Simple Steps for

Growing Your Business

1

Marketing Your Business

About SCORE2

Douglas S. Cavanaugh

• Successful and experienced business owners and executives acting as volunteers

• Free mentoring:• One-on-one• E-mail

• Seminars and workshops• Resources for small

business: www.score.org

Sales

Purchasing / Manufacturing

Distribution

Finance

Marketing

Service Delivery

Program Overview

Marketing Your Business

Human Resources

Customer Service

Managing Operations

Growing Your Sales

Managing Your Time, People and

ResourcesFinancial Management

4

Let’s Get Started

Briefly tell us:

• Your name

• Your business

• What you hope to achieve through this program

Katrina Markoff

5By the End of This Workshop, You Will Learn:

• How to identify your marketing goals

• How to evaluate your marketing options

• About using social media• The best online marketing methods• Public relations strategies• Effective advertising methods• How to use event marketing • When to use cause marketing• How to retain customersMarta E. Maxwell

6

Identify Your Marketing Goals

7

Identify Your Marketing Goals

Have Your Business Needs Changed?

• Target customers– Existing customers– New customers

• Product or service mix• Price point• Budget• Sales channel

Karen Bevels

8

Identify Your Marketing Goals

Market Research

Understand your target market• Size• Income level (consumer)• Sales (business)• Purchasing habits• Demographics• Purchasing channels• Geographic location

Surendra N. Kumar, Ph.D.

9

Identify Your Marketing Goals

Market Data Sources

Indirect resources from others:• Trade associations• Census data • American FactFinder (http://factfinder.census.gov)• EconomicIndicators.gov• Fedstats.gov• National Bureau of Economic Research (www.nber.org)• Harris Infosource (www.harrisinfo.com)• Hoover’s (www.hoovers.com)• ThomasNet (www.thomasnet.com)

10

Identify Your Marketing Goals

Market Data Sources

Your Direct Research:• Customer surveys (SurveyMonkey.com, Zoomerang.com)• Internet research• Social media• Focus groups• Conversations

11Identify Your Marketing Goals: Activity

Market Data Sources This grid can be used once you’ve done some market research. If you can, fill in the first column.

Can anyone already describe a target market of theirs?

12

Identify Your Marketing Goals

Understanding Market Share

Market Share

Portion of the Market That

Your Business Obtains

• Measured by dollars, units or percentage

• Monitor market share regularly • Adjust marketing strategy

accordingly

13

Identify Your Marketing Goals

How Are You Pricing?

You can vary prices in accordance with the market’s expectations to achieve your profit goals

14

Identify Your Marketing Goals

Is Your Brand Clear?Branding is not the same as marketing. Branding is the image, logo and positioning of the product or service.

3 steps to brand creation:1. Identify unique selling

proposition2. Understand target market3. Communicate brand

consistently

Hisao & Zuishu Hanafusa

15Identify Your Marketing Goals: Activity

Brand Message

Describe your product/service, points of differentiation and ideal customer – then put them together to create your Brand Message

16

Identify Your Marketing Goals

Competitive Analysis

Analyze the marketing methods used by your competition.

Would similar methods work for you?

17

Evaluating Your Business

18

Evaluating Your Business

Return on Investment

Always assess your ROI for your marketing budget

• Set measurable goals• Measure results– Marketing effort that generated the sale– Survey customers

• Adjust marketing plan accordingly

19

Your Marketing Options

20

Your Marketing Options

Is It Right for You?

Not every marketing strategy is right for every business

When evaluating the following options, ask:• Will this help achieve my goals?• Will this reach my target customer(s)?• Does this fit my budget? (Typically 3%-10% after

1-3 years)• Do I have adequate staff to implement?

21

Your Marketing Options

Marketing Methods & Tools:

- Advertising: radio, TV, newspaper, magazine, direct mail, yellow pages, online

- Public Relations (PR): print, radio, TV, online- Collateral :business cards, tri-folds, stationary,

flyers- Online: website, newsletter, emails, mobile, rating

and review sites- Social Media: social networks, geo location sites,

group deal sites

22

Marketing Collateral

23

Creating Marketing Materials

Marketing Materials

Do your marketing materials need a makeover? Do they still reflect your brand?

• Logo• Signage• Business cards• Brochures• Website

24

Creating Marketing Materials

Marketing Materials

Low-Cost Resources:•99Designs.com•CrowdSPRING.com•Elance.com•Freelancer.com•Guru.com•Inkzoo.com•Logoworks.com•Marketsplash.com •VistaPrint.com

25

Advertising

26

Advertising

Offline Advertising Options

• Print (newspapers, magazines, community publications)

• Radio

• Cable TV

• Direct mail (postcards, letters)

Erma Kubin-Clanin & Dr. Rene Clanin

27

Advertising

Online Advertising Options

• Link exchanges

• E-mail newsletter advertising

• Pay-per-click (PPC)

• Banner ads

28

Public Relations

29

Public Relations

Understanding Public Relations

Public relations is a means of generating attention from the media that can be as effective as advertising in building awareness of your business Jennifer Behar

30

Public Relations

Standard Format

• Headline• Date• Summary• Body• About/Boilerplate• Contact

Target to Each News/Media Outlet

• Relevant Topics• Timely• Interesting

Resource

• Newswire’s PR Toolkit

(http://toolkit.prnewswire.co

m)

Writing a Press Release

31

Public Relations

Press Release Distribution

Target publications, reporters and bloggers:•E-mail release•Link to your website•Follow up

Free press release distribution services:•FreePressRelease.com•PR.com•PRLog.org

32

Public Relations: Discussion

Press Release Distribution

What are some topics related to your business that you could write a press release for?

Who would you target and why?

33

Public Relations

Recommended Local Contacts

[Chapters tailor this slide with local media contacts]

Linda M. Lawson

34

Online Marketing

35

Online Marketing

Benefits of a Business Website

• Builds awareness• Helps customers find you• Builds credibility• Drives sales• Customer service• Additional sales channel• National/global reach• E-commerce

36

Online Marketing

Determine Goals

Overall Business Strategy

Overall Marketing Strategy

Development Requirements

To include: Ease of use,

sales, customer service,

branding, search

Developing an Effective Website

37

Online Marketing

Elements of Your Website

• Domain name or URL (www.yourbusiness.com)• Web hosting service• Website design

Many providers offer package options that include all three:

• GoDaddy.com• IMSMB.com • NetworkSolutions.com• Web.com

38

Online Marketing

Principles of Web Design

• User-focused

• Simple to navigate

• Direct users to take action

• Consistent with your marketing message

John Christakos, Maurice Blanks & Charlie Lazor

39

Online Marketing

Search Engine Optimization

SEO = driving traffic to your site via organic search results

• Create quality content

• Use targeted keywords

• Measure results

Dr. Lynn McMahan

40

Online Marketing

Web Analytics

Web analytics can measure:• Number of visitors • Number of page impressions• Average visit length• Most popular site entry pages• Where users come from (sites or search engine phrases)• Number of inquiries, leads or sales generated• Conversion rates• Total sales volume online• Average purchase per online customer

Use analytics to determine if your site is achieving your goals

41

Online Marketing

E-mail Marketing

Ways to get e-mail addresses:•Opt in•Sign up in-store•Offer incentives•Privacy policy•Barter or buy listsE-mail examples:•Newsletter (monthly, weekly, daily)•Sales or specials: Weekly or as needed•Announcements•Event invitations

Rupa Bihani Shah

42

Online Marketing

LEGAL ISSUES

CAN-SPAM Act requires: Identify yourself Identify as an ad Physical address No deceptive subject

lines Opt-out options (double

opt-in not required, but preferred)

Unsubscribe requests

RESOURCES

Using an e-mail service can help: Benchmark E-Mail Campaigner Constant Contact iContact Microsoft Office Live

Small Business E-Mail Marketing service (smallbusiness.officelive.com)

Legal Issues of E-mail

Visit the FTC website (www.ftc.gov/spam) for information and resources on legal issues

43

Online Marketing

Mobile Marketing

Mobile marketing = using cell phones and other mobile devices to market to customers

• 91 percent of U.S. population owns a mobile phone*

• More than 25 percent of those are smartphones**

• Good for local businesses• Reach customers on the move*Source: CTIA**Source: ComScore

Joe Jackson

44

Online Marketing

Mobile Marketing Methods

• SMS or MMS marketing: Text or photo messages sent to customers’ phones

• Mobile banner advertising: Banner space on a site that is mobile-device-ready

• Mobile local search: Having your business pop up when someone is looking for a local business

• Mobile apps: Creating a smartphone application to promote your business

• Mobile paid search: Top 4 paid results show up• Is your site mobile-friendly? Check at mobiReady.com

45

Online Marketing

Rating and Review Sites

Feature customer reviews and ratings of businesses Bing Local

CitySearch

Google Places

Insider Pages

Local.com

Merchant Circle

RatePoint.com

Yahoo! Local

Yelp!

Don’t forget niche sites for your industry, region or city

46

Online Marketing

Getting Started with Ratings and Reviews

Claim your listing and optimize it with:

• Photos• Description of business• Maps/directions• Coupons/special offers• Tracking/analytics

David Lomakin

47

Online Marketing

Monitor Accounts• Google alerts• Paid tracking services• Manually visit sites

Respond to Negative Reviews• Reputation management

Convert Users to Buyers• Put reviews on your site

Learning Tool• Use analytics• Learn from reviews

Maximize Ratings and Reviews

48

Social Media Marketing

49

Social Media Marketing

Social Media and Your Business

Social media facts:Fastest-growing communication technology among consumers and business usersProjected 3.6 billion users by 2014*

To get started, set your goals:Increase salesDrive traffic to your site or store Learn about competitorsFind potential partners*Source: Radicati Group

Doug Zell

Social Media Marketing: Activity

Social Media Overview • Review the Social

Media Overview handout

• Discuss which sites you currently use (or are thinking about using) and why.

50

51

Social Media Marketing

Social Media Resources

Start with each site’s free social media analytics tools

Other tools include: Manage Your

Twitter Activity

• Cotweet.com• SocialOompth.

com• Tweedeck.com

Manage Multiple Social Media

Accounts

• Hootsuite.com• NutshellMail.co

m• SproutSocial.c

m

Keep Up With Social Media

News and Trends

• Mashable.com

52

Social Media Marketing

Social Media Time Commitment

• Time requirements

• Management of updates

• Frequent changes required

• Learning curve for effective use

• Deciding what is appropriate for the media

53

Event Marketing

54

Event Marketing

Set goals

Plan even

t

Promotions at events

Invite partners

/sponsor

s

Publicize/

market

Collect customer data

Thank attende

es

Follow up

Steps to Hosting an Event

55

Event Marketing

Sponsoring an Event

• Good promotional tool for businesses with local customers

• Options include sports teams, charity events, schools, races, fairs

• Investigate event organizer

To consider:• What will you give?• What will you get?

56

Cause Marketing

57

Cause Marketing

Cause Marketing Facts

• Many customers are conscious of social responsibility

• Products associated with a good cause see up to a 74 percent boost in sales compared to non-cause-associated products*

• Women, millennials especially cause-conscious• Key causes: Green, education, disaster relief,

disease research

*Source: Cause Evolution Survey

58

Cause Marketing

Choose a relevant cause

Investigate cause

Decide level of support

(volunteering,

contribution, selling

products)

Understand tax

concerns

Publicize your

cause

Be authentic

6 Steps to Cause Marketing

59

Your Marketing Options: Activity

Is It Right for You?

Based on the strategies discussed (or any other strategies you are considering) complete this worksheet.

60

Creating “Raving Fans”

61

Creating “Raving Fans”

Why Customer Retention Matters

• As your business grows, retaining existing customers is key to success

• It costs 5 times more to find a new customer than it does to keep one*

• Loyal customers can refer other customers to your business

*Source: Gallup

62

Creating “Raving Fans”

Customer Loyalty Programs

Keep customers coming back with loyalty programs that can include:

• Loyalty cards• Geolocation websites• Discounts and special offers• Events • Giveaways

Atul Patel

63

Creating “Raving Fans”

Customer ServiceCustomer service is key to repeat business. Are the following aspects of your business meeting customers’ expectations?

•Physical location•Website•Phone•Your staff•Questions, problems, answers•Customer feedback•Post-sale follow up•Secret shopper

Katrina Markoff

64

Helpful Resources

65

Marketing Resources

• American Advertising Federation (www.aaf.org)• American Express OPEN Forum (www.openforum.com)• American Marketing Association (www.ama.org)• Direct Marketing Association (www.the-dma.org)• Larry Chase’s Web Digest for Marketers (www.wdfm.com)• Marketing Hub (www.marketinghub.com)• Marketing Plan Pro (www.paloalto.com)• Marketing Profs (www.marketingprofs.com)• Marketing Research Association (www.mra-net.org)• Marketing Sherpa (www.marketingsherpa.com)• Mobile Marketing Association (http://mmaglobal.com)• Radio Advertising Bureau (www.rab.com)• SCORE (www.score.org)

66

Review

67

Review

• Use research to inform your marketing goals.

• Carefully analyze the pros and cons of using various marketing methods.

• Customer service and retention are important and more cost-effective than finding new clients

Roundtable Options

68

Please select a topic for discussion:

1.Is It Right For You? Expanding on your worksheet, which marketing strategies fit best with your business and why?

2.Pricing – how do you determine pricing?3.Branding – how do you keep your brand

consistent across your communications and interactions with customers?

4.Others ?

70

Next Steps

Next Steps

• Complete the Target Market Data Worksheet• Create a marketing plan for the next 12 months

that reflects your new marketing goals and explains how you will achieve them

• Review the With Your Mentor handout for topics to discuss with your mentor

Visit www.score.org for more information about other SCORE resources

72

Help Us Help You

Please answer the following questions:

1. On a scale of 0 - 10, how likely is it that you would recommend this workshop to your friends and colleagues?

2. What is the primary reason for the answer you just gave us?

3. What is the most important improvement we could make that would make you rate us closer to a 10?

73

Good Luck!