Marketing Plans Help You Make Your Mark and Increase Success from the Start
Marketing Plans Help You Make Your Mark and Increase Success from the Start
I cannot count the times that I have seen intelligent and passionate people start a business or get behind a cause with the misconception that “if I build it, they will come.” People tend to be so enthusiastic about a product or service, they put a business plan in place without developing the strategic marketing and advertising component.
They are convinced that their product or service is so great that everyone will automatically want or need it. This very well may be true, but consumers need to know that a product or service is available in order to purchase it.
The business finally opens a storefront or starts offering services only to wonder why customers aren’t rushing through the doors. All of the funds have been poured into startup costs, and suddenly it’s realized that the business is just not doing as well as anticipated.
Something needs to be done.
Chances are the efforts won’t be as well executed as they could have been with a plan, and even if they are, it’s a short term solution for a long term problem.
If the advertising and/or marketing don’t bring immediate results, business owners may become skeptical about advertising and marketing and even go so far as to believe neither works.
They work, but they need to be well planned and executed. It’s important to carefully identify your goals, objectives, budget and potential customer base, including how you plan to reach those customers. Ideally this plan should be in place before you open your doors or start providing your service.
It takes foresight to carefully orchestrate a marketing and advertising plan and oftentimes people underestimate the importance of having all the pieces in place prior to opening their business or offering a service.
The second thing that sticks in my mind is that businesses commonly fail to execute their advertising and marketing plan, hard as it may be to believe.
Because of that, oftentimes there is a misperception that the plan is not working. The reality is that the plan isn’t being worked.
Marketing and advertising aren’t things you can just think about once in a while. There needs to be a clear vision, a clearly written plan and someone responsible and accountable for making it happen. There also needs to be flexibility in the plan as it will change with ever-evolving consumer trends and industry standards.
The third thing that sticks in my mind - and probably one of my biggest pet peeves - is that it’s important that new business owners realize a key factor regarding marketing and advertising.
Advertising and marketing are not expenses. They are an investment in business success.
A business doesn’t have to have the largest advertising and marketing budget in town to succeed, but you do need to have a plan and you need to follow the plan.
The planning process may seem overwhelming, but there are plenty of sources for help.
Some things you can do if you find yourself in need of a strategic marketing and adverting plan are as follow:
–Contact the Small Business Development Center in your area or visit www.sba.gov for more information. –Go to the local library and bone up on advertising and marketing plans. –Check the yellow pages, there are professionals who can assist. (Always check with previous clients for references of professionals you are considering hiring. Also, ask friends and colleagues who they recommend and why.)
And if you have a plan but aren’t working it:
–Hire a marketing professional to take on the task part-time or full-time. –Find a consultant to help you. –Make a commitment to review your marketing and advertising plans, at a minimum, monthly. –Consider this - it only takes a series of small steps to get where you want to be. Where are you going? What have you done to get there?
Lastly, if you don’t value your own business enough to plan for success and implement that plan, how do you suppose potential customers view your business?
Marketing Plans Help You Make Your Mark and Increase Success from the Start - To learn more about this author, visit Lisa Manyon's Website.
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Throughout my career in the marketing, advertising, customer service and social service arenas, one thing sticks out foremost in my mind: the lack of advertising and marketing planning for businesses and non- profits alike.
I cannot count the times that I have seen intelligent and passionate people start a business or get behind a cause with the misconception that “if I build it, they will come.” People tend to be so enthusiastic about a product or service, they put a business plan in place without developing the strategic marketing and advertising component.
They are convinced that their product or service is so great that everyone will automatically want or need it. This very well may be true, but consumers need to know that a product or service is available in order to purchase it.
The business finally opens a storefront or starts offering services only to wonder why customers aren’t rushing through the doors. All of the funds have been poured into startup costs, and suddenly it’s realized that the business is just not doing as well as anticipated.
Something needs to be done.
Chances are the efforts won’t be as well executed as they could have been with a plan, and even if they are, it’s a short term solution for a long term problem.
If the advertising and/or marketing don’t bring immediate results, business owners may become skeptical about advertising and marketing and even go so far as to believe neither works.
They work, but they need to be well planned and executed. It’s important to carefully identify your goals, objectives, budget and potential customer base, including how you plan to reach those customers. Ideally this plan should be in place before you open your doors or start providing your service.
It takes foresight to carefully orchestrate a marketing and advertising plan and oftentimes people underestimate the importance of having all the pieces in place prior to opening their business or offering a service.
The second thing that sticks in my mind is that businesses commonly fail to execute their advertising and marketing plan, hard as it may be to believe.
Because of that, oftentimes there is a misperception that the plan is not working. The reality is that the plan isn’t being worked.
Marketing and advertising aren’t things you can just think about once in a while. There needs to be a clear vision, a clearly written plan and someone responsible and accountable for making it happen. There also needs to be flexibility in the plan as it will change with ever-evolving consumer trends and industry standards.
The third thing that sticks in my mind - and probably one of my biggest pet peeves - is that it’s important that new business owners realize a key factor regarding marketing and advertising.
Advertising and marketing are not expenses. They are an investment in business success.
A business doesn’t have to have the largest advertising and marketing budget in town to succeed, but you do need to have a plan and you need to follow the plan.
The planning process may seem overwhelming, but there are plenty of sources for help.
Some things you can do if you find yourself in need of a strategic marketing and adverting plan are as follow:
–Contact the Small Business Development Center in your area or visit www.sba.gov for more information. –Go to the local library and bone up on advertising and marketing plans. –Check the yellow pages, there are professionals who can assist. (Always check with previous clients for references of professionals you are considering hiring. Also, ask friends and colleagues who they recommend and why.)
And if you have a plan but aren’t working it:
–Hire a marketing professional to take on the task part-time or full-time. –Find a consultant to help you. –Make a commitment to review your marketing and advertising plans, at a minimum, monthly. –Consider this - it only takes a series of small steps to get where you want to be. Where are you going? What have you done to get there?
Lastly, if you don’t value your own business enough to plan for success and implement that plan, how do you suppose potential customers view your business?
Marketing Plans Help You Make Your Mark and Increase Success from the Start - To learn more about this author, visit Lisa Manyon's Website.
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Joe DagerJoe Dager is President of Business901, a progressive coaching company providing no-nonsense direction in areas such as Lean Six Sigma Marketing and organized referral marketing. What others say: In the past 20 years, Joe and I have collaborated on many difficult issues. Joe’s ability to combine his expertise with “out of the box” thinking is unsurpassed. He has always delivered quickly, cost effectively and with ingenuity. A brilliant mind that is always a pleasure to work with.” - James R. If you want to learn more about Business901, start a conversation with us. We can be found @ Web/Blog: Business901.com Web/Blog: FundingYourNonprofit.com LinkedIn Profile Follow me on Twitter - Visit Joe Dager's Website |
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Jeff FosterWebBizIdeas.com is a Minneapolis website design company founded to help people start an internet business by providing them with website, business, and internet resources that help foster the growth of successful online businesses and develop innovative Internet business ideas. We specialize in internet consulting & internet marketing. - Visit Jeff Foster's Website |
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George LudwigGeorge Ludwig is a recognized authority on sales strategy and peak performance psychology. An international speaker, trainer, and corporate consultant, he helps clients like Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, Northwestern Mutual, CIGNA, and numerous others improve sales force effectiveness and performance. Though it's George's strategies and processes that help corporations increase productivity and performance, it's his tremendous energy and dynamism that spark the transformation. Again and again, clients remark on his amazing ability to unleash human capacity and inspire men and women to break out of their comfort zones. The result is a whole new type of salesperson. His customized presentations teach achievers to make stunning advances in their lives. From helping salespeople realize cherished dreams to helping corporations exponentially accelerate revenue streams, George Ludwig leaves audiences and individuals empowered, emboldened, and clamoring for more. George is the best-selling author of Power Selling: Seven Strategies for Cracking the Sales Code and Wise Moves: 60 Quick Tips to Improve Your Position in Life & Business. - Visit George Ludwig's Website |
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Stephanie RobeyStephanie Robey is President and CoFounder of Pivot Positive, LLC - an Internet marketing business focused on helping people start work at home ventures. Previously, she was employed at The Search Agency with over 20 years experience in graphic design and 10 years experience in online marketing. She was responsible for launching the Conversion Path Optimization (CPO) unit where she and her team have conducted hundreds of optimization tests for online companies across multiple verticals. She is a successful entrepreneur having started and sold 2 companies and remains on the board of directors of the third, PhotoSpin.com Stephanie began her career in the direct marketing realm creating and producing direct mail for many of the major cable television companies and directly attributes her understanding of Internet marketing to those early offline experiences. Stephanie is a graduate of San Diego State University with a BFA in Graphic Arts and also holds an Executive MBA from the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University. Read Steph's Blog Meet Steph and Dave Sign up for our Free 7-Day BootCamp: Self Employed & Rich - Visit Stephanie Robey's Website |
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Staging DivaDebra Gould, aka The Staging Diva®, is President of Six Elements Inc., an internationally recognized home staging company. Inspired by many requests from aspiring home stagers wanting to start similar businesses, Gould created the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program. Gould has trained over 1000 Staging Diva Graduates worldwide to start staging businesses. Buying decorating and selling six of her own homes in four years lead to an interest in real estate staging which she turned into a career with the launch of sixelements.com in 2002. Since then she has staged hundreds of homes in addition to teaching home staging training. Gould is the author of several home staging resources including a series of popular ebooks made up of a Design Guide, Color Guide and Portfolio Guide. For more information about Debra Gould visit stagingdiva.com. - Visit Staging Diva's Website |
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Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
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Dianne CramptonDianne Crampton is an executive leadership coach, team culture consultant, author and president of TIGERS Success Series, Inc. Dianne has been helping CEO's and Executives connect their employees to their core values and goals for over 20 years using the trademarked TIGERS team culture process, which stands for trust, interdependence, genuineness, empathy, risk and success. To download a free white paper on behaviors that build strong teams and behaviors that will predictably tear them down go here. Dianne's contribution to the 2010 Pfeiffer Consulting Journal (an imprint of John Wiley and Sons Publishers) entitled TIGERS Hearted Teams is available in November 2009. Her new book TIGERS Among Us: 5 Winning Business Team Cultures And Why, Three Creeks Publishing will release in March 2010. To receive publishing discounts, subscribe to the free TigerTracks Newsletter here. - Visit Dianne Crampton's Website |
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John PowerJohn Power, founder of Biltmore Franchise Consulting, has extensive experience developing and marketing franchises and business opportunities. He has been in and around franchising for over twenty years. From 1980 through 1990 he conceptualized, organized, and developed the American Video Association. He grew AVA to 2,000 national members, before selling the company it 1990. It was later merged into another home video marketing company. From 2000 to 2005 he worked as a contract marketing and human resources consultant to several local and national companies. In 2005 Mr. Power began working as a franchise development consultant on a full-time basis. Since that time he has helped more than three dozen companies initiate and develop their franchising program. He notes that there are many companies interested in developing a franchise program, and who need his specialized assistance. Mr. Power is a “hands-on” franchise consultant. He said, “I am the ‘nuts and bolts’ person who tends to the details for my clients.” Mr. Power holds a B.S. degree with a major in Marketing. See: www.biltmorefranchise.com You may contact Mr. Power at: jpower@biltmorefranchise.co - Visit John Power's Website |
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