Startup Guides > Improve Profitability With This 10 Step Marketing Plan

For best results in marketing it is crucial to develop a system, test that system, measure its results; and when you find the combination that works best for what you are selling, repeat it over and over again without fail, and sustain it with persistence. The results will come if this method is followed.

Follow these 10 steps and hopefully they will help you obtain great results:

1. Sell What People Are Buying Not What You Feel Is Good For People or What You Think Might Sell. People buy with emotion and later justify their purchase with logic. Unless you are hitting a strong emotional button with your product or service, it's less likely you will have strong sales. Tie your products to an emotion; solve a problem or challenge that is causing the person grief or hurt; remove fear or satisfy the need for love, and you've got a winner. Logic won't get in the way. It will only solidify the decision. Remember it's all about them, not you.


2. Know who is buying. Do research on demographics (who they are), geography (where they are) and psychographics (why are they buying). Market research on these three dynamics will target your sales and enhance your ability to reach the people or businesses most likely to purchase what you have to sell.

3. Have price elasticity. Don't get stuck on price. Be stuck on delivering value and benefits of what your product or service does to solve the problem or remove the pain. You can then price accordingly. Don't get caught up in the pricing war because it's a losing proposition. People will pay the price if you deliver the value and benefits that stand out from the crowd of competitors who are battling one another over price.

4. Know who your competitors are and how your product or service differentiates you from them. Check out sites that allow you to see what your competitors are doing, and gauge what to do to move ahead of the pack.

5. Have a unique sales proposition. In the business world, it is commonly referred to as a USP or "elevator pitch." Your USP should be a large part of your ultimate success. When you set out to attract a new prospect or customer to your business for the first time, there is one paramount question you must answer: "Why should I choose to do business with you and the product you offer over any other competitive product available to me?" Once you've got the response to that question, that's your USP or elevator pitch.

6. Be sure your message is clearly understood. The customer must be led through a 5 step process to a buying decision or action. Before they will take action, whatever it is you want them to do, you must (1) Make them aware of a need and/or desire; (2) Clearly demonstrate that your product or service fulfills the need or desire; (3) Convince them that choosing your product or service is the wise thing to do; (4) Show them the value that they received is worth the price you are selling the product or service for; and (5) Show them reasons they should act with urgency to buy right now.

7. Don't waste time aiming at the wrong target. Make sure your product or service matches what the market is demanding.

8. Use this 3-step plan to effective marketing: Message, Market and Media. Think of these three as the legs of a stool. When they are all in balance your success is very likely. Have either of these legs missing, and the stool is unstable and likely won't support the weight of carrying out the marketing mission. Your message should be targeted to an identified market, the narrower the better. Once you have these two, you can then determine what the best media to use is. It might be radio, T.V., print ads, classified ads, blogging, digital, social media or a combination of these.

And speaking of marketing, don't forget online marketing sites like 40Billion, which is a fast-growing network of entrepreneurs and crowdfunders. They specialize in promoting small businesses by broadcasting promotions to its large network of several million users across the most popular social networking sites for small businesses - including Twitter, LinkedIn, 40Billion, Google, and Facebook. Innovative services like tweet ads and promoted company listings were created for new entrepreneurs to tap into a growing, active network online without spending thousands on pay-per-click ads or traditional advertising.

9. Systemize - create it, implement it, tweak where necessary. Your operating process should become a template that you use over and over again without much thought.

10. You must have commitment and persistence in order to realize big success with marketing. Once you have your system it must be worked with bulldog persistence and commitment. Most marketing doesn't work because of the lack of these two traits.

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