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Marketing Plan
When you ask most first-time small business owners, or wannabe small business owners, how they intend to get customers and sell their products or services, most answer “advertising”.
However, while advertising is an important part of the mix it is just one component of an entire discipline dedicated to raising awareness, researching the market for your business, and selling it TO that market, called marketing.
Whatever the size of a company and at whatever stage it finds itself, a company’s marketing plan should be on an equal footing with the business plan, and running alongside it in tandem, if the company is to have a good chance of succeeding. The two goals at the heart of a marketing plan (and your business) are:
• Getting new sales
• Getting repeat sales
Achieving those goals means taking into account all of the following key areas, and working out whether they are relevant to your business at the moment or will be in the next 1-3 years, how much they are likely to cost and what your budget is/will be, and how they all work together to give you the maximum return on your investment. And write it down, as you would a business plan, because yes, it really is that important.
1. Market research
The essential core of all businesses. Establishes who your audience are, what they do and think, what they expect and like, where they shop, how they buy, what they will share with their peers (ie your prospective referrals), how to price what you are selling them, and who is the competition. As none of this is static, market research needs to be ongoing if you want your company to be a success.
However, while advertising is an important part of the mix it is just one component of an entire discipline dedicated to raising awareness, researching the market for your business, and selling it TO that market, called marketing.
Whatever the size of a company and at whatever stage it finds itself, a company’s marketing plan should be on an equal footing with the business plan, and running alongside it in tandem, if the company is to have a good chance of succeeding. The two goals at the heart of a marketing plan (and your business) are:
• Getting new sales
• Getting repeat sales
Achieving those goals means taking into account all of the following key areas, and working out whether they are relevant to your business at the moment or will be in the next 1-3 years, how much they are likely to cost and what your budget is/will be, and how they all work together to give you the maximum return on your investment. And write it down, as you would a business plan, because yes, it really is that important.
1. Market research
The essential core of all businesses. Establishes who your audience are, what they do and think, what they expect and like, where they shop, how they buy, what they will share with their peers (ie your prospective referrals), how to price what you are selling them, and who is the competition. As none of this is static, market research needs to be ongoing if you want your company to be a success.
2. PR and press releases
The easiest way to generate interest in your business, but you do need to have done your research and know how to write a press release (or get someone else to do it), where to send it for maximum impact, and when, and what it should be about. A PR agency that specializes in your niche will be able to offer you all of this in one bucket, so to speak, including giving you guidance on what you do PR about, which is broadly anything new, or that you are proud of or excited about, Be aware that the less it sounds like an overt ‘sell’ the more successful it is likely to be.
3. Website
We discuss this further elsewhere, but the key points for your marketing plan is that unless you are a dab hand with html, design and an ace copywriter, steer clear of doing your own website because nothing will drag your brand and reputation downwards faster than a poor website. You also need to budget in domain name and hosting costs, some decent photographs, a SEO specialist, and whether your business will benefit if you include additionals, such as ecommerce, advertising, forums and social networking, plus what these will cost to set up and maintain. If you want to communicate with your audience (and hopefully convert them into clients) you will need somewhere they can sign up (a login) and a decent html newsletter, as is someone to write it if you can’t do so yourself.
4. Print literature
If you are offering a dog walking or house cleaning service, you’ll probably want to consider a leafleting campaign. This can range from something you do yourself and print off your computer to a four colour catalogue created by a design agency and sent out as part of a direct mail campaign. What your business's needs are will depend on your audience, your niche and your budget, but whatever route you take make sure you get it done to the best possible standards, which brings us on to...
5. Design and copywriting
These are at the heart of the way your present your company to the world – and you thought it was the service you offer and that nice suit you bought last month, didn’t you? Well, they help, but if you are not physically present, something has to stand in for you, and that something is your company’s image, often online but also in print, even down to your business card. To get the best results, get a recommendation from someone whose brand you like or that you trust, hire people who are experts in your field and niche, who can work together or across the board so your brand is unified and integrated, and don’t skimp, It’s a false economy.
6. E marketing
This is one of the cheapest and most effective form of marketing for the small business owner. Before you start you need to isolate who, what, why, and when.
• Who you are targeting - databases can be purchased if you don’t have this audience
• What you are selling: stick to one thing, and one thing only.
• This is the why in the equation and it may be the same as the ‘what’, but is likely to be bigger. Basically ask yourself “what is my end goal?” and be specific o this one thing, such as ‘to raise awareness’, ‘generate more traffic’, or ‘build a database’. Then consider the format. The more interesting and valuable an email is, the better your chance of getting a response, having the recipient retain it, or pass it on. If you can make it funny as well, you’re on to a winner because that’s the sort of email that will circle the globe, pulling your brand and product with it.
7. Promotions and competitions
Along with PR this is perhaps the cleverest and easiest ways of raising awareness for a product or service. There are a number of ways of doing it, from running a giveaway or offer on your site (see Marketing Sherpa’s case studies for guidance) to giving a prize in a local or national competition, to doing a competition yourself in a specialist publication, on a tie in product, or on a specialized website. The key? Hire innovative PR support that knows your market inside out.
8. Advertising
The best adverts are where your target audience will see it at a time when they are in the business of buying. Sounds obvious, but when you are flicking through a woman’s magazine and you hit those adverts at the back, are you really in the zone to buy a franchise or book a holiday unless you’ve just been reading about it? Exactly. Which is why successful adverts are generally linked to relevant editorial that is speaking directly to your target audience or in a place where it will be clocked by lots of your target audience, such as in a trade magazine or at a relevant exhibition. Stray outside these two essentials and you are likely to be wasting your money.
9. Exhibitions and trade fairs
If it’s in your niche with people who you want to a) connect with b) sell to, then go for it. If not, don’t. If you do go for it, be specific in what you are trying to achieve – are you trying to raise your profile in your community? Then hard sell is going to a turn off, try sponsoring an area or doing a seminar within the event. If you’re trying to gather a database, run a competition; if you are trying to generate sales, make sure you have the right stock, the right personal, and the right people. In all cases, make sure your stand is dressed properly to attract the punters and that you have enough people manning it so they don’t get tired and/or bored. Giveaways are useful, especially for the browsers who doing market research.
10. Referrals
Obviously the best way to get a referral is to do an excellent job and give good service, at which point your client will be falling over themselves to refer you...only it doesn't always work like that. Too often they can't find your details when they are looking to recommend you, so you can make it easier if you give them a 'referral card or link', perhaps with a bonus for any new business that results from the referral. This can also be a good way of sidestepping those pesky clients who love what you do and don't want to share...!
Networking is a good way to make friends with people who may be in a position to refer you, as you can for them. There are loads of places you can network, and it's an essential part of the marketing mix for any small company who wants to get known in what is nowadays a VERY large sea. Like any relationship there is an etiquetee involved to get the best out of the process, and like when you consider exhibitions, be specific and who and why, else you are likely to be wasting your time.
11. Blogging
Somewhat of a dark art, blogging, although as a small business owner you are in a much better position than a large company to turn blogging to your advantage as corporate blogs are viewed with suspicion by many people. The best blogs are a) current, b) give the audience information or links that they may not know/find themselves, c) are a good read with plenty of humour, d) very niche driven. You can set up a blog as part of your website, but until you get a lot of traffic, the SEO will be less effective than if you do it through a dedicated well-known blogging site, such as wordpress.
12. Telemarketing
At some point you may want to ring new prospective clients and make them aware of what you can offer them If you decide to go down this route, make sure you are targeting people who are looking for your services in the area in which you operate – you can buy lists, but the best results will come from leads generated by your own in-house list as these are people who have already noticed you, used you, or bought in to your brand. Give your telemarketing person all the information she or he needs, including the “story or script”. Be patient, and have people in place to follow up any leads that are generated. Be aware that many people dislike cold calls, and that some companies have a “No Cold Calls Accepted” policy in place, so if you don't do your research before jumping in you could badly damage your reputation, which takes us all the way back to Essential Point No.1: Research....