| |
| |
|
Marketing Information |
|
|
|
A Questionnaire for Businesses
As best you can, answer the following twenty-five questions. There's no scoring. But you'll know whether you should be satisfied with your answers, or not. If you aren't, perhaps you have some work to do. 1. What are the benefits you offer? 2. What do you think motivates your clients to buy? Are they driven by Fear of Loss, Desire for Gain, Self Preservation, Safety, Health, Security, Recognition, Power, Net Profits, Increased Sales, Lower Costs, Knowledge, Self Actualisation, Social Status, Riches, Popularity, Self Expression, Acceptance, Prestige, Success, Pleasure, or a combination of a few of these? 3. Why do you think your best/favourite clients purchased your service/product? (What benefit(s) attracted them?) 4. Have you asked your clients why they purchased from you. 5. How does your service improve the life or work conditions of your clients? 6. Have you written a profile of your best clients? 7. Have you identified where to find the greatest concentration of your best prospects? 8. Have you identified a list of prospects similar to your best customers? 9. Considering all the potential prospects you've identified, with which ones could your service/product make the biggest difference? 10. How do your clients normally purchase your service/product? (Your distribution system.) 11. Who is your competition? 12. What other "competition" do you have? (i.e., other kinds of products/services, lack of awareness on the part of your prospects, etc.) 13. Why do your prospects buy from your competition? (What benefit do they offer?) 14. Why would or should your prospects switch from your competition to you? 15. Can you list 5 to 10 reasons why someone should purchase your product/ service? 16. What makes your service/product unique or better than others? (This is your unique selling proposition, or USP) 17. Have you reduced your USP into a fifteen-word-or-less "commercial"? 18. Have you identified a market niche in which you do/can specialise? 19. Have you told your prospects about your speciality? (Or is your speciality buried in your marketing materials among all the other things you can also do?) 20. How are you raising awareness of your service among your prospects? 21. Do you have a marketing "mix", or do you depend upon one marketing tool to build your business? 22. Does the image you present to your target market live up to the image your target market feels they deserve? 23. What would happen to your business if your top two clients left you in the same six month period? 24. Are you spending 20 to 30% of your time on marketing activities? (If you are a start-up, are you spending 80 to 90% of your time marketing?) 25. Do you have measurable goals for your business? 26. What one major obstacle stands between you and your goals? If you struggled with a few of these, you have some work to do. If these questions puzzled you, you have much to do. Keith Thirgood, Creative Director Capstone Communications Group Helping businesses get more business through innovative marketing Markham, Ontario, Canada 905-472-2330 Subscribe to Thrive-on-line http://list.capstonecomm.com/mail.cgi?f=list&l=thrive_on_line
MORE RESOURCES:
Marketing - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Marketing And Patience "Get your positioning and your programs implemented properly, and the numbers will come. But you've got to have some patience. Prepare Your Communications For Growth As the American economy emerges from recession, many businesses are now reexamining their marketing materials and realizing that their communications are outdated, ill-prepared for the return of a robust, competitive, growing economic environment. Strategies developed to survive hard times are often the wrong ones for profiting in good times. Top 7 Ways to Get Your Products in the Hands of Celebrities Celebrities are the tastemakers that drive brand awareness and usage. Celebrities drive the direction of trends. Why Direct Mail Advertising Works And How To Lower Your Costs I met a lady who said she received a notice in the mail from a company offering plaques of various animals. She knew her daughter would love them as a gift and ordered them. Let It Ring Telemarketing has its place in the marketing arsenal. But telespammers - like their digital counterparts in the email marketing world - really make it tough on the legitimate follow-up telephone call from a company with which you have a relationship. Why Market to Generation X? Generation X"--the 40 million or so people born between 1965 and 1976--understands it is living in a world of uncertainty where neither the governŽment nor private employers offer lifetime financial security. This is, however, the next generation of responsible adults, bright young people with families to protect and educate. Marketing Strategies: What Choices Do You Have? Most business people want to see improvements in sales and profits. But how do you get there? What choices do you have?To build your business there are four strategic options that must be considered:1) Sell existing products to existing customers. Trade Show Promotions That Are Memorable If you have been to expos and trade shows as an attendee like me you would be familiar with the exciting prospect of carrying home a heavy plastic bag of trade show promotions, the end result though is usually the trade show promotions end up down the back of the couch, on the floor or in the bottom dusty drawer of your desk, hopefully reading this article on tradeshow promotions, your gift to clients and prospects will not share the same fate.Your tradeshow promotions will need to be carefully chosen to both compete with your competitors and retain the attention of the reciever after the event. Are You a Marketing Octopus, or a Marketing Worm? One of the greatest challenges to effectively marketing a business is determining which marketing method is best for your business.Most people look at what their competitors are doing to market their businesses and then simply imitate that, whether good or bad. Networking Events - Lose the Fear and Gain the Benefits "Kevin, are you saying I need to go to Networking events? I hope not because I hate them."No, of course you don't have to go to them. Marketing Got You Stumped? It's not unusual for entrepreneurs to find the whole idea of marketing intimidating. Even seasoned business owners often feel their marketing efforts aren't working. Postcard Marketing Done Right Say it with a post card. A well designed, colorful, high impact postcard in the mail box of your prospect is your best ticket to a new customer. Unleash the Powerful Promoter Within Dear Friend,You're ripping me off.How? You may be thinking, "We just met. Translation and Your International E-Commerce Strategy Most businesses realize that they are simply a click away from any corner of the globe. Well, actually two if you include the Yahoo! search a potential customer does to access your shopping cart. Direct Mail Response Rates Mislead if You are Careless I could tell you that the average temperature in the world is 60 degrees Fahrenheit. But that fact wouldn't keep you from getting sunstroke in Cairo. Turbo-Charge Your Viral Marketing- Five Easy Ways The world of marketing has changed. With increasingly better educated and more skeptical consumers, marketing methods must be increasingly accountable. Massage Marketing Made Easy: A Simple Nine Step Marketing Plan for Therapists and Bodyworkers Marketing is actually very simple. It involves telling people what you do. Six Ways To Attract New Customers To Your Restaurant Without new business, your restaurant won't be able to grow. You need a constant stream of new customers to replace those you lose as a result of customers relocating, switching jobs, or changing dining habits. What IS the Difference Between Marketing and Sales? There seems to be a never ending argument among marketing and sales professionals as to what really is the difference between marketing and sales functions. More often than not, both business activity terms are used to describe any business activity that is involved in increasing revenues. A Complaint? It's a Compliment! - 7 Tips for Dealing with Complaints at Trade Shows A Complaint? It's a Compliment!What made you mad last week?In the past week, how many times were you upset by something? What action did you take? Complain to the neighbors, make a snide remark to a co-worker, post it on a list or email a group? Did you just gossip or did you try to make it into a positive experience? They say we complain to ten people for every one compliment about a product or service.Did you call the manager of the company, write the company president, email a suggestion for improvement? Probably not.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
