|
We know that being in business comes with a multitude of challenges, and consequently many mistakes are made. The single most common mistake you can make is in believing that you can be all things to all people. This philosophy has proven disastrous to every business that employs it. That’s why having a marketing plan is critical. The second most common mistake is not having, not implementing or not adhering to an established marketing plan.
To avoid these pitfalls, be sure to:
Knowing your business and industry is critical to preparing a marketing plan that can you can use to identify your appropriate customer and provide them products and/or services specifically geared to their individual needs, wants and desires. Excerpted from, "The Start of Something BIG: Your Ultimate Guide to Writing a Dynamic Business Plan."
0 Comments
We don't often relate business success and good health with each other. But, if you think about it, it's difficult to have one without the other. As you assess your readiness for self-employment, you should also assess your health. This includes:
Good physical health is vital to the perseverance and endurance needed to go the distance. In business there are few 40-hour workweeks (usually 60 to 80, but not recommended), and for some, no vacations or sick days off are par for the course (also not recommended). Make it a practice to see your doctor regularly to ensure that you are in the best physical condition. A good diet and exercise should be a part of your daily regimen because being in business takes a lot of time and energy. In addition, make sure to get plenty of sleep each night. Some of the most successful people in business get at least six hours sleep each night. Also, wake up to your favorite music, have a healthy breakfast, and at some point in the day, get some sunshine. Oh yes, and BE HAPPY! As for mental health, meditation and just taking a break and/or lunch away from your desk and computer can contribute significantly to your ability to put in a full and productive day’s work. Even a power nap (a 30-minute nap during the day) can help you refuel and finish the day on top and avoid burnout. But as often as it makes sense, take time off. Even if not for a full week at a time, being away from it all helps thwart burnout and helps you recharge. While away be sure you make time to meditate in peace and quiet to think and relax without any interruptions. A healthy mind and body, as well as a neat appearance are much more attractive than this world’s current standard of beauty. Unfortunately we live in a society where “good looks” are prevalent. Today we seem to have an obsession with beauty as evidenced by the hundreds of thousands of “selfies” posted each day on Facebook and Instagram. While beauty can be both a strength and a weakness, unless you are in an industry where that standard matters, it doesn’t matter anywhere else. Excerpted from, "The Start of Something BIG: Your Ultimate Guide to Writing a Dynamic Business Plan." What is it about your products or services that keeps your customers coming back? If you think about yourself as a customer of your favorite brands, why to you continue to patronize a particular company or brand? But more importantly, what causes you to abandon a product, service or brand? This happens for any number of reasons which may include, but not limited to:
It's critically important to know why customers leave, but it's equally important to understand why customers stay. Consider conducting a brief survey of all customers to ascertain their loyalty. This information can be very useful when determining how and when to make changes to your product or service line, if necessary, and when and how you should change your marketing strategy. Excerpted from, "The Start of Something BIG: Your Ultimate Guide to Writing a Dynamic Business Plan." What constitutes a "good" or "effective" leader versus a "bad" or "ineffective" one? Most of us at one time or another have had both. So, what in our past experiences, did we learn about being a leader? Regardless of how people define a good leader, the ability to communicate effectively, work within an established workplace framework and have a value system that is heavily based on just being a good human being is necessary.
Responding to the questions below can help you determine whether the leadership in your company is sufficiently knowledgeable and positioned to be effective in guiding the company's success:
Excerpted from, "The Start of Something BIG: Your Ultimate Guide to Writing a Dynamic Business Plan." Do "best friends" and "business" mix? It depends. Some say "yes", but many say "no." Business success greatly hinges on the ability for everyone within the organization to "get along." But that is not always the case. So what do you do to keep the "business" of the business at hand in the forefront? Here are some tips for making friendship (or family) relationships in business work:
Excerpted from, "The Start of Something BIG: Your Ultimate Guide to Writing a Dynamic Business Plan." You've just come up with a great product idea and want to make it a real product. Or you've seen a product and have figured out how to diversify, retrofit or make changes to create a new product. How is that done? You can utilize the services of product invention company or you can take all the many steps necessary for developing your product yourself.
If you are the innovative one who prefers to take the journey without assistance, here are just a few of the many questions you must answer in order to develop your product and bring it to market:
There are a multitude of issues that accompany the manufacture and production of a product of any kind. Depending on the nature of the product, there can also be uncontrollable factors such as economic, legal, social, technical or environmental that can affect its manufacture or production. So before striking out to bring a product to market, do your homework to ensure the cost of design, production and manufacture does not inhibit your ability to make a profit. Excerpted from, "The Start of Something BIG: Your Ultimate Guide to Writing a Dynamic Business Plan." Serving your customers in the best way possible is a very important part of doing business. For many products and services, customers have many, many choices. The success of your business hinges on repeat business from current customers and acquiring new customers on a regular basis. But if your customer is not satisfied for any reason at all (legitimate or not), you will certainly lose them. And there goes profits and eventually, your business.
Besides the sales or lack thereof, how do you provide the best customer service possible? To know this, you need to have a process that handles every aspect of customer satisfaction. The following are questions and issues you need to address in order to ascertain your customers' satisfaction and determine how better to meet their needs.
Excerpted from, "The Start of Something BIG: Your Ultimate Guide to Writing a Dynamic Business Plan." In order to dominate any market, it’s important that you know who and where your competitors are. Your marketing strategy should describe who the competition is, where the competition is, how the competition is currently meeting customer needs and at what price. This information can give you an idea of what it will take to acquire customers whose needs are being met elsewhere.
Answering the following questions will help you in determining what information you will need to know about your competition:
Excerpted from, "The Start of Something BIG: Your Ultimate Guide to Writing a Dynamic Business Plan." Once you’ve identified your target market, you will need to develop a PROMOTION strategy to build your brand and company image. This is accomplished via advertising, social media, electronic media, print media or public relations, or networking activities designed to inform, persuade and remind customers about your company and to buy your products/services. In developing promotion strategies and campaigns, determine:
Today, social media is the most popular and cost effective form of promotion. Costs are free or minimal, and regardless of the platform used (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, et al.) millions can be reached instantaneously, worldwide. And for those not embracing social media, email is used as widely by nearly every person in the world. It is understood that social media is not for everyone, but not employing a social media campaign in your business could easily mean lost revenue. Electronic media consists of paid television and radio advertisements. This is the most expensive form of mass selling. Print media, on the other hand, consists of paid advertisements via newspapers, magazines, external paid newsletters or billboards and is considered less expensive than electronic media. Publicity or public relations are a free form of promotion. It can take the form in either electronically or in print, in-house newsletters, press releases, attending networking events or speaking engagements. Excerpted from, "The Start of Something BIG: Your Ultimate Guide to Writing a Dynamic Business Plan." The Management Plan is a representation of the company’s principals, employees, temporary staff, outside professionals, contractors, subcontractors, freelancers, and their backgrounds, responsibilities and capabilities. It is the detailed structure of all the company’s human resources, compensation and benefits. As part of your business plan, include résumés, curriculum vitae, or employment/contract agreements for key personnel here or in the Appendix.
If you are just starting out in business, you will need to give serious consideration as to whether it’s necessary to hire employees. It may be more cost effective to simply use outside professionals. For permanent hires, however, make sure you are aware of and adhere to federal, state and local employment laws and regulations. That includes avoiding asking questions that cannot be asked legally in the interviewing process or after hiring. But either way, you need to be sure that roles, responsibilities and compensation are clearly defined and disseminated in writing. Components of a Management Plan include:
Excerpted from, "The Start of Something BIG: Your Ultimate Guide to Writing a Dynamic Business Plan." |
Author
Kimberly L. Johnson is an author and business development professional specializing in business start-up and business development. Archives
May 2018
|