ST. LUCIE RESOURCE

20 business practices for development

You've nurtured your idea, created a business plan and secured financing. Now Make it or break for he asks: How can we follow the growth of its year after year?

Building a Better Mousetrap does not guarantee that the world will beat a path to your door. And Contrary to this inspiring message of the movie "Field of Dreams", there is no certainty that "if you build it, they will come. Increased demand for its products / services and the growth of its business is done through the creation and implementation clear strategies.

Two important factors include the hiring of marketing for new customers (acquisition) and maintaining and expand relations with existing customers (Customer Relationship Management). Once converted the prospective buyer, the customer relationship management (CRM) takes over. The CRM process changes that being a marketer, that of being a builder of relationships. Building customer relationships is also encourage links between you and your customer, increase the benefits that your client has sold in the first place, and continuous improvement of product / service, to protect your business against the progress of the competition.

The market is constantly changing and therefore a marketing strategy that works today does not necessarily work same strategy in the future. These changing environments require the need to constantly analyze and measure the results of each of its promotional efforts. A system that tracks and monitors the issues raised by the sales, lead source, is essential.

The basis of its business development strategy is the recognition of the concept that marketing is a process not an event. Starting a company is, in fact, building a brand. Build your brand is a process that regularly disseminates its message through several different channels to a targeted audience. The key to marketing is that it creates a start and stop the marketing of products and gaps in the frequency of its promotional efforts.

The need for a written marketing plan is essential. The American Marketing Association (AMA) states that "Marketing is the planning process and implementation design, price, promotion and distribution of ideas, goods and services to create exchanges that satisfy individual goals and organization. Your marketing plan is your road map to guide you through the marketing process.

A variety of ways to generate greater demand for your business. Whether you are starting a new business or improve an existing one, you should identify at what stage of the cycle life of your business is currently in. This information will affect your choice of strategies.

Here are twenty (20) business efficiency practices Construction:

Check your unique selling proposition: The Unique Selling Proposition (USP) is their greatest weapon and market differentiation critical to your business. What is a USP? In essence it is a simple statement that summarizes the unique features, benefits and value that provides that no else can. You arrive at your USP identified the characteristics, advantages and benefits of your company's products / services. After applying the same process for each product from its competitors and services, then compare and isolate the elements that distinguish it from its competitors.

Establish a Marketing communications budget: determining and allocating a specific amount of money to finance your marketing strategy can not be overestimated. Whether you use the access method, as a percentage of sales method, competitive parity method, or the objective and the allocation method to determine the amount of your marketing budget should be pre-set amount of money they spend on marketing activities to achieve its projected sales revenue.

Incorporate integrated marketing communications: a management concept that aims to make all aspects of marketing communication such as advertising, sales promotion, public relations and direct marketing must work together as a unified force. In practice, the aim of CMI is to create and maintain a unique style and message to all elements of your marketing campaign.

Using indirect marketing: Needless to say, put more "boots on the ground" in sales and marketing activities can pay huge dividends. Some of the networks of more indirect methods of marketing popular, strategic alliances, independent representatives, specialists in affiliate marketing, and the dealers and distributors.

Ask References: You know the importance of referrals. But if we do not always ask for references, not generate them. It is always advisable to request references. Ask what your client if you can find other companies that could use your products / services. You may be pleasantly surprised by his response.

Explore different markets: If your products / services are sold to one or two different markets, then it is time to explore the possibilities that may be available in other markets. A little imagination with their staff about this often produces a good "black list." As they say, "outside the box."

Consider additional channels of distribution: There are a number of channels that can work for you. For example, direct selling, as mail, Internet and telephone sales. Companies also use sales agents who sell their name and / or distributors (also known as wholesalers) who sell their products to retailers. And finally, there may be opportunities for direct sales to retailers and end users.

Develop Coverage Geographical additional distribution channels are often needed to express to you geographically. You may want to consider the possibility of franchising or license others to promote and sell their products? Increase product / service: This is a method used to increase sales and income. Important considerations when evaluating an offer of new products / services are: Can the new product or service is sold to its existing customer base? The new product / service to complement their existing products / services?

Differentiate Your Business: Differentiate your business means establishing your business competition and to communicate to their customers the value added benefits of doing business with you in relation to doing business with competitors. Differentiate your business also means that you constantly bring improvement to maintain a leadership position.

Identify competitors to customers the following information: a great source of potential customers residential customers within its competence. In most cases, these competitors have similar or identical needs customers existing.

Research your clients: In order to clearly differentiate your business, you should look at your business from your clients / prospects potential. Survey is a great avenue for customers to express their opinions, complaints, and to express appreciation for your business. The information obtained from a survey of clients is the foundation of your marketing strategy.

Your profile competitors: an analysis of lists competitive economy of its main competitors. It summarizes their products and services, promotion strategies, distribution methods, strengths and weaknesses, locations, offers, prices and image brand. A competitive analysis also outlines strategies to gain an advantage and defines a plan of action to be taken to prevent competitors in its market. The analysis helps to expose the competitor weaknesses and areas of vulnerability. With this information, are better able to craft competition and strategies marketing that you can redefine their brand and messaging program.

Acquiring new customers: This is a fact … Your company can sustain without the addition of new customers. acquiring new customers is a process that combines market data with direct marketing tools to identify and reach customers prospects with high potential and convert prospects into customers.

Mining existing clients: It is much less expensive to generate additional business its existing customer base to generate new business from new customers. A periodic review of the history of their customers purchase and frequency of purchases can reveal some interesting facts about the buying habits of customers.

customer loyalty programs: As the market remains more competitive, companies increasingly are offering loyalty programs. These programs help transform the first time customers into loyal customers by rewarding them through incentives, coupons, certificates or discounts.

Increase sales: Get the untapped value of their existing customers by the promotion of more expensive products and services. For example, your customer who regularly bought golf balls is an excellent candidate for the purchase of golf clubs, clothing and other golf accessories. Play a routine practice to recommend additional items that can be added to order his client.

Merger or acquisition of a competitor: The advantage of combining his company with another company creates immediate opportunities for sales growth of just the customer buying existing. And all things being equal, the new combination company "has the potential to be even more profitable than the two companies that operate independently. This potential for increased profitability is the direct result of increased sales at a time and operational efficiency (the possible reduction of total costs) that arising from the combination of the two companies.

Use a SWOT analysis: SWOT is an acronym for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. It is a valuation technique that paints a clear picture of how your business according to these four factors. SWOT can determine the benefits and disadvantages of your project, so you can align the internal strengths and weaknesses with external opportunities and threats. This exercise is essential for sound strategic planning. With SWOT can identify and prioritize issues that accelerate success.

Churn Review: According to research in the book, Customer Winback How to recover lost customers and loyal to the Fair, written by Jill Griffin and Michael Lowenstein, a company has a 60% to 70% chance of repeating success of sales to a current client. A chance of 20% to 40% of success selling a repeat customer and only lost 5% to 20% chance of successfully closing selling a brand to new customers. These statistics suggest that there is a possibility for companies to increase or maintain a client base of mining and evaluation its database of customer defection. Bernd Stauss and Christian Scrub makes this argument even more compelling in a case study, taking customer service. Their Results show that the net return on investment of a new customer obtained from an external list is 23% compared with a 214% return on investment the reinstatement of a customer who has defected.

Dead files view: Dig Out Your previous view files and make a list of results "Consisting of all perspectives of age that you think you can still have life. Please contact each. Express your desire to talk about their wants and needs current and the opportunity to explore the opportunity to serve your needs. Which of these practices has commercial ability, can or will implement its business development strategy?

Copyright © 2007

Terry H. Hill You may reprint this article free of charge in your newsletter, magazine, or on its website, provided that the article is unprecedented, and the copyright, author biography and contact information listed under each item. Articles published on the Web must provide a hyperlink to the author's website.

About the Author

Terry H. Hill is an author, consultant, trainer, mentor, and the founder & managing partner of Legacy Associates, Inc., a business consulting firm based in Sarasota, Florida.  Legacy, http://legacyai.com, is the parent company of the online small business, entrepreneurship, and management training website, http://www.TrainingforEntrepreneurs.com. 

A veteran chief executive, Terry works directly with business owners of privately held companies on the issues and challenges that they face in each stage of their business life cycle.  Terry is the author of the business desk-reference book, How to Jump Start Your Business.  Contact Terry by email at http://www.legacyai.com or telephone him at 941-556-1299.

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