Marketing a product or service is an exciting and rewarding process. The purpose of marketing is to connect those who have specific needs with those organizations who have the right answer to those needs. Successful marketing begins with needs...not a product or service. Even a brilliant marketing plan can fail if there is not a sizeable, pressing need for the product or service. But often a mediocre marketing program can be successful if there is a vast, unsatisfied need for your product or service.

 

1. Who needs your product or service? Why?

 

Few products or services appeal to everyone. Identify the specific types of people or organizations who should be the most excited about what you have to offer. Why do they have this need? Are there enough of these people out there to bring you a profit? What have you learned from current customers? The more you understand the real needs you are meeting, the more successful you will be.

 

2. What are the five most important benefits you offer?

 

List the five benefits you offer that will be most beneficial to your target customers. These will be key words to use in your promotional materials.

 

3. What is the single greatest benefit you offer?

 

In no more than five words, write a description of the one unique benefit you offer that appeals to the most people. Why is this benefit important to people? How can you communicate this benefit most effectively? This should be the strongest message you communicate.

 

4. What are the current alternatives?

 

Today your target customers are attempting to have their needs met in a variety of ways. List all the alternative ways you can think of. List names of companies or brands.

 

5. What do people dislike about the alternatives?

 

If you can identify specific frustrations or problems with alternatives to your product or service, you should then explore ways to dramatize your point of difference. Also, look at your own product or service for areas of frustration and find ways to improve.

 

6. Are people confused about your type of product or service?

 

If people are confused about a product or service, they will either make poor decisions or make no decision. How can you simplify the process and help people make wise choices? Look at the words and images you are using, and eliminate anything that is confusing or overly complicated.

 

7. What is your mission?

 

Now that you have reviewed the needs of customers and their use of alternatives, write out a one-paragraph mission statement that explains why your organization exists and what you offer to society in order to earn public consent to prosper. Your mission must be focused on who you benefit...not what you offer or what you earn. This mission statement should shape the tone of your communication and help you sharpen your public personality, new products/services, etc.

 

8. What are the three most important marketing goals you would like to accomplish within three years?

 

Each objective should be clear and measurable. Do not list “greater sales” as an objective. Instead, write a measurable objective like “increasing sales by 22% in 18 months and 50% in 36 months.” These three objectives deserve most of your attention and focus.

 

9. What are the three greatest obstacles to success?

 

Understanding internal or external obstacles is critical. Identify the three obstacles that could cause you the most problems.

 

10. How can you overcome the obstacles you listed?

 

A good marketing plan considers obstacles and realistically builds strategies to overcome them as much as possible. Do not answer this question with rose-colored glasses. You will be facing obstacles and you cannot afford to be blinded by foolish optimism.

 

11. How much time will you invest in marketing planning?

 

Time is your most limited resource. How much time you invest in marketing planning is critical. In today’s era of rapid change and swift competitive response to good ideas, planning must be constant. Have a dynamic marketing plan; update it often. Check your assumptions based on real-world feedback. Get out of your building and mingle in the marketplace. Develop good street smarts.

 

12. How many dollars will you invest in marketing?

 

If you have a fixed budget for marketing, you will lose. Marketing is an agent of change. Marketing will either accelerate success or accelerate failure. Your marketing budget will require some fixed costs, but your total budget should be built upon a variable formula. A percent of revenue formula is usually the easiest. If sales go up, the budget goes up. If sales go down, the budget goes down. Keep in mind

that it always takes more to launch a new company/product than to promote an existing one. Extra front-end investment is required. Adjust your budget at least quarterly based on market reality.

 

13. What can you do to increase awareness of your product and service with your target audience?

 

Before you can increase sales, you have to increase awareness with the target audience. It is hard to gain new customers if they do not know who you are, what you have to offer, what the value is for the time/dollars they have to spend, etc. Do you know what your current awareness level is? If not, consider some market research to sample current awareness levels. You can measure your awareness again months later and find out what effect marketing has had. What ideas do you have for increasing your awareness within the budget and time limits you have?

 

14. What is the single most effective way to build awareness for your product or service?

 

Out of all the ideas you listed in response to Question #13, what is the one idea that appears to be the most effective? Select an idea that is cost effective and message effective. Some options may be inexpensive, but the message they deliver may not be right (i.e., promoting a new church on matchbook covers is not a good idea). You will not have enough money to do all you want to do, so you want to put more money in the area that will do the most good. You should keep in mind that repetition is vital. Avoid putting a large share of money into one-shot approaches (i.e., it is better to run three small-space ads than to run only one large-space ad).

 

15. What can you do to make your product or service more available to your target audience?

 

People want to have convenient access to your product...when and where they expect to find it. Look for ways to make it easier for customers to have access to you and your products.

 

16. What can you do to increase appreciation of what you have to offer?

 

People will be investing time, as well as money, with you. Whether they buy once or repeatedly will be based on their perceived trade-off of time and money vs. the benefits they receive. If they do not perceive enough benefits, they will look elsewhere. Since perception wins out over reality, be sure you are communicating the value of your product/service as clearly as possible.

 

17. What is your central message?

 

If a customer gives you one half-hour, keep an open mind and eliminate all distractions; you may have a good chance to sell something. The problem is, you will not have this much time. In many cases, you only have a few seconds to get a customer’s attention and build interest in finding out more. You need the strongest possible core message to turn disinterest into active interest. Develop several alternatives for your central message and test them on your target audience. Once you find one that works, REPEAT, REPEAT, REPEAT it, even though you may be bored with it. Your customers and prospects do not live and breathe your product/service like you do. If you have something significant to offer, make sure it is communicated in a significant way.

 

18. Who is on your marketing team?

 

Your most valuable marketing team is outside of your internal staff. Look for ways to recruit satisfied customers, friends, influential leaders, respected authorities, and others to help you communicate your story. Remember that word-of-mouth is one of the most effective forms of promotion, and you can stimulate it. If your product or service meets vital needs in a unique way, encourage people to spread the

news. Look for ways to publicize “word-of-mouth” endorsements... especially on the Internet.

 

19. What shortcuts could weaken your marketing?

 

Flashy marketing programs often get center stage, but some of the most successful programs receive hardly any notice. “Flash” is not a substitute for doing your homework and covering all the bases. If you take a shortcut or leave out an important step, you are inviting disaster. Develop your own countdown checklist before launching a new program. Many of the questions here should be on the checklist. Avoid getting carried away with the potential sizzle while the meat of your program decays. 

 

20. Will success spoil you like so many others?

 

It is ironic that many organizations fail after they have become huge successes. What happened? Usually the organization gets cocky, overconfident, and loses the drive and determination that got them to the top. A major sign of impending decline is foolish tinkering with the formula that got them there. To stay successful, stay in tune with the market. When others see your success, they are already working on ways to capitalize on what you have done. Be open to needed change, but stick to your knitting as much as possible.