| |
| |
|
Marketing Information |
|
|
|
How To Successfully Launch A New Business Activity
I often talk with business owners who tell me how excited they are about a new product or service they are offering ...or a new business they are launching. Their comments usually include something like, "Everybody needs this. I know I'm going to make a lot of money with it." They sincerely believe it will be easy to generate hordes of paying customers for their new venture. Unfortunately, it's not going to happen that way. Building a profitable business is hard work ...and most of that work has to be devoted to finding customers. Finding the number of paying customers necessary to meet the financial goals of a business can be a tough challenge. To do it successfully, you need to follow a proven, detailed strategy. By trial and error over many years, I developed the following simple 5 step process that enables me to successfully launch a new product or service almost every time. You can copy this same proven process to successfully launch your own new business activity. Step 1: Identify Your Market Determine who gains the greatest benefit from your product or service. Concentrate on reaching them instead of trying to reach a broadly defined general market. Start by defining your ideal customer or client in writing. List all of the characteristic s you would expect to find in good customers. Be sure to include qualities that make your product or service especially valuable to them. Analyze this list to identify your market ...and define it in writing. Step 2: Find Your Most Appealing Customer Benefit Exactly what is the most compelling problem you can solve for prospects in your targeted market? Why is your product or service the best solution to their problem? The answers to these 2 questions reveal the customer benefit(s) you need to stress in your sales approach. Step 3: Develop A Few Motivating Offers Develop 2 or 3 offers that motivate prospects to buy immediately. For example, can you use a special discounted price offer with a deadline? Are there bonuses you can add if prospects order or sign up before the deadline? Can you combine both into a "special price plus bonus" offer? Decide which offer on your list is the most powerful. Use it in your sales material and/or your selling presentation. Tip: A special offer providing obvious value automatically boosts your sales. It's a proven way to overcome buyer resistance and procrastination. It also provides a logical reason in the buyer's mind to justify what may actually be an impulsive decision to buy. Step 4: Decide How to Publicize Your Business How will you introduce yourself to the prospects in your market? Will you use classified or display ads in print publications or on the Internet? Will you use direct mail? Is broadcast media such as radio or TV appropriate ...and cost-effective? What networking can you participate in locally or on the Internet to draw attention to your business? Are there ways you can get some unpaid publicity? What other methods of promotion can you use? Prioritize each method on your list and develop an action plan with deadlines for implementing them. Step 5: Establish a Plan to Promote Customer Loyalty Decide what you will do to cultivate customers so they continue to do business with you ...and give you referrals. For example, write or call your customers or clients immediately after a transaction and thank them for their business. Ask them if they're pleased with what they received. Most will express their satisfaction. (That's an ideal time to ask for referrals.) Tip: Don't be afraid to uncover unhappy customers. When you do, take whatever action you must to make them feel good. Most dissatisfied customers won't contact you about their problem. They just take their business elsewhere ...and tell as many other people as they can about their negative experience - costing you a lot of future business. This 5 step marketing process replaces guesswork with proven procedures that get results. Use it the next time you want to successfully introduce a new product or a new service. You can even use it to successfully launch a new business ...or to revive an existing business that is not growing. Copyright 2005 Bob Leduc Bob Leduc spent 20 years helping businesses like yours find new customers and increase sales. He just released a New Edition of his manual, How To Build Your Small Business Fast With Simple Postcards ...and launched *BizTips from Bob*, a newsletter to help small businesses grow and prosper. You'll find his low-cost marketing methods at: http://BobLeduc.com or call: 702-658-1707 After 10 AM Pacific Time/Las Vegas, NV
MORE RESOURCES:
B2B Marketing Leader, Televerde, Executive to Judge National Business Awards ... - Houston Chronicle
Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Marketing From Both Sides Of The Ball In the world of business, marketing is often conveyed as a game. It is not uncommon to hear or read of a company "playing the marketing game" or "establishing a marketing game plan". Coupons that Work Turn a coupon into a business card (or vice versa).Coupons are seen everywhere; you clip them from the newspaper to save on groceries, you get them in the mail to save on brand name items, you even get packages in the form of booklets delivered to your door. Is It Time To Revisit Your Marketing Strategy? Small & Mid Sized Business owners, have you revisited your marketing strategy lately? Your Marketing ROI? Some of you have spent this past year just trying to get by-maintaining the web site, sending out occasional press releases, attending various networking events. Yes, you've endured our slow-to-grow economy, but how far have you deviated from your marketing strategy in order to survive? And to correct your approach, what new marketing programs should you add and what should you do first?Simplify what seems like an overwhelming task by asking the following questions:1. Marketing Tips - Ten Quick Marketing Actions It is often difficult to manage to do marketing tasks when you have a busy business or professional practice. Here are 10 ideas each of which take 5 or 10 minutes and can be done between appointments or when you take a break from working on a large project. Online Advertising Versus Traditional Media Advertising Before I compare today's online advertising with traditional media advertising I will make an analogy.If you've been on the Internet for as long as I have, you probably noticed that things have changed dramatically. Mortgage Marketing - What Your Client Wants Your business depends on the success of your marketing efforts. If your marketing works, you'll get rich. The 5 Minute Marketing Plan If I were to ask you right now, what marketing tactics have you used, umm, say in the last month, could you tell me?Chances are you probably could rattle them off quickly enough.Now, say if I asked you if you knew the results those tactics brought. Sell More Online By Offering a Big Fat BONUS! I don't know about you, but I secretly love watching infomercials. I enjoy dissecting how they sell, how they get people excited, how they entice people to take action now and pick up the phone and order something they completely don't need!As you know, these programs always offer a huge bonus or multiple bonuses for people who buy. Time for A Marketing Tune-up If you have been in business any length of time, I can assure you that habits, not conscious thought, are guiding your marketing actions. Many business people are great optimists, or they probably wouldn't have gotten into the game to begin with. 5 Tips to Heat Up Your On-Line Marketing Using Off-Line Tactics The internet of course brings a huge arena of marketing opportunities for you. The ability to do business with people around the world has now been made readily available through a web site and email. Using Purchased Leads A little advice about using leads that you purchase from another source;These are not opt-in leads per-say, that you have gathered using lead capture pages.They might join your list, but initially this is a whole different animal. The Power of Thank You Sometimes we loose site of the small things in life that are incredibly important. As a child growing up in America, most people are taught from a very young age to say Thank You in appreciation of a courtesy extended by someone. Getting Personal - Innovative Marketing for Small Business Owners The small business marketing strategy you can't afford to miss Everyone loves a story. Even if you don't particularly like reading them chances are you love watching them, either on TV or at the movies. Client Attraction Technique #1: Niche Marketing When asked "what business are you in" many business owners often identify an industry, for example, "I'm an accountant" or "I run a beauty salon " or "I own a restaurant." But claiming to be part of an industry is not what attracts customers. Overview on Qualitative Data Collection Techniques in International Marketing Research This article is meant to be a brief review and reminder of some valuable yet often bypassed techniques to collect data on international markets and consumers.When thinking of market research, surveys are most likely the first technique that comes to ones mind. The Future of Marketing Part 1 It used to be if you were a small business, you were at a distinct disadvantage with your marketing compared to the bigger companies.No more. T.E.A.M Profit As you network and meet other business owners, keep this philosophy in mind: "Together Everyone Achieves More Profit"Remember this when you meet someone with a business that serves your target market. Think about how each of you can work together to achieve more and grow your businesses. Dramatically Improve Your Marketing Results With These 6 Simple Steps What if there were things you could start doing now that could help you to market more successfully in the future? Even if you didn't have your marketing act together over the past year. Well, there are. Marking Your Territory We all know the familiar adage "if it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck.. The Name Game Pop quiz! If you have to say goodbye to your hard earned money to purchase something you've always wanted, who would you rather trust: an unknown provider or one who has an established name in the industry?The answer to that question shows how important branding has become in recent years. And consequently, brand building has taken an equal significance.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
