Develop a Realistic Marketing Plan

There are just five essential steps to starting a business. If you break the process down into these steps, it gets much easier to turn your vision into a reality. 

So far we've talked about 4 of the steps:

1. Identify your target market
2. Create a unique solution
3. Set up the business basics
4. Define your brand

Today we are talking about the 5th and final (in this series anyway!) step:

Develop a Realistic Marketing Plan

Actually, you've already started making your marketing plan by identifying your target market, creating a unique solution, and getting started with your branding. A good marketing plan can be quite complex but there are some basic elements that they all share:

Pricing. You have to figure out how much you're going to charge for your product or service. This is tricky when you're doing it for the first time, but start by getting an idea of how much people are already paying for an offering like yours. Make sure your production and related costs are all covered. You can charge more than the going rate if you offer enough extra value and you can demonstrate this. Remember that you can always adjust prices later if you're not seeing the sales you want, or offer different pricing options. 

Promotion. Decide how you're going to reach your audience to tell them about your unique product or service. Identify the places where your target market hangs out on or offline, and how you'll get your message to them. For example, you may decide to hold booths at trade shows, or post informational articles to websites that your audience enjoys. 

The Competition. Study your competitors. Follow them online. See what other people have to say about them. Consume their content and try out their products. If you know your competition well, you'll also understand what your target market thinks about them and you’ll know how to propose something they don't. For example, you might find a gap in their offerings that you can fill.

Goals and Metrics. Set goals for your marketing and decide what metrics you'll use to measure these goals. Goals should be specific and have deadlines attached. 

So, there are the 5 Essentials for Starting a New Business. I hope you find these steps helpful if you are thinking about starting your business, but aren't sure where to begin.

I am offering a full course that shows you step-by-step how to set up your business from scratch. You'll learn how to clarify your vision, find a profitable niche, design a high-value product that your customers will love, tackle the business basics, and get ready for your big launch. Each module has action steps so that you'll make progress as you work through the course. 

Want to turn your business idea into a real, viable business today? Head over here to get on the waitlist:

https://lnkd.in/gGsbeYHF

DM me directly with any questions. 

Wishing you the best in your journey from Employee to Employer!