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Marketing Plans: Think You Know Your Clientele And Market? Are You Sure
About That...
Regrettably, when it comes to marketing, so
many businesses fall victim to the sin of over confidence in what they
believe their customers want, what they think, and what the competition
is up to. The results can be different from one enterprise to the next
but if left unchecked for too long, it often means leaving money on the
table by letting pass many great opportunities for client loyalty and
new revenue sources. The truth comes back to what I have often repeated
time and time again: ''If you fail to plan, You plan to fail''.
I maintain that for a company to remain
dynamic, it is essential for it to do a serious soul searching every few
years. A SWOT analysis needs to be done to review what has changed since
the company was started. Are the marketing efforts used currently and in
the past still effective? What's happening in the lives of your target
market that could potentially involve a change in their buying habits?
Can you honestly say you know the answer to that beyond a question of a
doubt?
The bottom line is that being in business is a
dicey venture even in the best of times. Reviewing or completing a
marketing plan is not something that should be reserved solely for new
businesses. Every business needs to look inwardly from time to time. The
investment of time and money now in preparation for 2007 may seem like a
distraction from every day business but isn't a little self-reassurance
worth it?
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Mark Buzan is the owner of
Action Strategies, a public affairs & marketing
communications consultancy. Action Strategies has recently expanded
its services into professional podcasting for clients looking to
leverage electronic PR opportunities for greater publicity. You can
subscribe now to his monthly PR & marketing tips newsletter by
visiting
http://www.actionstrategies.ca and dropping down the
newsletter menu. |
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