Are you even developing a marketing plan for next year? I certainly hope so. Even the smallest of businesses should have a marketing plan, including marketing services agencies. I see so many small marketing firms so busy doing work for clients that they ignore their own needs for marketing. What typically happens is that they scramble to market themselves during the down times and skip the marketing during the busy times. But, marketing is all about consistency. Consistency of message … consistency of timing … consistency in the distribution of that message. This is regardless of what size company you own or work with. It’s a constant battle for any entrepreneurial business. So, here are a few tips to help you develop next year’s plan.
- Start out by making some marketing goals for your company as well as some sales revenue targets and company goals. What do you want to be when you grow up, so to speak? Create a mission statement and develop and overall company philosophy of how you want to run your business.
- Decide how you want to meet your goals. What types of marketing activities will you have to do in order to meet those targets? Will you need to expand your product line? Will you need to focus on new applications? Is your customer base shifting? Will you need to look for customers in another industry?
- Analyze your competition. I know most small businesses think they don’t have any competition and that’s where they make a big mistake. We all have competition from someone or something. It could even be a new technology that will replace the need for your product or services.
- Truly analyze your strengths and weaknesses. Be brutally honest about what you do right and what you do wrong. Even canvass some of your customers or vendor partners to get a third party to comment.
- And, don’t forget the four P’s of marketing: Product, Price, Place, and Promotion. Does your product name intimate what it does. Should you rename it, reposition it, repackage it, or upgrade the quality of your product? Is the price right for your market. Have you priced yourself out of the market or underpriced yourself? Are there any price barriers in your market? Are there any external regulations that may affect your pricing strategy?
- How do you distribute your products? Do you have a sales force? Or are you a one man show? Do you need to hire an account executive to help you get new business or are you the principal and your name and image is the image of the company?
- And last, but not least, how can you promote your products? Many small companies have a tendency to skip this part because they feel it is too expensive to advertise or use other methods to promote their products or services. Don’t have the view that “if I build it … they will come” because your product is so terrific that everyone will be scrambling for one. You’ll find out that no one knows you, and no one cares, either. So, spend some money on advertising. With social media, the barriers to promotion are almost nil.
You need a marketing strategy and a plan. Analyze your successes and failures this past year and put a plan in writing. Having a guide to follow, will pay many dividends.
