There are four components to every marketing effort. All four of these key components must be given careful consideration—for each can cause the failure or success of your marketing.
The Product
The Message
The Prospect
The Media
Consistently successful marketing requires knowledge and mastery of these four factors that, together, can produce the desired results.
Rating the Four Marketing Components
PRODUCT – You have to do your research.
Is the product or service you're offering going to meet an existing need or demand?
Who needs or demands it?
You must know the exact demand or need you are trying to fill.
Can the product be priced profitably and competitively?
Does the product offer value?
How about quality?
Do the best you can to objectively evaluate your product—from the prospect's point of view.
MESSAGE – This includes the offer you're making (FREE booklet, bill me, FREE gift w/order, etc.), how you say it (the words), and how you present it (design elements).
Have you made an enticing offer?
Does your headline grab the attention of your hottest prospects?
Have you made your promotion look uncluttered, easy to read, professional?
Once again, you must put yourself in your prospect's shoes. How will your message be perceived by them?
PROSPECT – Who are the best candidates for your product or service?
Will apartment dwellers be interested in your lawn tractors? Not a chance.
Will the small business owner who spends only $2,000 per year on
marketing be interested in my consulting services? Probably not.
Sending the right message about the right product to the wrong prospect can be a total waste.
MEDIA – How will you get your message in front of your hottest prospects?
Direct mail?
TV? Radio?
Print ads?
This element of your marketing is just as important as the other four. Spending the money for a professionally written and designed ad will do you no good if you place it in the wrong publication.
How sure are you of the media you've selected?
Have you had success with them in the past, or are they untested for you?
Are detailed demographics available?
Do the best you can to rate your overall confidence in the media you plan to use.
In general, people want to spend money, be affluent and feel good.
People do not want to budget or be austere. They do not want to be involved with things that require work, cause risk to what they already have, or that are time consuming.
Use this knowledge to rate the four components of all your marketing efforts, then make needed adjustments as are indicated by the formula. You'll be amazed what happens to your response rate!
Fostering the entrepreneurial spirit!
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Sunday, April 22, 2012
What is Marketing Research?
"The secret to success is - find out where the people are going and get there first." - Mark Twain
Basically, marketing research is just what the merchant did with the peanuts. Find out what catches customers' attention by observing their actions and drawing conclusions from what you see. To put it more formally, in the words of the American Marketing Association, marketing research is "the systematic gathering, recording, and analyzing of data about problems relating to the marketing of goods and services."
Marketing research is an organized way of finding objective answers to questions every business must answer to succeed. Every business owner-manager must ask:
Who are my customers and potential customers?
What kind of people are they?
Can and will they buy?
Am I offering the kinds of goods or services they want - at the best place, at the best time, and in the right amounts?
Are my prices consistent with what buyers view as the products' values?
Are my promotional programs working?
What do customers think of my business?
How does my business compare with my competitors?
Marketing research is not a perfect science; it deals with people and their constantly changing likes and dislikes which can be affected by hundreds of influences, many of which simply can't be identified. Marketing research does, however, try to learn about markets scientifically. That simply, is to gather facts in an orderly, objective way; to find out how things are, not how you think they are or would like them to be; what people want to buy, not just what you want to sell them.
Why Do It?
It's tough - impossible - to sell people what they don't want. (Remember the Nehru jacket?) That's pretty obvious. Just as obvious is the fact that nothing could be simpler than selling people what they do want. Big business has to do market research to find that out. The same reason holds for small business.
Business owners often have a "feel" for their customers - their markets - that comes from years of experience. Experience can be a two-edged sword, though, since it comprises a tremendous mass of facts acquired at random over a number of years.
Information about markets gained from long experience may no longer be timely enough to base selling decisions on. In addition, some "facts" may be vague, misleading impressions or folk tales of the "everybody knows that..." variety.
Marketing research focuses and organized marketing information. It ensures that such information is timely. It provides what you need to:
Reduce business risks,
Spot problems and potential problems in your current market,
Identify and profit from sales opportunities,
Get basic facts about your market to help you make better decisions and set up plans of action.
Basically, marketing research is just what the merchant did with the peanuts. Find out what catches customers' attention by observing their actions and drawing conclusions from what you see. To put it more formally, in the words of the American Marketing Association, marketing research is "the systematic gathering, recording, and analyzing of data about problems relating to the marketing of goods and services."
Marketing research is an organized way of finding objective answers to questions every business must answer to succeed. Every business owner-manager must ask:
Who are my customers and potential customers?
What kind of people are they?
Can and will they buy?
Am I offering the kinds of goods or services they want - at the best place, at the best time, and in the right amounts?
Are my prices consistent with what buyers view as the products' values?
Are my promotional programs working?
What do customers think of my business?
How does my business compare with my competitors?
Marketing research is not a perfect science; it deals with people and their constantly changing likes and dislikes which can be affected by hundreds of influences, many of which simply can't be identified. Marketing research does, however, try to learn about markets scientifically. That simply, is to gather facts in an orderly, objective way; to find out how things are, not how you think they are or would like them to be; what people want to buy, not just what you want to sell them.
Why Do It?
It's tough - impossible - to sell people what they don't want. (Remember the Nehru jacket?) That's pretty obvious. Just as obvious is the fact that nothing could be simpler than selling people what they do want. Big business has to do market research to find that out. The same reason holds for small business.
Business owners often have a "feel" for their customers - their markets - that comes from years of experience. Experience can be a two-edged sword, though, since it comprises a tremendous mass of facts acquired at random over a number of years.
Information about markets gained from long experience may no longer be timely enough to base selling decisions on. In addition, some "facts" may be vague, misleading impressions or folk tales of the "everybody knows that..." variety.
Marketing research focuses and organized marketing information. It ensures that such information is timely. It provides what you need to:
Reduce business risks,
Spot problems and potential problems in your current market,
Identify and profit from sales opportunities,
Get basic facts about your market to help you make better decisions and set up plans of action.
Friday, April 13, 2012
Return of the Friday Fun
Serious topics will resume Monday. For today, we celebrate a one business day reprieve of Tax Day with some fun to head in to your weekend.
I think I may have had this pair as employees once:
The new employee stood before the paper shredder looking confused. "Need some help?" a secretary asked. "Yes," he replied. "How does this thing work?" "Simple," she said, taking the fat report from his hand and feeding it into the shredder. "Thanks, but where do the copies come out?"
============================
Funny, yet believable:
When the office photo-copies began to look faint, the business owner called in a local repair service. The friendly technician after inspecting the equipment, informed him that the machine was in need of a good cleaning. The tech suggested that someone might try reading the operator’s manual and perform the job themselves, since it would cost $100.00, if he did the work. Pleasantly surprised by his candor, the owner asked, “Does your boss know you are discouraging business?” “Actually, my boss demands we explain this to all our customers. After people try first to fix things themselves, we end-up making much more money on repairs”
============================
The businessman dragged himself home and barely made it to his chair before he dropped exhausted.
His sympathetic wife was right there with a tall cool drink and a comforting word. "My, you look tired," she said. "You must have had a hardday today. What happened to make you so exhausted?"
"It was terrible," her husband said. "The computer crashed and all of us had to do our own thinking."
============================
And perfect for this time of year:
A business owner on his deathbed called his friend and said, “Bill, I want you to promise me that when I die, you will have my remains cremated.”
“And what,” his friend asked, “do you want me to do with your ashes?”
The owner said, “Just put them in an envelope and mail them to the Internal Revenue Service. Write on the envelope, ‘Now, you have everything.’”
I think I may have had this pair as employees once:
The new employee stood before the paper shredder looking confused. "Need some help?" a secretary asked. "Yes," he replied. "How does this thing work?" "Simple," she said, taking the fat report from his hand and feeding it into the shredder. "Thanks, but where do the copies come out?"
============================
Funny, yet believable:
When the office photo-copies began to look faint, the business owner called in a local repair service. The friendly technician after inspecting the equipment, informed him that the machine was in need of a good cleaning. The tech suggested that someone might try reading the operator’s manual and perform the job themselves, since it would cost $100.00, if he did the work. Pleasantly surprised by his candor, the owner asked, “Does your boss know you are discouraging business?” “Actually, my boss demands we explain this to all our customers. After people try first to fix things themselves, we end-up making much more money on repairs”
============================
The businessman dragged himself home and barely made it to his chair before he dropped exhausted.
His sympathetic wife was right there with a tall cool drink and a comforting word. "My, you look tired," she said. "You must have had a hardday today. What happened to make you so exhausted?"
"It was terrible," her husband said. "The computer crashed and all of us had to do our own thinking."
============================
And perfect for this time of year:
A business owner on his deathbed called his friend and said, “Bill, I want you to promise me that when I die, you will have my remains cremated.”
“And what,” his friend asked, “do you want me to do with your ashes?”
The owner said, “Just put them in an envelope and mail them to the Internal Revenue Service. Write on the envelope, ‘Now, you have everything.’”
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Why Do a Marketing Plan?
A marketing plan outlines everything you will do to market your business, in what order, and when. The time and effort spent developing your marketing plan is a good investment.
An effective marketing plan does the following:
Identifies and explores the strengths and weaknesses of your company, its products, or services
Examines, based on these strengths and weaknesses, the opportunities and threats that exist in the marketplace
Forces you to focus on the needs of your customers and potential customers
Allows you to anticipate and plan for changing market trends, consumer demands, and changes of your competitors
Helps you reach company goals within your budget
Forms an essential part of your business plan
An effective marketing plan does the following:
Identifies and explores the strengths and weaknesses of your company, its products, or services
Examines, based on these strengths and weaknesses, the opportunities and threats that exist in the marketplace
Forces you to focus on the needs of your customers and potential customers
Allows you to anticipate and plan for changing market trends, consumer demands, and changes of your competitors
Helps you reach company goals within your budget
Forms an essential part of your business plan
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Still Time for those Home Office Deductions
Maybe you had all your paperwork in weeks ago... or maybe you're still crunching tax numbers. If you have a home office, there's some good news to be found courtesy of Turbo Tax - Easily File and Maximize Your Business Tax Deductions.
Here are few highlights. Read the full article on BusinessInsider.com. Please note, as with ALL tax matters, this is informational and for you to discuss with your accounting professional.
Home office space. If an office or other portion of your home is designated for work, the IRS allows you to deduct a portion of your mortgage payments or rent. The use of the space for work has to be “regular and exclusive”—in other words, a laptop on the kitchen table doesn’t qualify. The deduction is proportional to the size of your workspace. Calculate the percentage of your home’s square footage that is used exclusively for work. And don’t forget that you can deduct utilities, homeowners’ insurance and real estate taxes as well.
Computer equipment, software and supplies. Deduct the full value of any computers, software and Internet service that are used only for business purposes. Other write-offs include software programs, including accounting software, and postage expenses.
Health insurance costs. Sole proprietors can write off the cost of their health insurance premiums, but remember, your family’s insurance costs are not deductible unless they work for you.
Research materials. If you subscribe to websites or print publications that focus on your industry, write them off. If you’re a writer and purchase copies of the publications you want to write for, deduct those too. Same goes for reference books.
Business phone calls. Write them off. The simplest way to keep track of your business call expenses is to have a dedicated phone line or a separate cell phone altogether.
Auto mileage and travel expenses. Whether you're traveling to meet with clients, conduct research, or for some other legitimate business purpose, all of the expenses can be deducted. Keep track of mileage, and keep receipts for cabs and air travel. They can all be written off if properly documented.
Here are few highlights. Read the full article on BusinessInsider.com. Please note, as with ALL tax matters, this is informational and for you to discuss with your accounting professional.
Home office space. If an office or other portion of your home is designated for work, the IRS allows you to deduct a portion of your mortgage payments or rent. The use of the space for work has to be “regular and exclusive”—in other words, a laptop on the kitchen table doesn’t qualify. The deduction is proportional to the size of your workspace. Calculate the percentage of your home’s square footage that is used exclusively for work. And don’t forget that you can deduct utilities, homeowners’ insurance and real estate taxes as well.
Computer equipment, software and supplies. Deduct the full value of any computers, software and Internet service that are used only for business purposes. Other write-offs include software programs, including accounting software, and postage expenses.
Health insurance costs. Sole proprietors can write off the cost of their health insurance premiums, but remember, your family’s insurance costs are not deductible unless they work for you.
Research materials. If you subscribe to websites or print publications that focus on your industry, write them off. If you’re a writer and purchase copies of the publications you want to write for, deduct those too. Same goes for reference books.
Business phone calls. Write them off. The simplest way to keep track of your business call expenses is to have a dedicated phone line or a separate cell phone altogether.
Auto mileage and travel expenses. Whether you're traveling to meet with clients, conduct research, or for some other legitimate business purpose, all of the expenses can be deducted. Keep track of mileage, and keep receipts for cabs and air travel. They can all be written off if properly documented.
Monday, February 27, 2012
Don’t Be a Small Business Failure Statistic
When you're running a small business, the last thing you want to focus on is failure. But unless you are doing the right things within your business failure (or forever underperforming) is a real possibility.
There are many views about what a business owner should and shouldn't do to keep there business profitable and thriving (not just surviving) but as with most things there are a few that are key… at the core of success.
Here are some the three most commonly cited reasons for small businesses to under-perform and fail…
#1 Poor Management
Most small business experts cite poor management as the number one reason for entrepreneurial failure.
Business owners frequently lack relevant business and management expertise in areas such as finance, marketing, selling, and hiring and managing employees.
Unless they recognize and act upon what they don't do well by seeking help a business owner can and will face disaster.
Note: For a side by side comparison of Professional vs Entrepreneurial Management please email me at eleaman@oedglobal.org
#2 Insufficient Funds/Cash Flow
A frequent and more oft then not fatal mistake for small business owners is having insufficient operating funds.
Business owners habitually underestimate how much money is needed to found and run their enterprises and are often forced to close before they even have had a fair chance to succeed.
It is imperative to know how much money a business will require… not only the costs to begin (ALWAYS underestimated) , but the costs of running the business (ALWAYS more then it should cost).
Tools like budgets and accurate forecasts must be used and solid sources of funding must be found, cultivated and used.
#3 Lack of Planning
Anyone who has ever run a successful business knows consistent, careful, methodical, strategic and flexible planning is as important as hard work in being successful.
While business owners hate to hear this every business MUST have a business plan and the plan must be followed. It must be realistic and based on accurate, current information and educated projections for the future.
OK, that was the ‘bad news’… which is actually good news because these three things are so very easy to avoid or correct with the right help and advice.
This is where the Organization for Entrepreneurial Development and its Local business Assistance Program can come into play for start and existing enterprises.
As a non-profit corporation, the Organization for Entrepreneurial Development provides business support and outreach to the broad entrepreneurial community.
If you or a business owner you know are struggling with your business under-performing or even feel like you/they are teetering at the brink of failure, please use or forward this email and take advantage of OED’s Local Business Assistance Program. As business owners, entrepreneurs can take advantage, at no cost, of OED’s most popular outreach program, Local Business Assistance Program, just by visiting http://www.oedglobal.org/lbap.html
There are many views about what a business owner should and shouldn't do to keep there business profitable and thriving (not just surviving) but as with most things there are a few that are key… at the core of success.
Here are some the three most commonly cited reasons for small businesses to under-perform and fail…
#1 Poor Management
Most small business experts cite poor management as the number one reason for entrepreneurial failure.
Business owners frequently lack relevant business and management expertise in areas such as finance, marketing, selling, and hiring and managing employees.
Unless they recognize and act upon what they don't do well by seeking help a business owner can and will face disaster.
Note: For a side by side comparison of Professional vs Entrepreneurial Management please email me at eleaman@oedglobal.org
#2 Insufficient Funds/Cash Flow
A frequent and more oft then not fatal mistake for small business owners is having insufficient operating funds.
Business owners habitually underestimate how much money is needed to found and run their enterprises and are often forced to close before they even have had a fair chance to succeed.
It is imperative to know how much money a business will require… not only the costs to begin (ALWAYS underestimated) , but the costs of running the business (ALWAYS more then it should cost).
Tools like budgets and accurate forecasts must be used and solid sources of funding must be found, cultivated and used.
#3 Lack of Planning
Anyone who has ever run a successful business knows consistent, careful, methodical, strategic and flexible planning is as important as hard work in being successful.
While business owners hate to hear this every business MUST have a business plan and the plan must be followed. It must be realistic and based on accurate, current information and educated projections for the future.
OK, that was the ‘bad news’… which is actually good news because these three things are so very easy to avoid or correct with the right help and advice.
This is where the Organization for Entrepreneurial Development and its Local business Assistance Program can come into play for start and existing enterprises.
As a non-profit corporation, the Organization for Entrepreneurial Development provides business support and outreach to the broad entrepreneurial community.
If you or a business owner you know are struggling with your business under-performing or even feel like you/they are teetering at the brink of failure, please use or forward this email and take advantage of OED’s Local Business Assistance Program. As business owners, entrepreneurs can take advantage, at no cost, of OED’s most popular outreach program, Local Business Assistance Program, just by visiting http://www.oedglobal.org/lbap.html
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Asking Questions – Key to Business Success
“We never stop investigating. We are never satisfied that we know enough to get by. Every question we answer leads on to another question. This has become the greatest survival trick of our species.” - Desmond Morris (b. 1928), British anthropologist.
Ask and you shall receive says the Bible. Ask, and every human being has been conditioned to do what they are asked to do, say the psychologists. Ask, and according to the law of averages, you'll get enough "yes’s" to guarantee your success, say the sales managers.
Ask people any sensible, relevant question, for their opinion, advice, for a favor or anything that will enable you to meet them; then make sure they know who you are, and maintain your contact so they remember you. Ask "How can we do this better?" Ask "How can we do more?" Ask "How can we serve our clients better?" If you don't have answers to these questions, find someone who does and ask them.
Asking is the quickest, easiest and surest ways to get people to do what you want them to do.
Why does this work? Why do people tend to do what you ask them to do? Why is it that people who have no interest in you use their time and energy to furnish you with information just because you asked them for it? Because people are conditioned from childhood to respond to polite questions. If you ask intelligent questions with impact, almost everyone will answer you.
The other significant reason to ask good questions is to help the person you are asking. Asking well-crafted, intelligent questions causes people to think profoundly. When someone thinks more deeply than before, new ideas, new answers and new possibilities emerge.
Asking appropriate questions of people is like holding up a mirror to theiractions and decisions so they can see for themselves whether it is the right thing to do.
Ask and you shall receive says the Bible. Ask, and every human being has been conditioned to do what they are asked to do, say the psychologists. Ask, and according to the law of averages, you'll get enough "yes’s" to guarantee your success, say the sales managers.
Ask people any sensible, relevant question, for their opinion, advice, for a favor or anything that will enable you to meet them; then make sure they know who you are, and maintain your contact so they remember you. Ask "How can we do this better?" Ask "How can we do more?" Ask "How can we serve our clients better?" If you don't have answers to these questions, find someone who does and ask them.
Asking is the quickest, easiest and surest ways to get people to do what you want them to do.
Why does this work? Why do people tend to do what you ask them to do? Why is it that people who have no interest in you use their time and energy to furnish you with information just because you asked them for it? Because people are conditioned from childhood to respond to polite questions. If you ask intelligent questions with impact, almost everyone will answer you.
The other significant reason to ask good questions is to help the person you are asking. Asking well-crafted, intelligent questions causes people to think profoundly. When someone thinks more deeply than before, new ideas, new answers and new possibilities emerge.
Asking appropriate questions of people is like holding up a mirror to theiractions and decisions so they can see for themselves whether it is the right thing to do.
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