Back to Page 1: Why So Many Small Business Marketing Plans Suck
Back to Page 2: Small Business Marketing Plans – What They Forgot to Tell You
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The Small Business Marketing Plan – A Different Approach
So, if small business marketing plans — for everything from home-based businesses to $30+ million enterprises — could be so different from those developed for larger businesses, how do we develop an effective small business marketing plan?
Small Business Marketing Plans — What I Learned by Messing Up
I know about these less-than-ideal marketing programs first hand. I used to run an advertising agency serving such clients as Kraft Foods, Timex, Avon Cosmetics, Abbott Laboratories, Seagram’s and others.
Then my dad said, “You’re so smart. Help me sell my Blackjack Chart.” (My dad was a successful businessman with a photographic memory, and was a top blackjack player).
I quickly learned that when it came to small business marketing, I wasn’t as smart as I thought. Like so many professionals, I figured I could wing it rather than developing a strategic marketing plan. After all, how complicated could it be to sell a blackjack chart?!
After losing thousands of dollars of my dad’s money, I realized that Small Business Marketing is radically different from the marketing they teach us in school. Most of the tricks and methods I had learned applied to major companies. But Small Business Marketing is dramatically different.
In essence, I had to go back to the drawing board to learn small businesses marketing from the ground up.
Not Just Creating But Also Implementing Small Business Marketing Plans
I started by examining hundreds of businesses of all size and type that became successful. I also studied direct marketing and consumer behavior, to better understand the difference between what buyers say they will do and what they actually do (Yes, saying you will do something and actually doing it are often dramatically different).
Then I implemented what I learned on literally hundreds of real-world businesses that my company and I were helping.
I quickly discovered that certain elements work, and are generally easy to duplicate with most businesses. I also learned a few basic secrets that are unavailable anywhere else. That applying these elements delivers often dramatic results to a wide range of businesses in virtually every industry.
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Also See: Situation Analysis for Marketing Plans
