1.   Marketing Plan

Create a short and simple marketing plan. Begin, by writing your marketing plan. Keep things simple. Concentrate on one year or even six months. Bear in mind that the longer the marketing plan, the more you are building for the future. Begin, by looking at your business objectives. Then think of ideas that will help meet your objectives. As Arnold Schwarzenegger once said; "Do not look for small ideas, seek big ideas to match your future".

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2.   Your Image

Take a long hard look at your company image. Your logo. Your literature. Your website, and your premises. Is everything consistent? Are the fonts the same, and the colourways? Do you have corporate standards in place? Is your image up-to-date? Does your branding reflect what you do, and relate to your customers?

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3.   Your Customers

Who are your best customers? Many people think they know exactly who their best customers are, but actually, they're often surprised to find that they're completely different to what they thought. By profiling your customers you can accurately define who the most profitable are, and work out who your best prospect customers will therefore be. This is easy when your customer base is half a dozen, but not so clearly defined as your client base grows.

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4.   Unique Selling Proposition (USP)

List down your USP's - your Unique Selling Points. Try to avoid over-use of the most common promises such as Best prices! Cheapest! Top Quality! Best Service! Innovative! You won’t find better! This is distressed selling - fine if you really are in distressed retail, but this is what everyone says, and is rarely sustainable. For example, a company who has a poorly designed website yet says top quality, automatically looses credibility! Innovation only counts if you have developed something entirely new or changed your product or service. Try and think of unique selling points - things that make you stand out from the crowd, and appear different from the competition.

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5.   Promotional Mix

Now position yourself within the market. Are you at the bottom end in terms or price, selling to the appropriate demographic? Or is your product for high-flying female commuters with money to burn?
What is your place amongst the competition? How do your prices compare? Are you at the bottom, mid-way or top of your field? What are you offering and where does that place you in the customers mind?

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6.   Targeting Customers

Pinpoint targeting is crucial. When asked who they are aiming at most companies say everyone and yet this is rarely true. Firstly, are you B2B or B2C (Business to Business or Business to Consumer). Work out the demographics of your customer. Male? Female? Age? Geographics? Then segment them into groups based on which product or service they are most likely to use. You may end up with one group or several. Targeted marketing is salesmanship mass produced. You wouldn't need marketing if you could talk to all your prospects face-to-face. But you can't.

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7.   Marketing Mix

Work out how you can best target your potential customers, group by group, and promote your business by coming up with a marketing mix. A marketing mix is made up of six elements:

• Advertising, Marketing, Media
• Sales and Promotion
• Direct Marketing - DM
• Internet Advertising
• Personal Selling and Networking
• Public Relations - PR

Advertising, although expensive, is effective, but must be done properly. For example, even though the advertisement is the most truthful part of a newspaper your 'target' may be too busy to read it.
If you choose radio, make sure you choose the right station.
TV is terrific if you have the budget. Direct Mail and Telemarketing is a sure fire winner if you have the right data, the right Direct Mail piece and the right form of telemarketing in place.
Presence on the internet is now considered crucial.

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8.   Effective Communication

As George Bernard Shaw once said, "the greatest problem with communication is the illusion that it has been accomplished".
Many different types of communication can be used to promote a company’s message. Before you engage in any communication programme with your customers you must work out what you want to say, and who you want to say it to. You may have several messages for different products or services in addition to an over-all awareness message. It is usual to have a mix under the headings: product, and generic awareness. Most importantly, whatever it is you want to say, make it as clear as possible.

How do I work out my message?

9.   Customer Care and Service

Make sure you have a team behind you who thoroughly understand your marketing plans. Also, make sure you have the right amount of back-up ready to handle the increase in customer enquiries.

Talking to my customers

10.   Seek Advice

You know your business inside out. Marketing isn't rocket science, but it does require multi-skills and lots of time.
It's fundamentally about persuasion and persuasion happens to be not a science, but an art.
Seek advice from a reputable advertising marketing and design company who will look at the whole picture for you and make cost-effective recommendations. Marketing is not about a quick-fix. It's about growing your business for sustainable success.

We will leave you with this last thought… "Doing business without marketing is like winking at a girl in the dark - you know what you are doing, but nobody else does." - Edgar Watson Howe.

If you would like help reviewing your marketing strategy or compiling a new one to suit the current climate, do contact us. We can help you to think things through and emerge stronger, shrewder and better positioned for sustainable growth.