Marketing

All the things you must do to find & satisfy your customers

Make the message loud and clear Many new businesses fail because their potential customers never knew they were there. Here will discuss the many ways of reaching your customers and focusing your advertising budget.

Definition of Marketing

There are more definitions of marketing than grains of sand in the sea. Read any book on business, go on any workshop and you will see what I mean. Make up your own but, simply put, marketing is a process through which you encourage new and existing customers to buy your products, at a profit.

Many established businesses do not make much effort to market their goods, simply relying on people coming to them out of habit or a lack of effective competition. This can go on for years or stop suddenly, without warning. Clearly a risky strategy but a risk many business owners seem prepared to take. And, many of these businesses could make a significant improvement to their bottom line if they made a small effort to raise their profile. It isn’t necessary to become a marketing expert.

A new enterprise does not have the luxury of on-going trade and a regular customer base, so obviously needs to have a plan to promote its products to the world. This is referred to as a marketing plan or strategy, and sits within the overall business plan.

Key elements for your Marketing Strategy

Don't get lost in the crowd !

From the market research you have already carried out, you will now understand clearly, the business you are in.

• What products are bought and sold?
• Who buys them, and why?
• Who sells them and, are they currently making a profit in the process?
• Is there more demand that you can satisfy?
• Are the buyers having any problems that your product would solve?
• Is there an area of the current market that is not currently being served? Could you fill it? (niche market)
• If you could produce a brand new product, would anybody want it? If they don’t, you won’t sell any.
• What media will you use to promote and advertise through? Direct mail, local radio, telesales,Yellow Pages, leaflets, text messaging etc etc

In summary, you need to answer these questions:

1. Who are my customers- existing and potential?
2. Where are they?
3. Will they buy my products?
4. How shall I contact them?
5. What shall I say to make them buy?
6. What must I do to retain their business?
7. Could they place larger orders or buy a wider range of my services?

For more help with all aspects of marketing, contact us by email