketing review every 90 days enables you to measure and track your marketing effectiveness.
How well do you know your customer? What motivates them to buy and why? The more you understand your customer, including their needs, wants, challenges and values, the better you can communicate with them.
If you choose the right channel strategy to deliver your message to your target audience, you create a stronger relationship with them. But doing so is now more complicated.
Whether you are a new business or one that’s been around for a while, a simple marketing plan customized for your small business can help you make intelligent decisions on where you should spend your time and resources.
For a small business to be effective with its online marketing, you need to take a strategic approach to determine what truly will work for your business. This means answering five pivotal questions that will shape the activities you undertake in your marketing execution.
If someone is willing to invest in your business, what do you promise to do that provides value to them that matters? This promise, or value proposition, needs to be based on something you do that is uniquely different from your competition.
Developing a service bundling strategy can take the complexity out of your offerings and make buying from you much easier. Learn more.
Small business owners tend to view their businesses very tactically. A SWOT analysis can help you evaluate your small business and the surrounding business environment that can affect its overall success.
What can small businesses do to stand out in a crowd? Getting your ideal client to notice you is difficult. But correctly positioning your brand and communicating it to your target audience can get you noticed.
An effective marketing message helps your target audience know exactly how you can help them and why they should work with you and not your competition.
Marketers like to talk about the benefits of creating a marketing plan for your business. While doing so is important, how does that plan turn into individual marketing campaigns that drive actual revenue?