Let me get right to the point; the single most
powerful small business marketing tool on the planet is a sample
business marketing
plan. Now before you roll your eyes and run for the hills let me clear
a few things up.
When I talk about a marketing plan I am not
referring to those academic exercises found in college marketing
books, or the templated mumbo jumbo found in business planning
software.
I will not be asking you to determine your
share of the market today. Give me a break, share of the market, most
small business owners just need to figure out to get ten more
customers.
A sample business marketing plan is a simple (in many cases one
page) document that specifically answers who you are, what you do, who
needs it, how you plan to grab them by the throat, when you plan to do
it and how you plan to pay for it…in a way that everyone in your
organization, network, and client base can clearly understand.
Now that was a mouthful so let me back up a
moment. Small business owners are doers, not planners. While doing is
better than, say, mildewing, without direction, it leads to “marketing
idea of the week” syndrome and stunts any chance a small business has
for real growth.
Take one day, follow these 7 simple steps to
creating the most powerful small business marketing tool on the
planet, and your life will become a much simpler affair. Flowers will
grow where weeds had previously resided, your children will say thank
you at the top of their lungs, and your favorite baseball team will
finally make that run for the pennant.
Well, maybe none of that will happen but you
won’t be as irritated when it doesn’t.
Step 1: Narrow your market focus
Look at whom you are currently doing most of your
business with. Figure out why they do business with you and what it is
about them that is unique. Write one paragraph that describes what
they look like and what they want out of life. Take a good hard look
at the rest of your clients and customers and decide if they fit that
description of your best client. Start saying no when the phone rings
and it’s not your target market calling.
Step 2: Position your business
Figure out what it is that you do best, figure
out what your target market longs for and tell the world that you do
that like no one else ever thought of. Maybe it’s serving a niche,
maybe it’s a form of service, maybe it’s a way you package your
products. Here’s a hint: you probably don’t know what it is. Call up 3
or 4 of your clients and ask them why they buy from you.
Step 3: Core messages
Create several very compelling benefits of doing
business with your firm and find ways to work them into everything you
say and do. Just remember it’s not a benefit unless your clients think
it is. Your clients don’t buy what you sell…they buy what they get
from what you sell.
Step 4: Marketing materials
Recreate all of your marketing materials,
including your website, so that they speak only of your core messages
and your target market.
Step 5: Never cold call
Make sure that all of your advertising, including
yellow pages, is geared to creating prospects and not customers. You
must find ways to educate before you sell. This should be written into
your sample business marketing plan. Your target market needs to
learn how you provide value in a way the will make them want to pay a
premium for your services or products. You simply can’t do this in a 3
x 4 ad. Your ad needs to get them asking for more information…then you
can proceed to selling.
Step 6: Expect referrals
You must create a referral marketing engine that
systematically turns clients and referral networks into 24 hour
marketing powerhouse. The first step in the system is to make
providing referrals a condition of doing business with your firm.
Step 7: Live by a calendar
After you complete steps 1-6, determine what you
need to do to put them into action and then schedule them on a
calendar. Whatever it is that you need to pick a month and pledge to
get it done that month. The mistake most small business owners make is
to get overwhelmed when they realize how much they really need to.
If you can begin to schedule one or two activities
each month you will look up at the end of six months and find that you
have a fully developed referral system, new website, and a lead
generation system. Slow and steady wins the race tortoise. Follow your
sample business marketing plan.
So what will have completed when by the time you
read the next issue of this publication?
------------------------------
John Jantsch is a marketing consultant based in
Kansas City, Mo. He writes frequently on real world small business
marketing tactics and is the creator of “Duct Tape Marketing” a
turn-key small business marketing system. Check out his blog at
http://www.DuctTapeMarketing.com/weblog.php - get these kinds of
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