Planning Your Dreams

Is anyone chasing new dreams this year? Are you finally about to achieve an old dream? And how are you planning your dreams?

One thing that many small and home based businesses neglect is a written marketing plan. It’s not as complicated as you may think, so grab a pen and paper and get ready.

5 Basic Marketing Questions

What do you want to accomplish?

Every plan starts with an objective. But you need two things to make sure you have a goal and not just a wish: a time frame and measurable details.
For example, don’t just say I want to increase sales this spring; instead write “By May 15th I will increase sales by 25%.”

Who is your ideal customer?

Lots of business owners are so confident and excited about their products and services that they believe everyone will want it. But the reality is that no business can or should serve everyone, and if you try you will dilute or dissipate your effectiveness.
Be specific. It’s not enough to just say “men” or “teens” or “moms”. You need to know and list who and where your customers are, what they like and don’t like, what they believe, what they need, what they want, who they trust, and where they get their information.

What’s different and special about your business?

For many business owners, this is the most difficult question to answer, but it’s also the most essential. To answer this you not only have to know your own business, but your competition as well.
Ask yourself what combination of benefits your customers get from you that they can’t get from anyone else. A close examination of that will eventually lead you to your USP (unique selling proposition).

How will you expose yourself?

There are dozens of off- and online methods for getting the word out about your business. Some involve plenty of personal contact; others are more wide reaching. You have to keep in mind that not every method is effective for every type of business and it’s target audience.
You can spend thousands or very little. Generally, investing more time means spending less money, and spending more money means you have to put in less time.

What’s your schedule?

None of this information will do any good if you don’t put it to use. It’s not enough to simply join a few networks, place some ads or attend scattered meetings. You must have a strategy: a time set aside to implement each method you’ve chosen, and a specific reason for doing each thing on your list.