| Step 1. Define Success |
Step 2. Be Knowable |
Step 3. Be Findable |
 |
Free Marketing Plan Workbook Step 1: Define Success
When you know what success looks like, you make marketing decisions that move your business forward, directly to your destination. Every little decision contributes to "positioning" that syncs with your vision of success. When you don't know exactly where you're headed, you end up reacting to random opportunities and wasting resources. So, Do Not Pass "Go" … until you define success.
|
When I am successful, I will… |
|
| Sell (what?) | List what you will sell. Identify your most important product or service (small generalists don't win.) |
| ——————————————————————————————————- | |
| To (who needs what you sell?) | People who need what you sell constitute your target market. The more you know about them, the better your marketing. Think demographics (age, gender, income…), business type & buyer position (if B-to-B), geography, psychographics (things related to personality, values, attitudes, interests, lifestyles)… |
| ——————————————————————————————————- | |
| In/on/via (where do people buy what you sell?) | Where does your target market buy competitive products or services? No need to reinvent the wheel. Do, however, think about channels your competitors under-utilize. |
| ——————————————————————————————————- | |
| When (when do they buy what you sell?) | What problems and events create need for your product/service? Consider trigger events like a new job, graduation, a new baby, a move, economic upturn/downturn, states of mind. |
| ——————————————————————————————————- | |
| Because (why you over the options?) | This is the crux of positioning. Don't let yourself off easy here. How does your business satisfy your target market's needs better than anyone else? What little bit of turf can you own (metaphorically)? Live in your target customer's head to find a "eureka" insight. |
Note: Positioning is your target market's perception of your business in relation to its perception of your competitors. Your marketing must persuade people to perceive your business as your perceive it. Every marketing decision you make impacts positioning.
Free Marketing Plan Workbook Step 2: Be Knowable
Knowable means consistent, recognizable, distinct. Somehow, with very limited resources, you must stand out in the crowd and be more memorable than the competition.
| Name | Come up with a name (and URL) that describes what you do. Small businesses don't have the resources to explain conceptual or obtuse names. |
| ——————————————————————————————————- | |
| Logo | Design a logo that shows what you do. Small businesses don't have the resources to explain conceptual or artistic logos. |
| ——————————————————————————————————- | |
| Tagline | Your tagline should be your best promise to your target market in +/- 8 words. Our promise is "Free Help for DIY Marketers." We are delivering the promise to you right now! Brainstorm taglines by envisioning your future success, and saying "I promise to (what) to/for (target market description)…" Assemble proof of promise that you can use in your marketing materials (testimonials, reviews, awards, samples…). |
| ——————————————————————————————————- | |
| Elevator Pitch | Tell me everything I need to know about your business in 8-10 words or 140 characters (thanks, Twitter). Come up with a pitch that people will remember well enough to pass around. Word of mouth will be one of your most important marketing channels. Think in headlines. |
| ——————————————————————————————————- | |
| Brand Guide | Make sure your colors, fonts, images and other graphic elements are always consistent. Put all of your creative elements in a brand guide, and stick to it across all channels. Brand Guide as bible will ensure visual consistency. It's hard to know something that changes all the time. (Audit your existing marketing materials. You'll probably be surprised by the inconsistencies.) |
Free Marketing Plan Workbook Step 3: Be (Very) Findable
| The Web |
Bottom line? These days, if your business is not on the Web, it doesn't exist. Get a Website. A well designed, highly functional Website/Blog "Marketing Hub" (a content management system) is the very best way to power up small business marketing. And any website is better than none. Online marketing is a big topic. However, you can easily get in the game and gain marketing leverage you could never achieve offline. Start with the basics: Website/Blog, create a LinkedIn profile (imperative for professionals), FaceBook Page (important for consumer businesses), Twitter (particularly if your business is local). |
| ——————————————————————————————————- | |
| Leave Behinds |
The idea is simple. Have a brochure, a card, a page - anything professional looking, brand representative and engaging – to give to everyone you meet and leave behind everywhere you go. Your leave behind should give a quick company profile, convey your brand, communicate all of your contact information and make a hard to resist offer. Keep your piece simple. Make if universally appropriate. Leave it everywhere, all the time. You will be more findable when people see your materials over and over again (think Starbucks, FedEx…) and when they have a marketing piece on file that tells them how to find you when they need you. |
| ——————————————————————————————————- | |
| Trial Offers |
People are more inclined to give an unknown business a try if the business extends a hard to resist offer to try its products or services at little to no cost/risk. If you can get a propect's contact information (email, address) in exchange for the trial offer, you truly have a prequalified lead who might want to hear from you when you have something valuable to say/offer. You will be more findable, because prospects will remember their experiences with your product/service. And they'll tell their friends about you. |
| ——————————————————————————————————- | |
| The Pitch | In Step 2. you came up with a short, sweet Elevator Pitch. Use it. Everwhere, all the time. Let it roll of your tongue. Keep it colloquial, so other people can pass it along. |
| ——————————————————————————————————- | |
| Join the Conversation |
Find out what people are saying about your business and join the conversation. Business is about community these days. And communities talk, and talk, and talk. Run a Google search to find out what's out there about you. Set up a daily or weekly Google Alert and Social Mention Alert to keep track of the talk. Don't be afraid to jump in. People will respect you for your participation and develop trust in you. You can't pay for that kind of marketing! |
That's it? Good marketing is this easy? You bet. Complete the things in this Marketing Plan, and you will be way ahead of the game. You'll get great results. And you'll feel confident and in control. We love it when that happens.
