Home | Business | Marketing
Mistakes are part of doing business and employees make them daily. Factors such as the size of the business, the number of associates, and a failure of management to review progress within departments. You will have to recognize and address marketing strategies if you are to avoid making the easy mistakes. No Marketing Plan It is rare that a small business owner will actually make a marketing plan. This is because most small businesses are started with precious little capital and the concern over a marketing strategy is nonexistent. To succeed, it is imperative to any business that a marketing plan be devised. It is like taking a map with you on that road trip across the country. You would not want to get lost, would you? Running a business without a marketing plan is a recipe for failure. You have to separate the various marketing elements and craft a plan designed for success and you will eliminate the fear of failure. Ignoring the Market Who, what, where, and when are the questions you should ask yourself. Failing to analyze the market is quite common. The target market needs to be within reasonable reach. If not, you're heading for disaster. You want to know who will be buying your company's services or products. You will need a list of the demographics of your target audience. You also need to know where your potential customers are also where your competition has its customer base. If your company depends on traffic from the street, you will want to know about the area immediately surrounding your business. "What" is a reference to any potential limits. Location will always be a huge factor. Knowing the location of your competition's customer base is great because then you will know if there are any limitations that need to be addressed. Products and Services that Interchange It is not uncommon for business owners to go from one endeavor to the next without being specific. People become confused when this happens because they do not know precisely what kind of products or services are actually being sold. Such business consider themselves "full service" providers for the customer and while this might generate more profits it cannot help but confuse the customer. No Business Plan Marketing 101-"Don't begin a business without a Business Plan!" A business plan built on the promises and actions of others is doomed. The "dream" needs to be real and believable. Each step should be calculated and achieved by the efforts of one person - you. The company needs a foundation built upon the owners experience and knowledge. Not Responding to Customer Needs In the fast pace of today's business professional, an immediate response from the provider is expected. A slow response leads only to a loss of business. Take the holidays for example. A customer in a hurry jogs into a department store and cannot believe that there are at least fifty people or more waiting in line to be helped. A. Does he wait patiently in line for his turn? B. Will the manager open up another line? Clearly, the right thing is B. To keep the customers from bolting towards the competition, the manager should open up another line. You are less likely to commit marketing errors once you are aware of them. Review your basic strategies on a monthly basis to check for chinks in your armor. You might even consider spending the money for a business consultant to come in and help you iron out all of the details. Such an investment may well prove worthwhile in the long run.
Article Source: Free Articles - http://www.articlesworldonline.com
Vlad Ehrsam is the chief writer for, and editor of Full Info on Business, there's a wealth of knowledge on the website, plus while you're there sign up for the free newsletter. Don't reprint this article. Instead, reprint a free unique content version of this same article.
Please Rate this Article
5 out of 54 out of 53 out of 52 out of 51 out of 5
Not yet Rated
