How to Determine Marketing Needs
Take stock of the current marketing department, materials and strategies., Research how your competitors market., Do market research., Identify your target customer base., Evaluate your name, logo and motto., Evaluate your printed materials...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Take stock of the current marketing department
You must become familiar with what has already been tried, so that you can decide what is missing.
For new businesses, this may be as simple as business cards or a business plan.
A new business should complete all or most of a business plan before trying to chart their marketing needs.
The managers and marketers should have intimate familiarity with the market before trying to define a marketing plan.
You should have an established marketing budget, if possible. -
Step 2: materials and strategies.
Pay special attention to the most successful companies in your business.
You can identify key competitors by searching online and completing a sales process, surfing their sites, walking into physical business offices themselves, or by reading reviews online.
Establish your competitive advantage against your competitors.
Everything you do in your marketing plan needs to emphasize this advantage. , Survey your current customers to see what age, gender, ethnicity and other demographic groups they fit into.
Also, ask them what is missing in their experience, so that you can improve their experience and attract repeat customers.
You can also evaluate new industry standards and innovations.
Develop a detailed report that everyone involved in marketing would read. , The majority of the money you spend on marketing should be spent on communicating and attracting similar customers.
Occasionally you may want to try to tempt a new demographic to your business.
Remember that each demographic responds to marketing in a different way.
One of your main needs may be to establish different campaigns for different kinds of customers.
A 20 year old person would be better served by an email, but an 80 year old might require a piece of mail to alert them about a sale. , All 3 of these things should communicate what is unique about your business within its market.
This is called "branding," and you should hire marketing professionals to create an attractive brand, if you do not have the skills to do it yourself. , Everything from business cards to letterhead to invoices and more should project your brand.
Media kits, catalogs, brochures and direct mail campaigns should be in the hands of people who can effectively design your graphics.
If you find your printed materials are not up to standard, you can choose to hire a graphic designer full time, hire 1 for a contract, or contract with a marketing firm.
A good relationship with a graphic designer will help you to execute printed marketing campaigns in the future. , Online marketing is growing to be 1 of the best ways to find new business.
To this end, you should have a user-friendly website, email correspondence, and possibly social media accounts that announce your business and specials. , If not, this is 1 of your primary needs.
You need to be able to track and implement marketing campaigns on a regular basis to create new business. , Find the most effective methods and start advertising campaigns based on those methods.
Develop a more efficient way to track the Return on Investment (ROI) on marketing campaigns, such as Google Analytics. , If you find that many of these marketing pieces are missing in your marketing plan, you may want to consult a marketing firm, so that you can meet the needs in a timely manner.
Instead of hiring a marketing company, you can choose to hire or appoint someone to a dedicated marketing position. -
Step 3: Research how your competitors market.
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Step 4: Do market research.
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Step 5: Identify your target customer base.
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Step 6: Evaluate your name
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Step 7: logo and motto.
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Step 8: Evaluate your printed materials.
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Step 9: Evaluate your electronic image.
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Step 10: Find out if you have a marketing calendar.
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Step 11: Research your past marketing campaigns.
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Step 12: Begin adding new marketing strategies according to your needs.
Detailed Guide
You must become familiar with what has already been tried, so that you can decide what is missing.
For new businesses, this may be as simple as business cards or a business plan.
A new business should complete all or most of a business plan before trying to chart their marketing needs.
The managers and marketers should have intimate familiarity with the market before trying to define a marketing plan.
You should have an established marketing budget, if possible.
Pay special attention to the most successful companies in your business.
You can identify key competitors by searching online and completing a sales process, surfing their sites, walking into physical business offices themselves, or by reading reviews online.
Establish your competitive advantage against your competitors.
Everything you do in your marketing plan needs to emphasize this advantage. , Survey your current customers to see what age, gender, ethnicity and other demographic groups they fit into.
Also, ask them what is missing in their experience, so that you can improve their experience and attract repeat customers.
You can also evaluate new industry standards and innovations.
Develop a detailed report that everyone involved in marketing would read. , The majority of the money you spend on marketing should be spent on communicating and attracting similar customers.
Occasionally you may want to try to tempt a new demographic to your business.
Remember that each demographic responds to marketing in a different way.
One of your main needs may be to establish different campaigns for different kinds of customers.
A 20 year old person would be better served by an email, but an 80 year old might require a piece of mail to alert them about a sale. , All 3 of these things should communicate what is unique about your business within its market.
This is called "branding," and you should hire marketing professionals to create an attractive brand, if you do not have the skills to do it yourself. , Everything from business cards to letterhead to invoices and more should project your brand.
Media kits, catalogs, brochures and direct mail campaigns should be in the hands of people who can effectively design your graphics.
If you find your printed materials are not up to standard, you can choose to hire a graphic designer full time, hire 1 for a contract, or contract with a marketing firm.
A good relationship with a graphic designer will help you to execute printed marketing campaigns in the future. , Online marketing is growing to be 1 of the best ways to find new business.
To this end, you should have a user-friendly website, email correspondence, and possibly social media accounts that announce your business and specials. , If not, this is 1 of your primary needs.
You need to be able to track and implement marketing campaigns on a regular basis to create new business. , Find the most effective methods and start advertising campaigns based on those methods.
Develop a more efficient way to track the Return on Investment (ROI) on marketing campaigns, such as Google Analytics. , If you find that many of these marketing pieces are missing in your marketing plan, you may want to consult a marketing firm, so that you can meet the needs in a timely manner.
Instead of hiring a marketing company, you can choose to hire or appoint someone to a dedicated marketing position.
About the Author
Douglas Hill
Writer and educator with a focus on practical cooking knowledge.
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