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SCORE Series: Marketing Plan

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<ul><li>Websites to have open for presentation </li></ul><ul><li>Weebly </li></ul><ul><li>Vacantlandguide.com </li></ul><ul><li>Facebook – megan altman </li></ul><ul><li>Move up identifying your customer </li></ul>Ideas for presentation

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<ul><li>Presenting products or services in such a way as to make them desirable </li></ul><ul><li>Focus on satisfaction of customer needs, wants, desires and requirements </li></ul><ul><li>The right product/service, in the right place, at the right time, at the right price </li></ul>What is Marketing?

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<ul><li>80-85% of buying decisions are made by women </li></ul><ul><li>Companies must recognize that today’s woman is the chief purchasing agent of the family </li></ul><ul><li>Serious about growing your business? You have to care about how women view your product or service </li></ul>Who Buys Most Products or Services?

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How Buying Decisions Are Influenced <ul><li>Left Brain – analyzes information. Incapable of decision making </li></ul><ul><li>Right Brain – makes final decision based on the facts </li></ul><ul><li>Ultimately emotional driver in the mind that makes the decision </li></ul>

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Identifying Your Customer <ul><ul><li>To market product or service, tailor efforts to segment of population most likely to buy from you </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>CRITICAL to clearly identify your primary customer market(s) </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Once primary customers found, you can better focus on marketing & advertising efforts </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Energies and funds can be spent more efficiently </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Web Article - “How to Identify a Target Market and Prepare a Customer Profile” http:// www.edwardlowe.org / </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Web Article – “Building a Customer Profile” http://www.technologystudent.com/despro2/cusproff.html </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>* Worksheet – “Customer Profile” </li></ul></ul>

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Analyzing Business Competition <ul><li>Why analyze? </li></ul><ul><li>It's critical to determine yours and your competitors strengths and weaknesses </li></ul><ul><li>To gain advantage over competition you must analyze their competitors. </li></ul><ul><li>Determine from your competitors: </li></ul><ul><li>Price </li></ul><ul><li>Product features </li></ul><ul><li>Convenience - closer to / faster for customer </li></ul><ul><li>Aggressive, effective marketing? </li></ul><ul><li>Types of customers served </li></ul><ul><li>Reputation </li></ul>

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Analyzing Business Competition <ul><li>Operational efficiencies </li></ul><ul><li>Staff (size and experience) </li></ul><ul><li>Their strengths & weaknesses </li></ul><ul><li>How they describe themselves </li></ul><ul><li>Links to competitors websites –contact websites to also link to your website </li></ul><ul><li>Phone or visit your competitor – what they offer & how much do they charge? </li></ul>

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Types of Business Competitors <ul><li>Direct competitors – companies similar to yours </li></ul><ul><li>National companies or franchises </li></ul><ul><li>Indirect competition – compete for same dollar but slightly different product/service </li></ul><ul><li>* Worksheet – “Identifying Your Business Competition” </li></ul>

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Where to Find Latest Research Info? <ul><li>The Reference desk at the Library! </li></ul><ul><li>Libraries have access to information not available on the Internet </li></ul><ul><li>Specifically trained to help you find info you need for free! </li></ul>

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<ul><li>Communicates the correct info </li></ul><ul><li>Conveys the right feeling </li></ul><ul><li>Won’t get dated quickly </li></ul><ul><li>Is easy to spell </li></ul><ul><li>Is easy to pronounce </li></ul><ul><li>Is memorable </li></ul>Naming Your Business

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<ul><li>Image that gives the public another way to remember you </li></ul><ul><li>Impacts some who are visual and some who are verbal </li></ul><ul><li>Target Logo – simple and elegant. Bulls eye suggests competitiveness, accuracy and efficiency – traits that shoppers and shareholders appreciate </li></ul>Memorable Logo

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Iconic (Symbol) Logos

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Words/Font Logos

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Word/Symbol (Combination) Logos

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Choosing a Business Font Two main factors when choosing a font for your company name & marketing 1. Is it legible (easy to re ad)? 2. Does it convey the right message? Article: “Top 100 Best Fonts of All Time” http://justcreativedesign.com/2009/03/04/the-top-100-best-fonts-of-all-time/

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Business Colors 1. Use company colors to tie all your marketing material together 2. Use color for impact and emphasis 3. Be consistent 4. Can trigger an emotional response 5. Creates a perception of what your company is about RED: Powerful, passion, love, heat & strength. Ex: Coca Cola YELLOW: Bright & optimistic. Suggests sunshine & warmth. Ex: McDonalds

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Business Colors BLUE: Safety, truth & dignity. Ex: GE GREEN: Growth & nature. Ex: Land Business PURPLE: Wealth, sophistication, intelligence Ex: Wachovia BROWN: Trust. Ex: UPS ORANGE: Warm & autumnal (Construction) BLACK: Strength and seriousness. Globally associated with death and mourning. WHITE: portrays purity, cleanliness & lightness.

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<ul><li>Short, zippy phrase that describes what you do for your target client </li></ul><ul><li>Tells customer an idea about your company </li></ul><ul><li>What customer can expect when they buy a product or service from you </li></ul><ul><li>It can include: </li></ul><ul><li>- Excellent customer service </li></ul><ul><li>- Quality of your products </li></ul><ul><li>- Pricing guarantee </li></ul>What’s a Tagline?

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<ul><li>The breakfast of champions </li></ul><ul><li>See what brown can do for you </li></ul><ul><li>Just Do It </li></ul><ul><li>Don’t leave home without it </li></ul><ul><li>Where shopping is a pleasure </li></ul><ul><li>The ultimate driving machine </li></ul><ul><li>The best part of wakin’ up </li></ul><ul><li>We bring good things to life </li></ul>Sample Taglines

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<ul><li>Know your target audience </li></ul><ul><li>What do you want your audience to think or say? </li></ul><ul><li>Brainstorm. Brainstorm. “Words mean things” </li></ul><ul><li>Tie it to your logo and other visuals </li></ul><ul><li>Simplify. Simplify. People remember simple slogans </li></ul><ul><li>Rewrite. Rewrite. One day you know you got it! </li></ul><ul><li>No longer than 6-8 words </li></ul>Creating a Winning Tagline

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Dos and Don’ts of a Winning Tagline 1. DO – collect other taglines 2. DO – start a list of your uniqueness 3. DON’T use hip taglines that only a few will understand 4. DON’T – make tagline too general 5. DO – mini-market research. Does tagline make sense to acquaintances and strangers? 6. DO – keep it short * Worksheet – “Creating Your Tagline”

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Features vs Benefits <ul><li>“ I want a hole not a drill” </li></ul><ul><li>Feature – a factual statement about your product or service </li></ul><ul><li>It's not the features that entice customers to buy </li></ul><ul><li>Benefit answers the question &quot;What's in it for me?&quot; – an emotional response </li></ul><ul><li>Features MATTER . Benefits make the sale! </li></ul>

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Features vs Benefits F: 50-number speed dial B: Keep in touch with customers without effort F: Open 24 hours B: Pregnant wife craves pickles a 4am, I wont have to disappoint her F: Car – all wheel drive B: Less likely to get stuck in the snow in winter If cust says &quot;so what?&quot; to getting stuck in snow then say: B: Ability to drive places other vehicles can’t

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Features vs Benefits <ul><li>You must know and understand your customer’s wants and desires </li></ul><ul><li>B: Focus on the results your customer will receive </li></ul><ul><li>B: You are &quot;delivering the dream&quot; or selling what your clients really want </li></ul><ul><li>B: Customer emotionally engages you and your product or service </li></ul><ul><li>* Worksheet – “Features vs Benefits” </li></ul><ul><li>* Worksheet – “Business Identity” </li></ul>

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<ul><li>Good visual, attractive design – grab their attention – first impressions are key </li></ul><ul><li>Users don’t read they SCAN </li></ul><ul><li>Don’t make user think – everything should be self explanatory & obvious </li></ul><ul><li>Keep it simple, easy to use </li></ul><ul><li>Don’t cram it too full of text and images </li></ul><ul><li>Meaningful content </li></ul>Website Basics

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<ul><li>“ 3 Clicks rule” – find any info with no more than 3 mouse clicks </li></ul><ul><li>Solid “about” page – people are curious who you are </li></ul><ul><li>Easy to find contact info </li></ul><ul><li>Sign up / subscribe feature </li></ul><ul><li>Statistics, Tracking and Analytics </li></ul>Website Basics

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<ul><li>Call to action – main reason you have a website! </li></ul><ul><li>Ultimately website compels visitor to take specific action </li></ul><ul><li>Examples of “call to action” </li></ul>Website Basics <ul><li>Make an online donation </li></ul><ul><li>Request an appointment </li></ul><ul><li>Purchase a product </li></ul><ul><li>Fill out a request form </li></ul><ul><li>Register for an event or program </li></ul><ul><li>Web Article – “Call to Action” </li></ul><ul><li>http://www.addicottweb.com/2009/09/your-websites-call-to-action-is-its-central-purpose/ </li></ul>

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<ul><li>www.weebly.com </li></ul><ul><li>www.sites.google.com </li></ul><ul><li>www.webs.com </li></ul><ul><li>www.freewebsites.com </li></ul><ul><li>www.yola.com – build website only </li></ul>Create & Host Your Website for Free!

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<ul><li>300 - 500 million active users </li></ul><ul><li>50% of active users log on daily </li></ul><ul><li>Average user spends more than 55 minutes per day </li></ul><ul><li>Less about selling and more about interacting </li></ul><ul><li>Social media – about building trust over time </li></ul>Utilizing Social Media

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<ul><li>Give reasons to become a fan </li></ul><ul><li>Once a fan – send periodic updates </li></ul><ul><li>Updates – giveaways, specials, events, contests, blogs or anything of interest </li></ul><ul><li>Keep content fresh </li></ul>Facebook Fans

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Facebook

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<ul><li>You can’t build a business if you’re sitting in your office by yourself. </li></ul><ul><li>Join an organization to help your business grow </li></ul><ul><li>Be part of the community or an industry </li></ul><ul><li>Entrepreneur Groups </li></ul><ul><li>Women’s Business Groups </li></ul><ul><li>Chamber of Commerce </li></ul><ul><li>Learn to develop your “elevator speech” (a short description of your services) </li></ul>Business Network

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Why Join an Association? <ul><li>Networking – need an attorney? Find a supplier? </li></ul><ul><li>Unite and inform those in same occupation </li></ul><ul><li>Keeps you abreast of current trends in your industry </li></ul><ul><li>Interaction of like-minded people </li></ul><ul><li>Moral and technical support </li></ul><ul><li>New Business </li></ul>

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<ul><li>Entrepreneur Groups – Chamber etc </li></ul><ul><li>Group-specific entrepreneur associations – women, minorities, faith-based etc </li></ul><ul><li>Civic – Rotary, Lions, Kiwanis </li></ul><ul><li>Online Groups – entrepreneurs congregate to share ideas surrounding their industry </li></ul><ul><li>Attend regularly, volunteer and serve on a committee to get the best value from the group </li></ul>Types of Groups to Join

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<ul><li>Business section of newspaper – calendar of events </li></ul><ul><li>Newspaper & websites list of civic groups </li></ul><ul><li>Small Business Development Center for list of entrepreneurial groups </li></ul><ul><li>Websites of women’s groups – National Assoc of Women’s Business Owners and Forum for Women Entrepreneurs </li></ul><ul><li>Websites of trade organizations </li></ul><ul><li>Chamber of Commerce directory </li></ul><ul><li>Web list of 37,000+ industry associations in the US </li></ul><ul><li>http:// www.planningshop.com /associations/ </li></ul>Where to Find Lists of Groups

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Should You Have a Business Phone Line? <ul><li>Skype </li></ul><ul><li>MagicJack </li></ul><ul><li>Google Voice </li></ul><ul><li>Lycos </li></ul><ul><li>Ooma </li></ul><ul><li>Vonage </li></ul><ul><li>Also monthly fee voice mail service for toll free numbers </li></ul>

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Low Cost Marketing Methods & Tools <ul><li>Business name and Tagline </li></ul><ul><li>Business cards </li></ul><ul><li>Flyers </li></ul><ul><li>Website </li></ul><ul><li>Facebook, Twitter, Blogging </li></ul><ul><li>Signage on your vehicle </li></ul><ul><li>Product samples </li></ul><ul><li>Small Business Networking Groups </li></ul><ul><li>Trade shows </li></ul><ul><li>Presentation material – PowerPoint and displays </li></ul><ul><li>Customer referrals </li></ul>

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Marketing Message <ul><li>Fulfills target customer needs </li></ul><ul><li>Identifies unique / key features & benefits </li></ul><ul><li>Can be CONSISTENTLY communicated in </li></ul><ul><li>ALL marketing materials & media </li></ul><ul><li>Shares your uniqueness </li></ul><ul><li>Brings together logo, font, color, tagline etc </li></ul><ul><li>Concise (NOT WORDY) message about your product or service that: </li></ul>Web Article – “5 Step Formula to Create Marketing Message” htttp://www.businessknowhow.com/marketing/mktgformula.htm Web Article – “13 Elements of a Winning Small Business Advertisement ” http://www.powerhomebiz.com/vol76/advertise.htm

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Marketing Message <ul><li>Every marketing campaign must be measurable and track able </li></ul><ul><li>Test everything you do. Don’t rely on yourself to determine if campaign effective </li></ul><ul><li>Your customer wants a long term relationship. How many times have you purchased a product and never heard from the vendor ever again? </li></ul><ul><li>Follow up email, phone, Facebook etc </li></ul><ul><li>Leads mean money. No follow up, no money! </li></ul><ul><li>Don’t automatically discount! </li></ul>

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Marketing Mix or The 4 P’s of Marketing Target Market

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<ul><li>Product’s physical features or service’s intangible aspects </li></ul><ul><li>Examples of Product Decisions to be made: </li></ul>Product Decisions <ul><li>What needs does product/service satisfy? </li></ul><ul><li>What features does it have meet these needs? </li></ul><ul><li>What benefits will they expect? </li></ul><ul><li>How and where will customer use it? </li></ul><ul><li>What does it look like? </li></ul><ul><li>How will customers experience it? </li></ul><ul><li>What is it to be called? </li></ul><ul><li>How is it different vs the competitor? </li></ul><ul><li>Quality </li></ul><ul><li>Safety </li></ul><ul><li>Packaging </li></ul><ul><li>Warranty </li></ul><ul><li>Repairs and Support </li></ul><ul><li>Accessories and Services </li></ul>

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Price Decisions <ul><li>Amount customer pays for the product/service </li></ul><ul><li>Examples of Price Decisions to be made include: </li></ul><ul><li>What is the value of product/service to the customer? </li></ul><ul><li>Are there established price points for products/service? </li></ul><ul><li>Is the customer price sensitive? Will a small decrease in price gain you extra market share? </li></ul><ul><li>How will your price compare with your competitors? </li></ul><ul><li>Discounts and wholesale pricing </li></ul><ul><li>Cash and early payment discounts </li></ul><ul><li>Seasonal pricing </li></ul><ul><li>Financing and leasing option </li></ul>

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<ul><li>Getting the product/service to the customer </li></ul><ul><li>Examples of Place Decisions include: </li></ul>Place (Location) Decisions <ul><li>Where to sell the product </li></ul><ul><li>Where are the customers and how to get to them </li></ul><ul><li>Where do buyers look for your product/service? </li></ul><ul><li>“Channels of distribution&quot; - the different middlemen you use to get the product out to the customer </li></ul><ul><li>How to access the right distribution channels? </li></ul><ul><li>Market coverage (inclusive, selective, or exclusive distribution) </li></ul><ul><li>What do your competitors do, and how can you be different than them? </li></ul><ul><li>Do you need to use a sales force? </li></ul><ul><li>Inventory management </li></ul><ul><li>Warehousing </li></ul><ul><li>Order processing </li></ul><ul><li>Transportation </li></ul>

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Promotional Decisions <ul><li>Marketing message </li></ul><ul><li>Where and when to communicate your marketing message(s) to your target market? </li></ul><ul><li>How will you reach your audience? Internet? Direct mail? TV? Radio or Billboards etc? </li></ul><ul><li>Marketing budget </li></ul><ul><li>Advertising </li></ul><ul><li>Personal selling & sales force </li></ul><ul><li>When is the best time to promote? </li></ul><ul><li>How do your competitors do their promotions? How does that influence your promotional choices? </li></ul><ul><li>Public relations & publicity </li></ul><ul><li>Telling the customer about the product/service to generate a positive customer response </li></ul><ul><li>Examples of Promotional Decisions include: </li></ul>

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<ul><li>Start-up Basics </li></ul><ul><li>Business Concept </li></ul><ul><li>Marketing Plan </li></ul><ul><li>Financial Projections </li></ul><ul><li>Funding Sources & Next Steps </li></ul>Session 2 Session 3 Session 4 Session 5 Testing Your Business Idea Session 1   