Marketing

Is your product a commodity? As we think about the business that we are going to start or the new products/services we will be introducing into the market place, we should first evaluate where that business or product is positioned in the minds of the consumer. What is a commodity? A commodity is a product/service that the market place does not perceive has any differentiation.  They are alike, and it does not make any difference which is chosen.  It is the difference between a distinct brand and a generic. They all provide the same purpose and there is no difference in [...]

How to write a marketing plan In general, the Marketing Plan includes: Market Analysis Market Definition Customer Profile Competition Risk Sales Strategy Capital Requirements The Marketing Plan is the most important part of the business plan as it identifies if there is a need and if the entrepreneur wants to continue the business plan. It describes how a company will react and manage market conditions to generate sales. Its detail is: 1. The market definition and its opportunities Who are the customers What are the demographics and psychographics Prepare profiles of the potential customer Learn the lifestyle and priorities What is [...]

Are consultants good for you? After consulting for many years and working with a great deal of small business owners and not-for-profit organizations from startups to mature companies, I have come to the conclusion that most companies and not-for-profit organizations hire consulting-coaching firms without specific expectations of results or outcomes.  I try to understand the mentality of the decision makers of these firms.  The typical consulting firm charges anywhere from one thousand dollars a day to one thousand five hundred dollars a day.   I ask the clients I work with what is their expectation from spending this amount of money and [...]

MARKETING: GETTING A BANG FOR YOUR BUCK? Most small businesses that I work with have very little understanding of marketing.  Most think that marketing is advertising and of course this is not true.  Advertising, or Promotion, is a component of marketing but there are many other components of marketing such as Sales Promotion, Product/services that you are delivering, the Price that you are charging, where you are distributing the deliverables such as the Placement of the Product/services and of course let us not forget the People that are representing the company.  Notice we have just defined marketing from a 101 Marketing [...]