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 Read my monthly Marketing column in the Burton Mail's 'Good For Business'
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SOLUTIONS FOR GROWING YOUR BUSINESS
Fresh Ideas to grow your business!
Marketing Planning Why you need a marketing plan, or to review your existing plan
If there's one lesson the recent turmoil in world markets has taught us, it's that the world of business has changed. The recession means the way your customers decide to spend their money and the methods businesses need to use to find new customers is no longer based on access to easy money. This means that businesses have to fight much harder than before for new customers and to keep their existing customers. Effective marketing planning is the way for businesses to better understand their customers and to attract and keep them.
 
The old adage "if you fail to plan, you plan to fail" still holds true. So, the basis for success to grow your business needs to be anchored in a marketing plan.
 
Without a marketing plan too many businesses waste valuable resources of time and money on what just seems a good marketing idea. Often that just means blindly doing what their competitors are doing, or just choosing something they think will work.
 
In today's economic climate that's just not good enough. No doubt you want to do better than your competitors. So why just copy what they are doing? Instead, I can help you develop a marketing plan using marketing solutions tailored to your market and your business to allow your business to grow, to compete with and beat your competition.
 
One of my promises is not to blind you with marketing jargon. So when I use marketing terms I will explain what these mean. Marketing plans need to focus on several important areas. These are often referred to as the 5 Ps:
 
  • People
  • Product
  • Price
  • Place
  • Promotion

Here are just a few of the issues or questions you need to consider for these aspects of your marketing plan:
 
People
Your marketing plan should be aimed at your customers, or prospective customers, be they consumers (B2C) or other businesses (B2B).
So, who are your customers?
  • Describe your ideal customer
  • Where can they be found?
  • Do you currently have these people as your customers?
  • Can you split your customers into different groups or segments?
  • Are all the groups of equal value to your business, or are some more valuable than others?
  • What do your customers expect from you?
  • When was the last time you asked your customers how they feel about you or your business?

Product
Your marketing plan must focus on what it is you have to offer. This could be one or more products or services, usually for profit, but in the case of a charity, not for profit.
So, what is your product or service?
  • Describe your product or service
  • Is it what your customers want - how do you know?
  • How does it stack up against your competitors?
  • What benefits (not features) does it offer your customers?
  • What is its USP (Unique Selling Point) that makes it different from the competition?
 
Price
Your marketing plan must consider what you charge for your product or service? Important though price is, it's worth considering that extensive research shows that, contrary to what is often thought, customers do not always put price as the most important factor that influences their decision to buy.
  • Does your price fairly reflect the value of your product or service to your customers?
  • Do you operate differential pricing i.e. charging different prices to different customers?
  • Do you price for high volumes but low margins, or low volumes and high margins?
  • Do you make the profit you need?
  • Where does your price place you in your market - high end, or low end?
  • Is your price competitive in the market you want to be in?

Place
Your marketing planning must address how  your customers are able to buy your product or service.
  • Are you a manufacturer, wholesaler, distributor, retailer or service provider, or a mix?
  • How do your customers get hold of your product or service?
  • How many options or outlets do your customers have to buy your product or service?
  • Do you have an online marketing plan?
  • Do you need to keep stock?

Promotion
Marketing plans are useless unless they identify how you tell your target market about your product or service, such as advertising, direct mail, the Internet, email etc. It's the part of marketing planning most people are familiar with. The problem is this is too often the part of  marketing small businesses jump to without thinking about the other 4 Ps. This often leads to wasted time and money and businesses thinking marketing doesn't work. This is why I've listed it last and why you need me to consider all the 5 Ps before you rush into promoting your business, product or service.
  • How do you tell your market about your product or service?
  • Do you use different ways of promoting for different customer groups?
  • How many ways of promoting do you use?
  • Do you measure all the promotional methods you use?
  • Do you know which promotional methods work and which don't? 
  • When was the last time you reviewed your promotional methods?

 
Local marketing advice for local businesses
 
Fresh Ideas Marketing provides marketing advice and marketing planning in the West Midlands and East Midlands including:
 
Staffordshire, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, Warwickshire and Birmingham.
 
 In particular:
Ashbourne | Birmingham | Burton on Trent | Cannock | Coventry | Derby | Lichfield | Leicester | Loughborough | Mansfield | Nottingham | Nuneaton | Solihull | Stafford | Stoke on Trent | Sutton Coldfield | Tamworth | Telford | Uttoxeter | Wolverhampton | Walsall
To arrange a meeting to discuss your marketing plan
ring 0845 47 47 486

Is Your Marketing an Investment or an Expense?

Does this sound familiar?

 

During the current economic downturn how many times have you heard this from your customers? "I can't afford the expense at this time." Comments like these have probably caused you to view everything you spend your money on as an expense as well. When times get tough, businesses tend to cutback or stop spending on what they view as unnecessary.

 

The problem

 

But surely keeping a tight rein on expenses and budgets is the only way to get through a recession, right? Sounds plausible, but the problem is if everything is viewed as an expense, then decisions are based not on growing your business but rather just surviving. This mind-set is one of the biggest reasons businesses struggle when times are tough.

 

Expense or investment?

 

Most business owners agree that they need to invest to grow and sustain their businesses. The challenge is often in understanding the difference between what’s an expense to your business and what’s an investment in your business. This can be a real difference between a

business that thrives and one that struggles or fails.

Research between 2001 and 2004 showed that in spite of the economy, businesses that invested in growth were more likely to be cushioned from an economic downturn. This tactic is also proving to be true in this current economic climate.

 

The answer - Marketing is an essential investment

 

If a business owner says they can't afford to market their business, they truly can't afford to be in business!

 

Not investing in marketing is a sure way to stagnation and ultimately failure. All too often when times are good, businesses stop marketing in spite of the fact that marketing got them busy in the first place! They became too comfortable with business flowing in, and decide that marketing is no longer necessary; or they just continued to market in the same old way, forgetting that the changing economic climate means that the way their customers are deciding to spend their money has changed significantly.

 
A stop-and-go or wait-and-see mentality toward marketing will cause more business failures than anything else.
 

For businesses wanting to grow rather than just survive, marketing is an essential ongoing investment towards success.

 

The challenge

 

So you agree marketing is essential to the growth of your business. However, for many business owners, this throws up two more challenges:

 

1. I’m very good at what I do. I know my business and its products or services inside out, but I’m not a marketer, I’m a business owner. So, just how do I effectively market my business?

2. I know marketing is vital to the success of my business, but I just don’t have the time to put together a workable marketing plan and run the campaigns.

 

The solution - Why you need Fresh Ideas Marketing

 
  •  Just imagine if you could share the knowledge of your business with someone who would then research your business, products or services, markets, customers and competitors and advise you on a workable marketing plan – That’s what I will do for you.
  • Just imagine if you could pass over the problem of lack of time to put your marketing plans into action to someone with proven experience and fresh ideas, to help you create and run your campaigns – That’s what I will do for you.
  • Just imagine if you could avoid the worry of wasting your money on marketing that doesn’t work by having someone measure your marketing campaigns so you invest your marketing budget wisely – That’s what I will do for you.

 
Fresh Ideas Marketing is dedicated to providing proven, workable and practical marketing solutions to owners of small to medium enterprises, the self-employed, professionals and business start-ups across the Midlands area, to save them time and grow their business.
 

Your next step

 

To find out what I can do for your business, simply ring me now on 0845 47 47 486


or email me at andrewkinnard@freshideasmarketing.co.uk
Testimonial

“I’ve worked with Andy for over 5 years. His copywriting skills are excellent. He increased responses from media campaigns by 350% and doubled seminar attendances. His marketing campaigns increased new business sales revenue by 23% whilst saving us 27% on our marketing costs. He contributed significantly to the profitable sale of my business. I can’t recommend him highly enough.”

 
Gary Hexley – Managing Director, Greenfield Group