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How Is Your Business Different?
Creating a marketing and business plan
for a small business can at times seem like an overwhelming
task for a new business owner. Yet, it need not be.
A business plan is simply a formal statement that contains
a set of business goals; and a marketing plan outlines
the necessary actions which the business needs to take
in order to achieve its marketing objectives.
In order to properly construct a marketing
or business plan, small business owners should ask themselves
some simple questions: How is your business different?
What value do you provide? In what areas does your company
excel? What is your expertise, or the expertise of your
staff? What are your strengths? And equally important,
what are your businesses weaknesses? What image does
your company portray? Is the image truly reflective
of your strengths?
Honestly answering such critical questions
will help a business owner understand their business
strengths and allow them to develop a business and marketing
plan. Invariably, attempting to be everything to everyone
is bound to fail. A component of a solid marketing plan
is building brand and corporate identity. When creating
a brand and company identity, consider how the business
is different from others. A business should not try
to portray itself as something that it is not -- highlight
the business strengths, and emphasize those strengths
while building your business brand. A company identity
will help consumers define your brand, which is how
the company is perceived by consumers. In order to help
influence the company image, it is a business owners
job to convey how their business is different. This
can be referred to as a unique selling proposition.
It is a business owners job to make their
customers aware of the benefits to working with their
company. In effect, it is their job to help customers
make an educated purchasing decision. Provide information
on all aspects of your expertise, from company background
to return policies. Small businesses can build consumer
confidence by providing information related to all aspects
of the small business. This information will help potential
customers recognize your company as a serious business.
It is also a small business owners job
to reassure customers and to make them aware of any
advantages to working with the company. For example,
if a small business excels at customer service, add
an email tagline that conveys the business' commitment
to customer satisfaction. Likewise, if all the businesses
products are handmade, add a slogan to the logo that
indicates that.
Just as each individual person is unique,
so is each and every small business. Some businesses
are defined by their unique differences. When developing
a business and marketing plan, it is important to have
a clear understanding of the businesses focus and how
the business differs from its competitors. Once a small
business owner has assessed the strengths and weaknesses
of their business, they can then begin to construct
a plan of action that will establish and build on their
corporate identity.
About the Author:
Sharon Housley manages marketing for FeedForAll http://www.feedforall.com
software for creating, editing, publishing RSS feeds
and podcasts. In addition Sharon manages marketing for
RecordForAll http://www.recordforall.com
audio recording and editing software.
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copy of the issue or a link to any online posting would
be greatly appreciated send an email to sharon@notepage.net
.
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