Getting your business off the ground can be a daunting prospect. It requires careful planning and a consistent and continuous approach.
Here are our top tips for start-up businesses:
1. Get a marketing plan – Write a strategic marketing plan so you know where you are, where you want to get to and how you are going to do it. Then, don’t just use that to show your bank manager and then stash in a drawer somewhere, refer to it EVERY DAY!
Ask yourself the following questions…
2. Features and benefits of your product – Why should people buy your product or service? Put yourself in their shoes and ask, “what’s in it for me?”.
Will you save them time, money or hassle? Or, a combination of all three?
3 . Who are your customers? – Use surveys/focus groups to find out what potential customers want/need/want to see?
If you are targeting the consumer market (or, B2C as its called) – what age range/locations/gender?
If you are targeting the business market (B2B) – you could buy a targeted data list of businesses that fit your profile of the “ideal customer”. This could be by number of employees, location, market sector etc
4. Who are your competition? –What are their strengths and weaknesses? What is their pricing? Where are they positioned in market? Where are YOU positioned in the market?
5. How are you going to reach your potential customers? – This depends on your business….
High value goods will have a longer sales process. You will need to build careful relationships, help customers with the decision making process, be aware of their buying cycle timescales
If you are selling direct to end user you need to work out what is the best way of reaching them directly. This could be internet, adverts, leaflets etc
If you are selling through a distributor this will reduce your transportation and logistic costs, but you will need to build and manage your distributor network.
6. Build the hype! – Keep people posted on new products/services being launched. This could be through email campaigns, direct mail, web updates etc
Excite your customers/staff and suppliers! (Make sure staff are trained on all aspects of the product/service so they can deal with enquiries efficiently and convert them into sales)
7. Rinse and repeat – Promote your business, constantly! Keep in touch with existing customers whilst also looking for new ones. Your marketing should be a strong combination of tactics so that your brand is promoted across as many media as your target market consume.
If you are a start-up business and need some help with your marketing plans, or for a copy of our free marketing advice pack, then contact us!