When Bill and I meet with a new client for any kind of online marketing work, we have a series of questions we ask. About three quarters of the time we are met with blank stares. We understand. It’s like when you were in school and the teacher would ask, “Who are YOU?”. WE could tell him our name, where we lived, but as we stood there, red faced, that was all we could come up with. It’s a difficult question to answer.
Without answering that question however, you could be sending out messages to all of the wrong people. If you are a landscaping services, then sending flyers to the residents in an apartment complex is probably a waste of money. Most complexes are filled with people who don’t need landscaping services.
If you are a car ride service that caters to Seniors who no longer wish to drive, then putting out an advertisement which will reach mostly twenty somethings will also be waste of your money. It is important now more than ever to have a message which will resonate with YOUR target market.
It is also important that you have a website that shows up on Google for the search terms people will most likely use when looking for your services. We aren’t the only website and social media providers who are going to tell you this. All manner of successful businesses have done studies which show these things are not just important, but vital to your success. From Business News Daily:
“Psychographics
A typical business plan will discuss a company’s target market, usually in terms of demographic information such as age, gender and income level. However, businesses should consider looking even further to define their target customers by factors such as lifestyle, needs and desires, said Amber Goodenough, co-founder of fourfour media, a Web design and development company.
“Psychographics ― customer values, lifestyles, habits and interests ― give you a deeper insight into your customers’ needs, wants and frustrations, which then helps you create products and services that really meet those needs and solve their problems,” Goodenough said. “The better you do that, the more money you make.”
A social media strategy
As social media remains a dominant force in online marketing and customer engagement, a business plan needs to highlight how the company will use social media to its strategic advantage, said Stephanie Ciccarelli, co-founder and chief brand officer at Voices.com, an online marketplace that connects businesses with voice-over talent.
“No business plan should be without a section dedicated to the use of [social media] as part of their marketing efforts and channel for supporting and engaging customers,” Ciccarelli said. “These efforts may also tap into a company’s advertising, search engine optimization and customer service efforts.”
To summarize, KNOW who you want to market to, KNOW what they are looking for, KNOW what makes you unique, and use social media and blogging to get the word out.
social-cindy
Spread the word..
– See more at: http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/3313-business-plan-templates.html#sthash.puibiUoS.dpuf
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