 The
ABC’s of Marketing - Steps to Expanding Your Business
By Angela Mullan
When you hear the word marketing, do you think of newspaper ads, direct
mail flyers, and billboards? If so, then you’re missing the point. Marketing
is not just about advertising; it is about growing your business and
expanding your revenues through a well thought out, well researched plan.
And you know what? It’s really not that hard to do and yet many small
businesses don’t even bother.
A good marketing plan will help you articulate the value of your products or
services and will help you understand the competitive landscape your
business operates in. Without it, you’re guessing or relying on your
intuition - which may work, but may take longer than necessary to help you
succeed. In this two part article, we will talk about the ABC’s - and one D
- of marketing your small business. You will need paper and a pen to make
notes throughout the article; once completed, you will be well on your way
to assembling your own marketing plan.
A is for Analysis of Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats
- Let’s begin by analyzing the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities
and threats - otherwise known as SWOT that your business faces. Strengths
and weaknesses are those internal factors within your organization or
business that are within your control to change if you wanted to. For
example, if you have a storefront business situated on a very busy street,
then that may be a strength; if your store is located in a quiet,
out-of-the-way neighbourhood, that may be a weakness. If you are a realtor
with extensive knowledge of a city’s neighbourhoods, your knowledge is a
strength; if you are a realtor who has just moved to the city from another
province, your lack of local knowledge is a weakness.
Other factors to consider are your company’s reputation, management
capabilities, succession plan, customer retention and staff loyalty and
turnover. Financing, cash flow, your facilities or storefront and room for
physical expansion are also factors to consider. On your paper, list those
factors which you think are strengths and weaknesses.
Now that you’ve examined your strengths and weaknesses, let’s consider
opportunities and threats. These are external factors over which you have no
control. They may include the closure of your street due to construction,
government regulations or legislation, demographics, changing neighbourhoods,
trends in tourism, the economy, and competitors. For example, if the trend
for baby boomers is to downsize and buy recreational, waterfront properties,
that may represent an opportunity for a realtor. Diet fads may present a
threat if your small bakery specializes in yummy but high-carb, high-fat
treats.
On another piece of paper, list those external factors which represent
opportunities and threats to you. Now, examine this list together with your
list of strengths and weaknesses. As a realtor, do you have knowledge of
recreational properties for sale? Does your bakery have trained and talented
staff who can create different types of items to sell and capitalize on the
trends? If you spot an opportunity, ensure that you build the strength and
minimize any weakness in order to take advantage of the opportunity.
Likewise, you will need to store up your strengths in order to counteract
the effects of threats.
B is for Business Segmentation - Business segmentation is a
fancy way of saying who your customers are? You may have more potential than
you think. On a fresh sheet of paper, list the types of customers you serve.
Ask yourself, “Who have I served in the past? Who am I likely to serve in
the future?” Each different type of customer represents a market segment.
For example, if you are a realtor, your commercial property buyers represent
a different segment than your residential property buyers, who are different
still than your recreational property buyers.
Once you’ve listed your current customer base, think outside the box to
determine other customer markets. For example, if you own a storefront
bookstore, think beyond your retail customers and ask yourself who else
needs and buys books. Many human resources departments of large companies
have libraries of books for their staff’s use; perhaps you could contract to
be their official supplier. If you own a coffee shop, perhaps you could
cater business meetings.
List all of the different types of customers you could serve. Once done, you
must research the demographics and total market for your business and for
the types of customers you’ve identified. This information is available
through the public library, from Statistics Canada (
www.statcan.ca ), your
local or regional Chamber of Commerce, industry associations, or the
Conference Board of Canada (
www.conferenceboard.ca ), among others. This research is a
bit time-consuming but it will pay off, as this research will give you an
idea of how big the market is in general and by customer type.
From there, you will be able to segment your customers into your primary
market, your secondary market, and your tertiary market. For example, if you
are a florist, your primary market might be retail customers who call or
come into your store; your secondary market might be brides who want flowers
for their weddings; and your tertiary market might be special events
planners who need floral arrangements for their conferences and meetings.
Business segmentation is important for two reasons: 1) each market may
require a separate marketing approach; 2) you should focus your energy and
your resources on those segments which will bring in the most revenue for
the least amount of cost to you, thereby ensuring profitability.
In Part 2, we will look at competition and differentiation, which, along
with the information from Part 1, will allow you to create your own
marketing plan.
Angela Mullan is a Management & Training Consultant with 15 years
experience helping businesses grow & succeed. She can be reached at
amullan@amullan.com |
