Sunday, October 19, 2014

10 Tips for Creating a Marketing Plan

If you are a small business owner, an entrepreneur or an independent contractor, you should have a marketing or business plan to use as a guidepost/compass to lead your business' day-to-day activities.
Your plan does not have to be elaborate, nor does it have to be set in stone forever. However, it should specifically define key information including your target market and value proposition, as well as tactical ideas and action steps you will take in order to acquire customers and/or increase sales.
Here are 10 basic components to include in a Marketing Plan:
1. Product/Service Definition Describe your product or service in simple and easy-to-understand terms. Consider this message to be a written version of your 30 to 60-second "elevator speech" that clearly describes your company's mission and raison d'être. Include your point of difference and communicate the intrinsic benefit/value your customer will receive.
2. Target Audience In conjunction with your company's product/service definition, take the time to clearly describe your target audience. Be specific as to the demographics and psychographics of your ideal buyer. Focus your company's resources and marketing tactics on these groups.
3. Goals & Objectives Set the bar as to what you want to achieve. Establish both short term and long term objectives for your company. Make your goals meaningful, specific, and measurable. Concrete goals such as revenue and new customers will help you keep an eye on the ball at all times.
4. Identify the Competition Is your competition a series of small local vendors, or is it a group of large national companies with ample resources? Or, is your product/service so unique that the resistance is really a lack of awareness? Either way, learn about and understand the competitive landscape. It will enable you to better position and target your message.
5. Pricing A guidepost for setting price involves estimating the monetary value your customer will receive, and understanding your financial goals and objectives. Also remember to price your product/service at a rate higher than your fixed and variable cost (don't forget -- you are in this to make a profit).
6. Establish a Marketing Budget Marketing expenses can add up quickly, so set aside a specific dollar amount per month or per quarter. Evaluate your marketing decisions such as advertising in the yellow pages or hiring sales representatives based on the amount of business that a particular initiative generates. Track each initiative and keep what works.
7. Look at Channels of Distribution The planning is over; it's time to identify marketing tactics. Brainstorm a range of ideas to reach your target market with your value message. Bring friends into your idea generation. Be creative and don't censor wild ideas. Pick at least 5 activities that you feel you can execute within your budget.
8. Set Specific Action Steps Each tactical idea comes with its own set of action steps/road map. For example, if you want to mail a brochure, you need to write (or outsource) the copy, design the mailing, print the brochure, create a mailing list.… Take the time to list the details that will get you to your desired end goal.
9. Set Timing for Each Step Listing action steps is not enough -- you must establish a timetable for each step. Be realistic so that you do not set unreasonable expectations, thereby creating frustration for yourself. At the same time, be careful not to set goals so far out in the future that there is no sense of urgency for you to take action.
10. Get Accountability The best laid marketing plans fail when they end up in your bottom drawer, never to be seen again. Therefore, it is CRITICAL to have an objective coach hold you accountable for taking charge and executing your plan. Consider "hiring" this person to help write your plan. The more they believe in you and your ideas, the more helpful they will be in the long run.
Creating and sticking to a marketing plan is the best way to keep you and your business focused, and on track for success. Writing the plan is the easy part, sticking to it tends to be more difficult for most people.
It is highly recommended that you enlist the help of a trusted associate or coach to provide open and honest perspective/feedback as you work through the elements of your plan. More importantly, if you are serious about success, direct your coach to "hold your feet to the fire" and make you accountable for your actions. You will be glad you did.
For a FREE consultation on how to jump start your marketing plan, please contact Rob Engelman, President, Engelman Management Group, at either 847-537-1327 or via e-mail at rob@engelmanmanagement.com.
© 2001 by Rob Engelman Engelman Management Group www.engelmanmanagement.com
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Sunday, October 12, 2014

So I need to start on a marketing plan...here's some tips...

Developing a Marketing Plan

Marketing takes time, money, and lots of preparation. One of the best ways to prepare yourself is to develop a solid marketing plan. A strong marketing plan will ensure you’re not only sticking to your schedule, but that you’re spending your marketing funds wisely and appropriately.
What can a Marketing Plan do for Your Small Business?
A marketing plan includes everything from understanding your target market and your competitive position in that market, to how you intend to reach that market (your tactics) and differentiate yourself from your competition in order to make a sale.
Your small business marketing budget should be a component of your marketing plan. Essentially, it will outline the costs of how you are going to achieve your marketing goals within a certain timeframe.
If you don't have the funds to hire a marketing firm or even staff a position in-house, there are resources available to guide you through the process of writing a marketing plan and developing a market budget.
Bend Your Budget When Necessary and Keep an Eye on ROI
Once you have developed your marketing budget, it doesn’t mean that it’s set in stone. There may be times when you need to throw in another unplanned marketing tactic -- such as hosting an event or creating a newspaper ad -- to help you reach your market more effectively.
Ultimately, it’s more important to determine whether sticking to your budget is helping you achieve your marketing goals and bringing you a return on investment (ROI) than to adhere to a rigid and fixed budget.
That's why it's important to include a plan for measuring your spend. Consider what impact certain marketing activities have had on your revenues during a fixed period, such as a business quarter, compared to another time period when you focused your efforts on other tactics. Consider the tactics that worked as well as those that didn’t work. You don't have to cut the tactics that didn't work, but you should assess whether you need to give them more time to work or whether the funds are best redirected elsewhere.
Granted, some tactics are hard to measure -- such as the efficacy of print collateral (brochures, sales sheets, etc.), but you need to consider the impact of not having these branding staples in your market tool kit before you reign in your graphic design and print funds.
Marketing plans should be maintained on an annual basis, at a minimum. But if you launch a new product or service, take time to revisit your original plan or develop a separate campaign plan that you can add to your main plan as an addendum.
At the end of the day, the time spent developing your marketing plan, is time well spent because it defines how you connect with your customers. And that's an investment worth making.
Additional Resources

How to Create a Marketing Plan

Firms that are successful in marketing invariably start with a marketing plan. Large companies have plans with hundreds of pages; small companies can get by with a half-dozen sheets. Put your marketing plan in a three-ring binder. Refer to it at least quarterly, but better yet monthly. Leave a tab for putting in monthly reports on sales/manufacturing; this will allow you to track performance as you follow the plan.
The plan should cover one year. For small companies, this is often the best way to think about marketing. Things change, people leave, markets evolve, customers come and go. Later on we suggest creating a section of your plan that addresses the medium-term future--two to four years down the road. But the bulk of your plan should focus on the coming year.
You should allow yourself a couple of months to write the plan, even if it's only a few pages long. Developing the plan is the "heavy lifting" of marketing. While executing the plan has its challenges, deciding what to do and how to do it is marketing's greatest challenge. Most marketing plans kick off with the first of the year or with the opening of your fiscal year if it's different.
Who should see your plan? All the players in the company. Firms typically keep their marketing plans very, very private for one of two very different reasons: Either they're too skimpy and management would be embarrassed to have them see the light of day, or they're solid and packed with information . . . which would make them extremely valuable to the competition.
You can't do a marketing plan without getting many people involved. No matter what your size, get feedback from all parts of your company: finance, manufacturing, personnel, supply and so on--in addition to marketing itself. This is especially important because it will take all aspects of your company to make your marketing plan work. Your key people can provide realistic input on what's achievable and how your goals can be reached, and they can share any insights they have on any potential, as-yet-unrealized marketing opportunities, adding another dimension to your plan. If you're essentially a one-person management operation, you'll have to wear all your hats at one time--but at least the meetings will be short!
What's the relationship between your marketing plan and your business plan or vision statement? Your business plan spells out what your business is about--what you do and don't do, and what your ultimate goals are. It encompasses more than marketing; it can include discussions of locations, staffing, financing, strategic alliances and so on. It includes "the vision thing," the resounding words that spell out the glorious purpose of your company in stirring language. Your business plan is the U.S. Constitution of your business: If you want to do something that's outside the business plan, you need to either change your mind or change the plan. Your company's business plan provides the environment in which your marketing plan must flourish. The twodocuments must be consistent.

The Benefits of a Marketing Plan

A marketing plan, on the other hand, is plump with meaning. It provides you with several major benefits. Let's review them.
  • Rallying point: Your marketing plan gives your troops something to rally behind. You want them to feel confident that the captain of the vessel has the charts in order, knows how to run the ship, and has a port of destination in mind. Companies often undervalue the impact of a "marketing plan" on their own people, who want to feel part of a team engaged in an exciting and complicated joint endeavor. If you want your employees to feel committed to your company, it's important to share with them your vision of where the company is headed in the years to come. People don't always understand financial projections, but they can get excited about a well-written and well-thought-out marketing plan. You should consider releasing your marketing plan--perhaps in an abridged version--companywide. Do it with some fanfare and generate some excitement for the adventures to come. Your workers will appreciate being involved.
  • Chart to success: We all know that plans are imperfect things. How can you possibly know what's going to happen 12 months or five years from now? Isn't putting together a marketing plan an exercise in futility . . . a waste of time better spent meeting with customers or fine-tuning production? Yes, possibly but only in the narrowest sense. If you don't plan, you're doomed, and an inaccurate plan is far better than no plan at all. To stay with our sea captain analogy, it's better to be 5 or even 10 degrees off your destination port than to have no destination in mind at all. The point of sailing, after all, is to get somewhere, and without a marketing plan, you'll wander the seas aimlessly, sometimes finding dry land but more often than not floundering in a vast ocean. Sea captains without a chart are rarely remembered for discovering anything but the ocean floor.
  • Company operational instructions: Your child's first bike and your new VCR came with a set of instructions, and your company is far more complicated to put together and run than either of them. Your marketing plan is a step-by-step guide for your company's success. It's more important than a vision statement. To put together a genuine marketing plan, you have to assess your company from top to bottom and make sure all the pieces are working together in the best way. What do you want to do with this enterprise you call the company in the coming year? Consider it a to-do list on a grand scale. It assigns specific tasks for the year.
  • Captured thinking: You don't allow your financial people to keep their numbers in their heads. Financial reports are the lifeblood of the numbers side of any business, no matter what size. It should be no different with marketing. Your written document lays out your game plan. If people leave, if new people arrive, if memories falter, if events bring pressure to alter the givens, the information in the written marketing plan stays intact to remind you of what you'd agreed on.
  • Top-level reflection: In the daily hurly-burly of competitive business, it's hard to turn your attention to the big picture, especially those parts that aren't directly related to the daily operations. You need to take time periodically to really think about your business--whether it's providing you and your employees with what you want, whether there aren't some innovative wrinkles you can add, whether you're getting all you can out of your products, your sales staff and your markets. Writing your marketing plan is the best time to do this high-level thinking. Some companies send their top marketing people away to a retreat. Others go to the home of a principal. Some do marketing plan development at a local motel, away from phones and fax machines, so they can devote themselves solely to thinking hard and drawing the most accurate sketches they can of the immediate future of the business.
Ideally, after writing marketing plans for a few years, you can sit back and review a series of them, year after year, and check the progress of your company. Of course, sometimes this is hard to make time for (there is that annoying real world to deal with), but it can provide an unparalleled objective view of what you've been doing with your business life over a number of years.
Source: The Small Business Encyclopedia and Knock-Out Marketing.

Researching Your Market

Whether you're just starting out or if you've been in business for years, you should always stay up-to-date with your market information. Here are the best methods for finding your data.
The purpose of market research is to provide relevant data that will help solve marketing problems a business will encounter. This is absolutely necessary in the start-up phase. Conducting thorough market surveys is the foundation of any successful business. In fact, strategies such as market segmentation (identifying specific segments within a market) and product differentiation (creating an identity for your product or service that separates it from your competitors') would be impossible to develop without market research.
Whether you're conducting market research using the historical, experimental, observational or survey method, you'll be gathering two types of data. The first will be "primary" information that you will compile yourself or hire someone to gather. Most information, however, will be "secondary," or already compiled and organized for you. Reports and studies done by government agencies, trade associations, or other businesses within your industry are examples of the latter. Search for them, and take advantage of them.
Primary Research 
When conducting primary research using your own resources, there are basically two types of information that can be gathered: exploratory and specific. Exploratory research is open-ended in nature; helps you define a specific problem; and usually involves detailed, unstructured interviews in which lengthy answers are solicited from a small group of respondents. Specific research is broader in scope and is used to solve a problem that exploratory research has identified. Interviews are structured and formal in approach. Of the two, specific research is more expensive.

When conducting primary research using your own resources, you must first decide how you will question your target group of individuals. There are basically three avenues you can take: direct mail, telemarketing or personal interviews.
Direct Mail 
If you choose a direct-mail questionnaire, be sure to do the following in order to increase your response rate:
  • Make sure your questions are short and to the point.
  • Make sure questionnaires are addressed to specific individuals and they're of interest to the respondent.
  • Limit the questionnaire's length to two pages.
  • Enclose a professionally prepared cover letter that adequately explains what you need.
  • Send a reminder about two weeks after the initial mailing. Include a postage-paid self-addressed envelope.
Unfortunately, even if you employ the above tactics, response to direct mail is always low, and is sometimes less than five percent.
Phone Surveys 
Phone surveys are generally the most cost-effective, considering overall response rates; they cost about one-third as much as personal interviews, which have, on average, a response rate which is only 10 percent. Following are some phone survey guidelines:
  • At the beginning of the conversation, your interviewer should confirm the name of the respondent if calling a home, or give the appropriate name to the switchboard operator if calling a business.
  • Pauses should be avoided, as respondent interest can quickly drop.
  • Make sure that a follow-up call is possible if additional information is required.
  • Make sure that interviewers don't divulge details about the poll until the respondent is reached.
As mentioned phone interviews are cost-effective but speed is another big advantage. Some of the more experienced interviewers can get through up to 10 interviewers an hour (however, speed for speed's sake is not the goal of any of these surveys), but five to six per hour is more typical. Phone interviews also allow you to cover a wide geographical range relatively inexpensively. Phone costs can be reduced by taking advantage of cheaper rates during certain hours.
Personal Interviews 
There are two main types of personal interviews:
  1. The group survey. Used mostly by big business, group interviews can be useful as brainstorming tools resulting in product modifications and new product ideas. They also give you insight into buying preferences and purchasing decisions among certain populations.
  2. The depth interview. One-on-one interviews where the interviewer is guided by a small checklist and basic common sense. Depth interviews are either focused or non-directive. Non-directive interviews encourage respondents to address certain topics with minimal questioning. The respondent, in essence, leads the interview. The focused interview, on the other hand, is based on a pre-set checklist. The choice and timing of questions, however, is left to the interviewer, depending on how the interview goes.
When considering which type of survey to use, keep the following cost factors in mind:
  • Mail. Most of the costs here concern the printing of questionnaires, envelopes, postage, the cover letter, time taken in the analysis and presentation, the cost of researcher time, and any incentives used.
  • Telephone. The main costs here are the interviewer's fee, phone charges, preparation of the questionnaire, cost of researcher time, and the analysis and presentation of the results of the questioning.
  • Personal interviews. Costs include the printing of questionnaires and prompt cards if needed, the incentives used, the interviewer's fee and expenses, cost of researcher time, and analysis and presentation.
  • Group discussions. Your main costs here are the interviewer's fees and expenses in recruiting and assembling the groups, renting the conference room or other facility, researcher time, any incentives used, analysis and presentation, and the cost of recording media such as tapes, if any are used.

Secondary Research

Secondary data is outside information assembled by government agencies, industry and trade associations, labor unions, media sources, chambers of commerce, etc., and found in the form of pamphlets, newsletters, trade and other magazines, newspapers, and so on. It's termed secondary data because the information has been gathered by another, or secondary, source. The benefits of this are obvious--time and money are saved because you don't have to develop survey methods or do the interviewing.
Secondary sources are divided into three main categories:
  1. Public. Public sources are the most economical, as they're usually free, and can offer a lot of good information. These sources are most typically governmental departments, business departments of public libraries, etc.
  2. Commercial. Commercial sources are equally valuable, but usually involve costs such as subscription and association fees. However, you spend far less than you would if you hired a research team to collect the data firsthand. Commercial sources typically consist of research and trade assocations, organizations like SCORE (Society Corps of Retired Executives) and Dun & Bradstreet, banks and other financial institutions, publicly traded corporations, etc.
  3. Educational. Educational institutions are frequently overlooked as viable information sources, yet there is more research conducted in colleges, universities, and polytechnic institutes than virtually any sector of the business community.
Government statistics are among the most plentiful and wide-ranging public sources of information. Start with the Census Bureau's helpfulHidden Treasures--Census Bureau Data and Where to Find It! In seconds, you'll find out where to find federal and state information. Other government publications that are helpful include:
  • Statistical and Metropolitan Area Data Book. Offers statistics for metropolitan areas, central cities and counties.
  • Statistical Abstract of the United States. Data books with statistics from numerous sources, government to private.
  • U.S. Global Outlook. Traces the growth of 200 industries and gives five-year forecasts for each.
Don't neglect to contact specific government agencies such as the Small Business Administration (SBA). They sponsor several helpful programs such as SCORE and Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs) which can provide you with free counseling and a wealth of business information. The Department of Commerce not only publishes helpful books like the U.S. Global Outlook, it also produces an array of products with information regarding both domestic industries and foreign markets through its International Trade Administration (ITA) branch. The above items are available from the U.S. Government Printing Office .
One of the best public sources is the business section of public libraries. The services provided vary from city to city, but usually include a wide range of government and market statistics, a large collection of directories including information on domestic and foreign businesses, as well as a wide selection of magazines, newspapers and newsletters.
Almost every county government publishes population density and distribution figures in accessible census tracts. These tracts will show you the number of people living in specific areas, such as precincts, water districts or even 10-block neighborhoods. Other public sources include city chambers of commerce or business development departments, which encourage new businesses in their communities. They will supply you (usually for free) with information on population trends, community income characteristics, payrolls, industrial development, and so on.
Among the best commercial sources of information are research and trade associations. Information gathered by trade associations is usually confined to a certain industry and available only to association members, with a membership fee frequently required. However, the research gathered by the larger associations is usually thorough, accurate and worth the cost of membership. Two excellent resources to help you locate a trade association that reports on the business you're researching are Encyclopedia of Associations (Gale Research) andBusiness Information Sources (University of California Press) and can usually be found at your local library.
Research associations are often independent but are sometimes affiliated with trade associations. They often limit their activities to conducting and applying research in industrial development, but some have become full-service information sources with a wide range of supplementary publications such as directories.
Educational institutions are very good sources of research. Research there ranges from faculty-based projects often published under professors' bylines to student projects, theses and assignments. Copies of student research projects may be available for free with faculty permission. Consulting services are available either for free or at a cost negotiated with the appropriate faculty members. This can be an excellent way to generate research at little or no cost, using students who welcome the professional experience either as interns or for special credit. Contact the university administration departments and marketing/management studies departments for further information. University libraries are additional sources of research.
Source: The Small Business Encyclopedia and Knock-Out Marketing.

Continue on to the next section of our Marketing Plan How-To >> The Ingredients of a Marketing Plan
 http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/43018
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Sunday, October 5, 2014


A step-by-step guide to finding the right location for your business

 
Sunday, May 3, 2009, 1:16 PM

Finding the right location for your small business is a matter of determining what is absolutely crucial and what can be safely compromised. There is a lot riding on this important decision, and with so many factors to consider, it can seem overwhelming. Don't be intimidated into making a haphazard choice, though. If you take the process step-by-step, and get expert help along the way, you can find the location that will give your business the best possible chance to succeed.
  • Set the Parameters
    The first step is to honestly assess two basic components of your business plan: 
    - Who is your target customer?
    - How do you want this business to fit into your life? 

    Your target customer will depend on the product or service you intend to sell. A vintage clothing store will attract a different kind of customer than a designer boutique, for example. Visit businesses that are similar to yours and take a good look at the customers. Are they older? Younger? More affluent? Less affluent? Do more women frequent the business than men, or vice versa? Ask the owners what they've learned about their customers - there may be surprises. 

    Opening a storefront location means you'll need to be within a reasonable proximity to where your customers live. It's important to ask yourself how much you're willing to disrupt your own life in order to be close to your customers, however. A startup business requires long hours on-site - so you need to ask how much time you're willing to spend traveling to and from from your home. This may seem like a loaded question, but part of the fun of starting a business is getting to make these kinds of decisions for yourself. 
  • Collect the Necessary Data 
    After developing a clear, detailed picture of your customer and setting boundaries based on your personal needs, the next step is to locate the specific communities that are right for your business. Large corporations hire consultants to do this detective work, but there are a number of free resources that small business owners can use. ZoomProspector.com has a tool that can help you match your business to the right community, while City-Data.com provides detailed demographic profiles of thousands of cities and small towns. Help can also be found through the Small Business Administration and local economic development agencies. 

    Remember that it's not just the customer you'll need to consider here. The available labor force is also important - will you be able to attract the kinds of employees you'll need? If your commuting radius includes more that one state, you'll want to compare tax rates; these can vary a great deal and really affect your bottom line. Consulting maps and visiting likely communities can help you to assess transportation options. Will customers willing to travel to your store be able to do so conveniently? How close will you be to key distributors and suppliers? These fact-finding missions will also allow you to gauge the competition. Although it may seem counterintuitive, it's often a good idea to be as close as possible to competitors. They're reaching for the same demographic you are, and a well-established competitor indicates plenty of target customers to go around. Plus, your business can profit from your competitor's advertising efforts and the 
    customer traffic they've generated. 
  • Evaluate the Available Options
    Now that you've come up with a list of promising communities for your business, it's time to find out what is available. Using the right real estate agent - someone you can trust and who really knows the market - will be a big help, as will your own common sense and attention to detail. A solid accounting model will help to narrow your choices effectively - shopping malls can provide a visible profile and lots of foot traffic, but will the higher rent fit into your budget? When the time comes, a lawyer can advise you on negotiating the lease to make sure you're getting the most favorable terms. 

    There are many factors to consider regarding each available location, and much will depend on the specific nature of your business. 
    Here are some important general questions to keep in mind:
    - Is the area zoned for the type business you want to open? 
    - Will you be able to establish a good working relationship with the landlord? 
    - Is the neighborhood safe? 
    - Is the facility itself in good condition? Will repair work be necessary? 
    - Does the facility have the right layout? If you need to expand, will you be able to? 
    - Will there be enough parking for your customers? Is public transportation nearby?
    - Are there any local business organizations that will help with marketing? 


    A lot of hard work and careful consideration goes into finding the right location for your small business, and it may be tempting to devote your energy to more creative tasks like developing a logo or fine-tuning your product selection. Keep in mind, though, that none of those details will matter if your customers can't find you or your rent is more than you can afford. Put in the time and the effort now to find the best location and give your business the strong start it deserves. 

    For more information on business locations, check out entrepreneur.com and morebusiness.com.
  • http://www.nydailynews.com/news/money/step-by-step-guide-finding-location-business-article-1.372087
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