Marketing is the key to business success, because marketing drives revenues.
No matter how well run your business is, without sales there is no business. So the focus on the marketing plan is critically important. For those who want to know more, read Kotler. He presents marketing in a simple to understand format.
Marketing is best when it is proactive rather than reactive. The purpose is to get ahead of your competitors by creating competitive advantage. This means knowing and understanding your competitors extremely well. Do you know yours? Do you know how they will react to your efforts to gain market share? How can you gain market share without creating a war with your competitors? Therefore we will look at different aspects of marketing over a period of time.
Marketing is such a deep subject that it is impossible to discuss in depth in a weekly blog. Start reading Kotler and Michael Porter. Understand the use of Ansoffs model together with Kotlers synergy rules and the BCG matrix.
Marketing is not difficult and complex, to the extent that it cannot be done by the SME owner. It is simply that it requires full attention in an ongoing manner. It is not something that happens on its own, but requires constant attention and tweaking to meet changing circumstances.
Showing posts with label marketing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label marketing. Show all posts
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
SMEs - that recession needs more attention than you thought
The recession is an event that forces businesses to review many aspects of the business. Unfortunately, many businesses see this as a an opportunity to cut staff and expenses. As stated before, you cannot save your way out of trouble, you have to sell your way out.
However sales is a part of the marketing function, and marketing should be reviewed extremely carefully. The intention of the review practice is not to try and reduce marketing costs, but rather to evaluate how the marketing budget is spent.
Do not reduce your marketing efforts. During a recession it is critical that you maintain your marketing efforts. I recently had a discussion with a retailer who was marketing using newspaper advertising. He had no idea who the target markets were for each newspaper, and consequent to our discussions and his subsequent investigations, he found that he was advertising in the wrong newspaper.
So do a careful review of the marketing channels you are using. Evaluate your systems for assessing the success of each advertisement and ensure that the advertisements are having the desired and intended effect. Are the advertisements designed to achieve their intended goal? Is it a brand building advertisement or is it intended to generate sales? Do you know and is it appropriate? Make every spend work for you!
Dr Rob Smorfitt
However sales is a part of the marketing function, and marketing should be reviewed extremely carefully. The intention of the review practice is not to try and reduce marketing costs, but rather to evaluate how the marketing budget is spent.
Do not reduce your marketing efforts. During a recession it is critical that you maintain your marketing efforts. I recently had a discussion with a retailer who was marketing using newspaper advertising. He had no idea who the target markets were for each newspaper, and consequent to our discussions and his subsequent investigations, he found that he was advertising in the wrong newspaper.
So do a careful review of the marketing channels you are using. Evaluate your systems for assessing the success of each advertisement and ensure that the advertisements are having the desired and intended effect. Are the advertisements designed to achieve their intended goal? Is it a brand building advertisement or is it intended to generate sales? Do you know and is it appropriate? Make every spend work for you!
Dr Rob Smorfitt
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
SMEs - business planning and the format (2/2007)
There has been some discussion on the topic of whether a business plan is necessary. but the real issue in mond mind is only one of whether to document the business plan or not. However, whether you believe a business plan should be in writing or not, you still need a format to work to.
A wide variety of formats exists but the one I have found covers all the critical success factors in business is as follows. This is the one I use and teach my clients and students when lecturing.
* Business model
* PESTEL analysis
* SWOT analysis
* Marketing plan
* Human resources plan
* Financial plan
* Harvest plan
Business model - How will this business make it's core profit. It helps to keep the business focused on the key areas and not get distracted.
PESTEL analysis is the external environments which we need to understand, in order to know what their impact on our business might be. They must be considered in the local, regional, continental and global context. The acronym applies to the Political, Economic, Social and cultural, Technological, Environmental and Legislative environments.
SWOT analysis is the internal analysis of the entrepreneur's and the businesses Strengths and Weaknesses, and then using them to consider how the environmental issues will impact negatively as a Threat or positively as an Opportunity for the business.
Marketing plan is the plan on how to grow your business. Read Philip Kotler for more assistance on this subject.
Human resources plan looks at what people and skills you will need to achieve your growth, and allows you to plan for how you will get the skills/people.
Financial plan looks at the financial implications of the marketing and human resources plans.
Harvest plan looks at who will want to buy the business in the future, what the buying triggers will be and what you are likely to want to sell for. This then allows you to decide at what point you will sell the business and harvest the wealth you have created.
Rob Smorfitt
A wide variety of formats exists but the one I have found covers all the critical success factors in business is as follows. This is the one I use and teach my clients and students when lecturing.
* Business model
* PESTEL analysis
* SWOT analysis
* Marketing plan
* Human resources plan
* Financial plan
* Harvest plan
Business model - How will this business make it's core profit. It helps to keep the business focused on the key areas and not get distracted.
PESTEL analysis is the external environments which we need to understand, in order to know what their impact on our business might be. They must be considered in the local, regional, continental and global context. The acronym applies to the Political, Economic, Social and cultural, Technological, Environmental and Legislative environments.
SWOT analysis is the internal analysis of the entrepreneur's and the businesses Strengths and Weaknesses, and then using them to consider how the environmental issues will impact negatively as a Threat or positively as an Opportunity for the business.
Marketing plan is the plan on how to grow your business. Read Philip Kotler for more assistance on this subject.
Human resources plan looks at what people and skills you will need to achieve your growth, and allows you to plan for how you will get the skills/people.
Financial plan looks at the financial implications of the marketing and human resources plans.
Harvest plan looks at who will want to buy the business in the future, what the buying triggers will be and what you are likely to want to sell for. This then allows you to decide at what point you will sell the business and harvest the wealth you have created.
Rob Smorfitt
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