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 <<NAWBO Advice
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The last step in your marketing preparations is putting all of the above in writing. A is an articulation of your market position and marketing strategy. As with your business plan, the act of writing a marketing plan is nearly as important as the finished product. "Without a marketing plan, you can become unfocused and go everywhere," Darragh says. "Thinking it through and putting it in writing can keep you focused and help you say with confidence, 'Here are my markets, and this is where I can put the minimum investment and get maximum return.'"
Even if you've already written a to be included in your larger business plan, take time now to expand it and detail your specific goals and strategies. The form and style of marketing plans vary, but most provide a detailed, one-year blueprint for a company's marketing efforts. At a minimum, your plan should include some variation of the following:
Perhaps the most important component of your plan is the evaluation. Most likely, you'll have a mix of strategies, and Darragh recommends evaluating each one on an individual and recurring basis, rather than waiting until year's end to review the strategy as a whole. If something's not working, you need to know as early as possible so you can abandon the effort and retool your plan.
The strategies you detail in your plan and then employ in practice obviously will vary depending on your product, industry, and target customer. But no matter what mix of marketing tools you choose, chances are you don't have a ton of money to spend on them. "Guerilla marketing" is a term for using innovative and inexpensive ways to market your product; by definition, most of your efforts likely will fall in this category. Here are some guerilla tips and tactics to jump-start your marketing campaign.
Many use direct-mail campaigns to build awareness and recruit customers. Whether you're sending a sales letter, brochure, coupon, or catalog, the advantage of direct mail is that it puts your marketing message directly in the hands of your target customer. If you think subscribers to a particular magazine or members of a certain professional organization would be interested in your product, rent that group's mailing list. If you need help finding publications relevant to your product or service, check out Media Finder (www.mediafinder.com), a free online database of more than 70,000 periodicals, including newsletters, journals, directories, and catalogs. You can search by category to find a listing of appropriate publications, then contact them directly to inquire about their mailing list.
Another option is to use a professional list broker, who can provide you with a list based on your requested demographics and specifications. Brokers typically charge per 1,000 names and require a minimum purchase of several thousand names. That number may seem large, but because the response rate for direct mail is typically about 2 percent, experts say you should plan on mailing to several thousand people to make it worth your effort. Consumer list rentals range from $50 to about $200 per thousand names, but a business-to-business list will cost you more and could put you back several thousand dollars. Brokers' fees typically include pre-addressed mailing labels. To learn more about direct mail, visit the Direct Marketing Association, at www.the-dma.org, or the United States Postal Service Direct Mail site, at www.usps.com/direct mail.
To get the most from your direct-mail campaign, make it easy for the recipient to respond. Include your contact information on every page, and don't ever send anything out without a call to action. For example, include a coupon, or "Act now and save 10 percent," or "Call now for more information," etc. Also, try unconventional mailings. For example, a postcard will stand out from many other solicitations and may be more likely to grab someone's attention.
A good public-relations campaign can give your company exposure you can't afford to buy. For example, you probably can't afford to buy an ad in the New York Times , but if your company is mentioned in one of its news stories (as Corcoran's was), you instantly gain exposure and credibility. Corcoran grabbed editors' attention--and made their job easy--by providing them with ready-to-use statistics and facts about the New York real-estate market. The key to Corcoran's success was that she didn't overtly promote her company or services. Instead, she offered newsworthy information and, in so doing, established herself as an expert in the field. Her market position changed overnight because of her PR efforts.
Sending a press release is one of the easiest and cheapest ways to generate publicity for your company. Before you sit down to write a release, however, make sure you're not confusing PR with advertising. A press release that is purely promotional is never going to get picked up. The key to getting your name, or your company's name, in print is to offer something of value. The launch of your new product could be newsworthy, or maybe you've spotted an industry trend. Can you put a local spin on a national story? Reporters are busy, and often lazy. Make sure your press release is succinct and includes the who, what, when, where, and why. Throw in some quotes that the editors can pull directly from the release, and you might find yourself reading your own words in tomorrow's paper. Or consider publishing a newsletter like Corcoran's Corcoran Report, or a resource guide with industry definitions and terms. Again, if you offer value, you're more likely to be taken seriously and become someone the reporter or editor calls upon in the future.
To increase the chances of your press release being picked up, make sure you send it to the appropriate people. Compile a list of publications and other media relevant to your company, such as local newspapers, television and radio stations, business journals, industry journals, chamber of commerce newsletters, and trade association newsletters, magazines, and websites. Next, determine which reporter or editor at each media source should receive your press release. Is there a reporter assigned to your industry? Does every press release go to the managing editor? Does the editor prefer faxed or e-mailed releases? Make a few calls to learn about the publication and ensure that your press release doesn't end up in the garbage. And once you've sent your press release, don't you throw it away either. Even if it never gets published, it's still an effective marketing piece. Post it on your website and include it in your next direct-mail campaign.
Press releases are just one type of PR. Another low-cost way to promote your company is to submit bylined articles and columns to publications. Many industry and association journals operate on shoestring budgets and welcome unpaid submissions. By writing authoritatively on a topic relevant to your company, you gain exposure and establish yourself as a trustworthy and knowledgeable source. Again, make sure your column or article is useful and not promotional. Editors and readers alike can see through a thinly veiled sales pitch, and will be turned off instantly.
Par Excellence is the respected voice amidst the chatter of other women's magazine titles. In Par Excellence top female executives share information on all the topics that their counterparts crave, including networking, executive coaching, mentoring, financial planning and financial strategies for women, fashion, technology, marketing trends, family, healthy lifestyle, success strategies, diversity & inclusion and much, much more.
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