7 Questions To Ask Before Writing Your Marketing Plan

Have you ever wondered how to streamline creating a marketing plan?

Can I show you 7 simple things to ask to help speed up creating your next marketing plan?

The first question to ask is, “Do I really need a marketing plan.”
You may not. If everything you are doing to bring in all the business you want, don’t change a thing. Even if you or your staff are bored with it. Let it keep profiting until it stops profiting.

Next ask, “What do I want a marketing plan to do for me and my business.”
Many marketing plans are written as part of a business plan. Also, marketing plans are written when looking for new or more funding. Most marketing plans are created as a road map, a guide to the next 12-18 months of marketing campaigns

Now, “What is your Unique Selling Proposition (USP)?” Answer in a compelling way, why anyone would choose your products, services or ideas over all the other choices they have, including doing nothing.

Of course, you are making and “Irresistible Offer” every time you are in front of someone. Business and marketing are all about offers.  You give me this and I’ll give you that. Keep in mind that without an offer, no business transpires. Think of the many times you have seen an advertisment or marketing message and couldn’t figure out what was being offered. Don’t make this critical mistake. State exactly what you will be offering in your marketing plan.

OK, “Where is your ideal future client or customer?” Not just anyone, but who is the ideal fit for your products, services or ideas. Where can you find enough of your ideal future clients to be profitable? When you do find them, how much do you know about their hopes, aspirations, desires, fears, problems, etc? Take off your shoes and walk in your future clients shoes for a week and see, hear and feel what they see hear and feel. Then and only then, will you know their real problems.

I’m sure you’ve decided on which, if any, of the many of the different “marketing media options you’ll want to test.” Options like direct respons mailing campaigns, yellow page ads or email marketing. How about tele-marketing, newspaper display ads or Webinars? Networking, Social media marketing or pay-per-click marketing? We could go on and on and on, but you get the idea. Where are you going to spend your marketing budget?

Finally, as long as you are going after new clients, “How are you capturing their personal information?” I don’t mean their shoe size, waist size or height (but you may need them depending on what you are selling). Are you asking for their name, email address and snail mail address? If not, how will you communicate with them in the future?

Now grab a piece of paper and start answering these questions. Doing so will focus your marketing plan and anyone reading it will know exactly the what, where, when, who and how you are planning to market your business.

Ok, I admit it; there are more then 7 questions to answer.
You should have seen the ones I edited out.
I’ve saved them for another article in the near future, so keep checking back.

What to speed up the creation of your advertsing and marketing plan?

Coming in August http://www.FastMarketingPlan.com

Go ahead, take a few minutes today and look at every marketing message you are putting out…

Ask yourself:
Am I providing my reader, viewer and listener the proof and credibility that what I’m saying is indeed true?

How many times have you seen an ad on TV and said to yourself “Yea. Right. Sure it is?”

Let’s face it… we are all slammed with so many marketing messages a day, that we stop believing most of them.

So how do make your marketing messages more believable?

Start by take a closer look at the benefits of what you are selling.

Think about all the ways you can prove your benefits actually exist.
Ask yourself:
•    What are the strongest “Reasons Why” anyone should believe they’ll get what I promise?
•    How much more specific can I be?
•    What solid proof have I offered showing what I claim it true?
•    Have I begun to think about how I can strengthen my guarantees?
•    Is there a way to demonstrate your product/service in action?
•    Can you get a celebrity endorsement?

Answer these questions and apply these ideas to what you are selling and you are well on your way to providing the proof people need to believe your benefits will deliver.

“No way of thinking or doing, however ancient, can be trusted without proof.”
-Henry David Thoreau

Quick Bonus Marketing Tip:

Thousands of marketing experts say that it costs 5 to 6 times more to win a new client than it does to retain an existing one.  What about your company? Is it true for you too?

Yet, most companies spend a small portion of their sales and marketing budget on client relationship management.

Take a moment and think about how much more profit you could generate by deepening your existing client relationships?

Rather than finding ways to get your sales people to “make 20 unqualified appointments this week,” instead, think about the easiest way to building stronger relationships.

Think about all the way you can say “Thank You.” All the ways you can show that you appreciate their business and enjoy the relationship you have.

Here are a few simple ways to get you started.
1. Send a hand written thank you card or note.
2. Drop off a small gift.
3. Bring a flower to the gatekeeper you’re trying to get past.
4. Take your client to breakfast or lunch to talk about ways to improve profits in the coming year.
5. Hold a customer appreciation party.
6. Have your CEO write a personal letter of thanks.

Now go out and give thanks. Show your appreciation.
It feels great and is sure reduces your client attrition rate.

How many times have you waste your time worrying about problems that already have been solved by someone else?

Many other people have faced problems similar to the ones that you will run into.

More than likely, they have found solutions to these problems and may be willing to share their solutions with you.

Sometimes, many times, the solution to your problem may be found in another industry.

There are experts on solving problems everywhere:  fathers, mothers, mentors. Your suppliers, your employees and clients. Business “gurus,” trade groups or associations, librarians, the Small Business Administration, your banker, your CPA and industry leaders.

An answer to the problem that you’re facing even could come from the place you would never think about.

For example, I can’t remember where, I once read a story about how the management of a hotel dealt with their customers’ complaints about long waiting times for elevators. One of the hotel chambermaid suggested putting mirrors next to the elevators so that people wouldn’t mind the wait. Now, most hotels use this simple but effective technique.

The point is, when you have a “situation,” you need to be able to get to someone who has faced something like it before. Is in the trenches, everyday.

“There is a great difference between worry and concern. A worried person sees a problem, and a concerned person solves a problem.”
- Harold Stephen

In most instances, a problem can be solved or fixed merely by mentioning to someone,”I have a problem and I need your help.”

Most people want to be helpful and will help along the way.

You just need to be willing to ask.

What problems are you having?

Are you afraid to ask for help?  Don’t be.

Well, then, why not create your own “best-seller list”
and feature it prominently in your marketing efforts?

People buy what is popular.

The higher up on the best-seller list that an item is—i.e. the more “popular” that it becomes—the more that sales for the item will climb.

For example, if you own an ice cream parlor, create a best-seller list of the most popular flavors of ice cream that you sell.

Post the list at several highly visible locations.
When folks come in, watch the sales of your best-selling ice cream soar!

You can create a best-selling list for any
product/service that you offer.

The power of suggestion helps people who do not know
what they want as well as those who are having trouble choosing what they want.

Many people just can’t make a decision
(sometimes even a life-saving decision), so why not help
them along by showing them what other folks like the best?

Some clients of mine (a husband-and-wife team who run a
carpet-cleaning service) were having trouble selling their service.

We created a best-seller list of the services that
the company offered by using good, better, and best offerings.

This list helped the couple’s prospects to choose the
services that they wanted based on what other people had done in the past.

The sales and profits on these “best-sellers” have increased dramatically.

This means that the sales and profits for the company
are up overall, which was our goal in the first place!

How can you create a “best-seller” list for your products/services?

• Call your competitor on the telephone and pose as a prospective client.
• Talk to their sales staff
• Ask the right questions and most salespeople will tell you exactly what you want to know about their business. Many salespeople love to talk about themselves and their business. This can help you with your research.
• Collect your competitors’ brochures, ads, and sales letters.
• Record their voice messages and their radio and TV commercials.
• Visit their booths at trade shows and go to their showrooms.
• Also, check out their Web site(s).
  Most Web sites will give you a lot of information about how the company does business with its clients. The site may even provide a list of clients, which can become a great “target list” for your own sales efforts.
  While visiting the Web sites of your competitors, request more information regarding their companies and their products/services. Then, keep an accurate record about how quickly they respond.

The first time that I really became aware of the vast array of information available to me for use in marketing my clients’ businesses, it blew me away.

One of the best sources of information is your local library.
Call the reference desk and ask where you need to look for specific information. The librarians will lead you to many sources that you never knew existed.

Most of the recommended resources may be within the library walls or available through the library Web site. In fact, some librarians will do research for you if you just ask them for their help.

My local list broker, Ted Kelter, Vice President of Burnett Direct of Farmington Hills, Michigan, is a great information source. I call him on a regular basis and pick his brain. Ted has been an invaluable resource when I am digging for information to use to market my clients’ products/services.

His “list” advice and direct marketing expertise have been a very profitable resource for my clients.

I suggest that you call Ted 248-932-7100 or look for list brokers in your area. Get to know them and use their services.

Here are some other information source possibilities: I often consult my local Chamber of Commerce because they know who is new in town, who is leaving town, and why.

The local newspapers are great for monitoring the advertisements that your competitions are running. Also, classified ads in newspapers will tell you who is hiring. Bankruptcy lists will tell you where to buy inexpensive equipment that you can use to grow your business.

Local college business offices are another great source to find out who is hiring. They also can connect you with “interns,” college students who are inexpensive to hire and can bring fresh ideas to your business.

Your local “Yellow Pages” and “Online Yellow Pages” have been a consistent source for new business.

For example: I Look for industries that spend a lot of money in the various “Yellow Pages,” and I offer my marketing services to them. The advertising in the “Yellow Pages” will inform you about how much competition you have and how your competitors advertise their services.

Another great source of information is in the Federal Government reports that are available on the Web. A starting point for finding them is www.LOC.gov (Library of Congress). There are thousands of reports available on many subjects. Some of these reports are free, while there may be a very small fee for others. Also, the Web is an endless source of information that can be found almost instantly. If you can think of it, it usually can be found.

What information do you need today that could help you to market your business tomorrow?

Where are you going to go to find it?

Focus, focus, focus.

First and foremost, focus on the potential clients to whom you want to sell your products/services and not on what you are trying to sell.

If you know who your intended clients are and you can address them directly in the headlines and body copy of your print or broadcast promotions, then this will improve the rate of response to your marketing effort.

For example, the following headlines address a target market by talking to them very specifically: “Attention Homeowners, Do You Need Extra Cash? It May Be In Your Home!” and “The Complete Sales Program for Dentists.”

In order to target your prospects well, you need to do some initial research.

Ask your prospects exactly what they want by using direct questions, client surveys, and informal studies. You could mail a questionnaire or survey to your existing clients that asks them why they do business with you.

Use their answers to direct your marketing messages to the specific wants and needs of your prospects. Target only those prospective buyers that are most qualified to purchase your products or services.

It is important to research the type of clients that make up your market and what it is that they really want. Prospects want to know what added value your company can offer them, so you must be ready to provide the reasons why they should buy from you. Your research should enable you to do this well.

The more that you know about your clients and prospects, the easier that it is to give them more than they expect. You need to gather all of the information that you can about your prospects. In order to be able to sell something to someone, you have to know how they feel, how they think, what they fear, where they live, etc. Most importantly, you need to know WHY they want to buy what you have to offer!

Try to visualize a day in the life of your potential client.
What happens in it?
What does the person worry about?
What does s/he want?
What scares him/her?
What does s/he enjoy doing?

I could go on and on here, but you get the idea. Do your research. Ask a lot of questions. Think about and try to analyze why your clients do what they do. If you do this consistently, eventually you will begin to know why they buy from you, or why they don’t.

Start your research by asking your existing clients why they do business with you.

If you can find a way to do it, ask your former customers why they stopped doing business with you or what you could be doing to get their business back. The answers that you get can teach you an awful lot about how people perceive your business.

Hopefully, you will learn from what you hear.

Another thing that you can do is go to the local library and read the magazines and other publications to which your clients subscribe. Learn about your clients by reading what they read. If you don’t know which publications you should be studying, then ask your customers what they read. Look up articles in back issues that are posted on the Internet. Use all of the information that you can gather to sell your prospects what they already want to buy.

Why is it that your clients buy your products/services?