1. 1. A Few Thoughts About Marketing Kauffman FastTrac New Venture April 22, 2015
2. 2. I need a marketing plan?
3. 3. Why have a marketing plan? a marketing plan makes sense of your business environment a marketing plan enables clear decision making a marketing plan prevents panic decisions a marketing plan is a living working document
4. 4. what should your plan include?
5. 5. a goal Make your goal measurable instead of saying you want to make more money, indicate a dollar amount If you want to do more networking, set a number of events you want to attend each week. These goals will keep you on track and accountable Once you have a goal, put it on the top of your marketing plan. It can be just a sentence or two
6. 6. your methods advertising public relations email newsletters media relations website social media direct mail personal letters networking events
7. 7. other things to consider Target audience Who do you need to speak to, how do they receive information How will you measure effectiveness Sales Number of leads that convert to sales Number of leads that are potential customers Cost of marketing per sale in relation to profit
8. 8. marketing your brand do you think perception is reality
9. 9. you are your brand Who are you? What do you want to be known as? What do you have to offer? What is the heart & soul of YOU?
10. 10. define your image Short bio / descriptor (you and your company) 30 second introduction / Elevator Speech First Impressions Online Presence
11. 11. Communicate Get out there Attend networking events (social & professional) Volunteer Write articles Promote yourself online: tweets, posts, comments
12. 12. promote yourself (this is hard) Have a website There are many free websites available (Wordpress, Tumblr, Wix) Get a unique business card Get a great headshot Update your personal style/look Get a good bio written
13. 13. your online presence website, social media, blogs, online videos
14. 14. the one big thing about your website Whats the one big thing you want people to do on your website? Is your website a maze of confusion and easy to follow or is it a great mystery The best websites take the form of a physical action is it sticky is it intriguing is there a call to action
15. 15. but to tell you the truth 90% - 98% of your visitors will not do that one big thing you want them to do! Help them along: Offer newsletter signups Download white papers are articles of interest whitepaper downloads Coupons or discount codes Project samples: make them visual
16. 16. and on another note How current is your website technology When was the last time you updated your site Does your site have outdated technology, flash, music, is it slow to load Do you have a mobile site Do you even have a website
17. 17. mobile sites are now Upon the introduction of the iPad in 2010, there were few people who saw the Tablet market as having the potential to become bigger than the PC market. In 2013 mobile pad shipments reached 231 million, compared to 186 million PCs, a trend that will continue through 2017.
18. 18. so what does this mean if you dont have a mobile site you need to consider creating one
19. 19. and what about social media
20. 20. choose your mediums Big three Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn others YouTube, Pinterest Choose a few to start and move to others when you are more comfortable quality over quantity How will you monitor your social media website analytics, email response Use a service: Hootsuite, Tweetdeck
21. 21. Craft your content Figure out what youre going to post on each social media account and how often this involves research and trying things out Create a schedule Use holidays and special events Subscribe to Google alerts (its free)
22. 22. getting started Create a facebook and or twitter page Include social media logos on all printed and electronic communications ie: Follow us on Use hashtags (#) hashtags create a clickable link. If you click the hashtag in any tweet, youll display a live feed of every tweet that has that same hashtag in it. Use the @ symbol to make a personal name or business page name a clickable link.
23. 23. having a marketing plan and utilizing social media will connect you with more customers and protect your business during a crisis
24. 24. top questions How much will it cost to maintain How many hours should I spend on it Where do I start How long will it take to see results
25. 25. how much will it cost Determine your capacity and your need for training How much marketing knowledge do you have How much time and money can you reasonably devote to marketing each day factor in the figuring out as well as the doing Your marketing activity will depends on three things: size of your budget size of your goals your time
26. 26. where to start listen. (dont jump in right away . . . ) check out marketing trends in your industry what are your competitors doing how is their social media activity monitor the chatter in your industry what topics get the most responses what topics go ignored what are the trends
27. 27. so, now do you think you need a marketing plan?
28. 28. business has only two functions marketing and innovation Milan Kundera, author
29. 29. questions
30. 30. 247 East 11th Street Indianapolis, IN 46202 www.herdstrategies.com info@herdstrategies.com