Yes, You Really Do Need A Marketing PlanWritten by Leslie Guria
So you’ve gotten your business going. You have a customer or two. The phone is ringing…a little. For any business to grow and prosper long-term, it needs a solid foundation that includes a marketing plan. A marketing plan is a road map detailing “route” you’ll take to get your business noticed by potential clients. By following a properly crafted plan, you’ll know what to do and why you’re doing it, while avoiding some of mistakes that can cost you money and future growth. “If You Build It, They Won’t Necessarily Come” The first part of any marketing plan is a basic understanding of your market, competition and whether or not an opportunity exists for your product or service. My first business venture was to make very expensive looking floral wreathes. All my friends and neighbors had them on their front doors and I knew I paid $100 for mine, so why not make and sell them myself! What I didn’t consider is that I have expensive taste and in order to make a profit, my wreaths were priced significantly higher than local craft store. If I were in a more affluent area, it may have worked, but not here. I started business on a hunch and didn’t truly know my market or competition. Had I done my research, I may have used lower cost materials, made less elaborate products, sold them in a different area or skipped venture all together. What I learned is that my opinion combined with my friend’s opinions is not a strong enough basis to launch a business. “No, I’m Not Going to Stop for Directions.” When starting a business you generally know where you want to end up and you might have a vague idea of how to get there, but what if you get lost? A marketing plan is like a road map or corner gas station used as a reference tool to keep your marketing on track. If you run into “construction traffic”, a properly developed plan will offer options to keep you motivated, organized and headed in right direction. “I Want to Rule World… Or Do I?” Do you want a home based business with one or maybe two employees or a large firm with several hundred? How do you feel about travel, making cold calls, Internet, can you type? How fast do you want to grow and do you have resources to keep up with growth? Your goals as a business entity will dictate how and to whom you market. My second business venture was a used toy business. I hit every garage sale within 10 miles of my home and bought all of solid plastic toys I could find. I also put up signs at day care centers offering to buy used toys directly from parents. My goal was to have my own garage sales business and earn a profit on toys I had bought.
| | Insurance and Financial Services Sales TacticsWritten by Sharron Senter
If you sell insurance, financial services and like, consider following low-cost marketing strategies to help grow your small business. It's important to first acknowledge some of natural barriers to acquiring new clients within insurance and financial services industries. These include, but are not limited to, customers lacking knowledge about your products and, therefore, lacking ability to ask questions, and customers afraid of being ripped off. Unfortunately, insurance and financial salespeople often carry same stigma as used car salespeople. And I'm certain there are some great and honest used car dealers around. It's important to recognize this stigma so you can proactively address it in your marketing plan. Ultimately, to grow your business within insurance and financial services industries you must strive to build an incredible reputation, built on a platform of reliability, honesty and product knowledge. I also encourage you to be very straightforward about your pricing and how you make your money. The fact is, your customer wants to know. Surprise them, and tell them upfront. Here are some marketing strategies to try. -- First, try teaming up with complementary professionals, such as estate attorneys, business attorneys, financial planners, etc. You'll receive referral business faster from such businesses for two reasons. One, their customers are currently utilizing services for "future" occurrences. Hence, your prospect is already in mindset of planning and spending for future. You now become another product they need to consider for future. Second, there's an implied trust between an estate attorney and her customers. If an estate attorney referred her customers to you, that customer would be more likely to do business with you, than if he/she had simply seen your print ad in a local newspaper. -- Launch a publicity campaign For example, consider submitting a story idea to your local media about, "The Fallacies of Long-term Care Insurance. Who Needs It? What is it? Insider Secrets to Buying Most Comprehensive Plan." I can't stress this next point enough; you must be objective when interviewing for such a story. When being interviewed by media, it's not a chance to "sell" yourself; rather, it's an opportunity to express your knowledge and expertise, and help readers use your knowledge to their benefit. If they like what you have to say, they'll contact you. -- Consider facilitating a bimonthly workshop(s) at your local library or community center called, "The Insider's Point of View to Long-term Care Insurance. Who Needs It, Who Doesn't?" Or, "Age & Long-term Care Insurance, When's The Right Time?" The workshop tactic is becoming slightly overused. However, I think it's still a very powerful marketing tool. Plus, it's affordable. You simply need to be more imaginative with your topics and headlines. -- Try creating a "Long-term Care Insurance Top 10," fact sheet. It should include detailed content about ins and outs of selecting long-term care insurance, i.e., why, why not? Who qualifies and what are estimated costs? Distribute your fact sheet to prospects, press and various public bulletins, such as library, town hall, Post Office, colleges, doctor and attorney offices, etc. When you're selecting bulletin boards, stick to professional looking boards, rather than just catch-alls. The latter will reduce your professionalism. Some bulletin boards give off impression, "What would she know; she's advertising on a bulletin board." On fact sheet, you're not selling yourself; instead, you're selling benefits/solutions of long-term care insurance with your bio at bottom. If you've done a comprehensive and professional job, readers will contact you.
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