Free Website Content - 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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This article may be used freely in opt-in
publications and websites, provided that the resource box
is included and the links are active. A courtesy copy of
the issue or a link to any online posting would be greatly
appreciated send an email to sharon@notepage.net
.
Additional articles available for publication available
at http://www.small-business-software.net/free-website-content.htm
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