From the course: The 45-Minute Business Plan

Excel in advertising and selecting your target market

From the course: The 45-Minute Business Plan

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Excel in advertising and selecting your target market

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- Let's talk about strategies and implementation. In the strategies and implementation segment, you will want to explain your thoughts and ideas on getting your product or service in front of customers. This segment will contain your marketing approach, and will need some details. The subsections I like to use are advertising strategy, target market strategy, website strategy, milestone strategy, and exit strategy. Yes, a good plan includes contingencies for market collapse or general business failures. This tells the investors, and yourself, that you have accounted for all possibilities of operating a successful business to mitigate losses. Now, your subsections may include traditional advertising, social media campaigns, et cetera. The basis for this section, again, is to articulate how you plan to drive sales and awareness. Let's go through a few examples. First, the advertising strategy overview. This will be a short paragraph to highlight the overall marketing plan for this business. This is really your vision of how to attract customers. For example, you could say, "ABC LLC will focus on informing potential customers on why they should choose ABC widget over the current competitors. We have identified effective methods that include online advertising, both traditional and social media, with a narrative style of copywriting versus a journalistic style." Your advertising strategy lends credibility to your mission, so make sure you have truly figured out how to separate yourself and the business from the current market. Now let's talk about target marketing strategy. By now you've hopefully identified specific forms of advertising that will drive profitable sales. So let's take the time to send that message. Open with a brief statement. In fact, you may want to start with a statement something like this. "Specific forms of advertising have been identified as favorable to increase revenues, and enhance our product or service." Now in bullet point form, list those forms of advertising mediums, and explain each with one to two sentences. Some examples might look like this. One, "A sophisticated website that promotes business credibility, highlights the benefits of choosing ABC LLC, and explains the offer to buyers through squeeze pages designed to concisely target the end user." Number two, "In conjunction with the website, major online marketing channels will be used to promote the site including, but not limited to Google ads, social media outlets, and free article placement sites." Number three, "Database mining with continuous email drip campaigns to target existing customers with messages of gratitude for patronage, as well as new offers and incentives." Number four, "Industry-specific partnerships such as the Home Depot, As Seen on TV, and handyman channels with sponsorships." Number five, "Guerrilla marketing tactics, such as door hangers, networking events, bandit signs, and more." Another example might include your approach to simply getting the company contact info to the public, like online directories, other local business owners, direct mail, and more. The point is to try and give the investor a clear picture of the business as you see it operating in the real world. Help them visualize your strategy. Now, obviously these will need to speak to your plan specifically, but you can see how this will give someone a clear understanding of how you plan to market your product or service, and build confidence with potential investors that you know what you are doing.

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