When thinking about a marketing plan for a new business, it is important to keep the basics in mind. Just the right amount of flavor and spice can really touch base with your customers. When developing your marketing strategy, there are four items to consider; Branding, Promotions, Materials, and THE PLAN.
1. Branding – When you think of Brand Identity, what’s the first image that comes to mind? I always think of the Nike swoosh. Determine the message you are trying to get across. Figure out what your company looks like, sounds like, feels like, etc. Most importantly, make sure the message will be received by your audience. In addition, you need to develop a list of keywords and catch phrases that coincide with your brand. Use your keywords throughout your website to optimize yourself at the top of the search engines. Keywords such as “Checklist for Starting a New Business” or “Steps to Starting a Small Business.”
2. Promotions – Begin to figure out free or discounted items to give to the general public. Use your promotions in your materials and in your overall marketing plan. For example, you may offer a free sample to promote your product. By the way, this might be an excellent way to start gathering information like email addresses to build your database.
3. Materials – Once you have your branding and promotional items, you can develop your marketing materials such as brochures, business cards, and website. Use the colors, design, and messages from your branding to put together meaningful marketing materials. You want to see something cool? Check out Axis41.com for an example of transposing branding into company materials. You definitely get what you pay for here.
4. THE PLAN – Make a plan as to how you will market yourself. Determine the best methodologies to get your message out. Determine the style that will be most effective when fishing for new customers. Will you throw the nets out and market yourself through interrupt advertising? What about Hub Marketing which is more of a bait fishing strategy. Maybe harpooning works best for you by targeting to a database. Your plan is largely dependent on your target market research.
Tags: bait fishing, branding, checklist for starting a business, marketing, promotions, search engine, small business advertising, system for marketing
