Business owners see things
differently than most other
people. Their view on the "little" things are in fact, big
when it comes to writing down something. Documenting
everything, including a business plan, will save time and
money later.
It's not a difficult thing to do. I think the problem is
that most companies feel like they have to have graphs and
charts and demographic specifications and all of this other
sophisticated stuff in their
marketing plan. That just confuses people.
That stuff is NOT going to motivate you or help you follow
a path to success. Realize the power of your easy to do
marketing plan. It's so easy, and it will bring you success.
Without a specific marketing plan on paper, you cannot
expect your business to have massive successes. Yes, you do
need to put it on paper. Why? On paper you have focus. If
you keep your ideas in your mind, you'll lose focus on your
objectives. Believe me, I know. I've made that mistake
before. Put your plan on paper.
Just because it's on paper doesn't mean you can't change
it. Be flexible. Understand that as your business grows and
succeeds, you'll want to update your marketing plan.
Reevaluate your plan on a weekly basis. Ask yourself:
¤ Is this plan taking me where I want to go?
¤ Is there any part of the plan that isn't focused on the
desired end objective?
¤ What can I do to update my plan to gain more focus on my
end objective?
Questions like these on a weekly basis will help you reach
your objectives more quickly and smoothly. Let's say for
example; your car was having a problem, and you knew
nothing about cars, except where to put the gas in, would
you open the hood and try to fix it? NO! Why then do so
many businesses try to write their own advertisements,
their own brochures, their own flyers and other marketing
communications when they don't know how to do it?
It doesn't make sense. If you don't know what you are doing
then you shouldn't be doing it. You might mess things up
worse than they were before.
The real problem comes, however, when someone thinks they
know what they're doing when in fact, their efforts are
usually self-centered and not focused on the needs and
wants of their prospects and customers.
Larger companies have entire design and marketing
departments that do nothing but develop and put together
their marketing materials. Everyone can always learn more
about how to communicate better with their prospects in a
marketing document.
Most marketing documents focus on the seller instead of the
buyer and the benefits that the buyer gets, and are
terribly boring, dull, and uninteresting. It doesn't excite
the prospect to want to take action now.
These documents don't ask for any action from the prospect.
Don't tell the prospect "what's in it for him" if he acts
right away, and it assumes that the prospect is as
interested in the product or service as the seller is.
They brag on and on about product and service features,
when all the prospect really cares about is the benefits
they'll get from the product or service. They try to be
creative and clever, thinking that "clever sells" when
actually clever does nothing to motivate a prospect to buy
now, and that should be the main purpose of any marketing
piece.
They try to be "professional" and worry about their image.
When really, the only thing that matters is relentlessly
focusing on your prospects desires. You must focus on the
benefits that your prospect is wanting you to tell him
about. You need to worry about delivering on your promises,
improving your product or service... and forget about the
"professional" image.
These are just a few of the problems that you see every day
when you look at the typical marketing communications that
are going on.
It's terrible. It's a waste of paper, money, time, energy
and other valuable resources. Don't fall prey to this game.
Find yourself a professional copywriter and advertising
designer that can deliver what your prospects wants. Or
become a student of direct response advertising and
copywriting.
What advantage is there for your prospects or customers to
do business with you? What makes you unique? Your Unique
Selling Point (USP) is the distinguishing advantage you
hold out in all of your marketing, advertising and sales
efforts. It's something that a customer usually can't get
anywhere else.
It's the foundation of your business, and you should make
it a part of everything you do. What your USP should say
depends on the specific market niche you have already
carved, or wish to carve out. Your USP may be that you only
sell the highest grade products in the industry. Writing
your marketing plan down, along with using your marketing
communications, will greatly help with the success of your
business. Plus it makes huge marketing sense!
About
The Author
Abe Cherian is the founder
of Multiple Stream Media,
a company that helps online
businesses find new
prospects and clients, who
are anxious to grow
their business fast, and
without spending a fortune
in marketing and automation. http://www.multiplestreammktg.com
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