10
Quick Steps To A Home Business Marketing Plan
By BB Lee
Without
a solid marketing strategy your home based or
small business will struggle to succeed. You
need a marketing plan to introduce your business
to the consumer market, to create a buzz about
your business and keep it in the minds of consumers.
Buzz
and familiarity will create demand for your
goods. And if this is successful...consumers
will line up to purchase your goods or service,
leading to P-R-O-F-I-T-S.
Simple
enough?
You
would be astonished at the number of business
owners who start a new business with no solid
marketing plan. Following are 10 tips to draft
your own marketing plan quickly and easily.
Adapt them to fit your business goals.
1.
Research
You
must know who would be the best customers for
your business. Do you know their purchasing
habits, income level, and education level? Are
they male, female, young, older, city dwellers,
suburbanites? And who are your direct competitor?
2.
Target
Think
of a unique angle or a niche to fill with your
service. For example, there are hundreds of
day care services in most communities. Here's
an example of finding a niche: zero in on low-income
single moms with special needs children. Offer
a level of care they could not find for the
same price. Or, you might decide to open your
day care center earlier and close later in the
day than similar centers. This will appeal to
parents who work long hours.
3.
Details
Write
a detailed report of the benefits you offer.
This will help guide you when you write classified
ads or business sales letters.
4.
The Competition
Find
out what companies are marketing a similar service
in your community. How much do they charge?
What is their unique selling point? Determine
ways to out-finesse them.
5.
Mission Statement
Write
a mission statement defining who you are and
what you are about. Explain what you are selling
and include your unique selling point.
6.
Marketing Idea
How
will you create demand for your product? Possibilities
include offering extras, or better quality,
performance or price.
7.
Price
How
much will you charge? Will you charge less than
the competition to attract new customers? Charge
a similar price, but offer extras. Or, you could
charge slightly more and provide better quality.
Emphasize quality as your unique selling point.
8.
Budgets
How
much money will you invest in marketing your
product daily, weekly and monthly?
9.
Goals
What
income are you forecasting per week, month and
year? How many sales per week, month, year?
How many customers served per week, month and
year?
10.
Success
What
methods will you use to measure the success
of your marketing plan? Possibilities include:
reaching a predetermined income, selling more
than the competition, satisfied customers.
At
the end of each year review all your marketing
statistics. Did you reach your goals? If you
did not reach your goal, revise your marketing
plan until you find a winning strategy.
Need
More Info?
Visit your local library for books on marketing
plans or read the many free marketing e-books
found online. Read every thing you can on advertising
or marketing. Set up your own research files
on marketing strategies. Keep striving to improve.
BB
Lee is Editor/Publisher Of SmallBizBits
Home Based Business Newsletter. Subscribe Now
For Unique Startup Ideas, Great Home Business
Articles, Tips, Advice. Visit: http://www.angelfire.com/zine/smallbiz
Email: smallbiz@angelfire.com
