Business and Marketing Plan

With the evolution of smart phones and tablets, information is being accessed quickly and in a variety of ways. Keeping track of all the places your potential clients might be is exhausting.

In the past, you had a print ad in the phonebook and maybe a few other options for advertising. Billboards, radio spots, and TV commercials were the way you spread the word about your business. Some people even used the Postal system to send out actual mail to customers letting them know about upcoming events and sales.

Now, you have all of that with online business listings at multiple channels.

Find Your Target Audience

Most businesses understand what their target customer is when they originally launch. You develop a solid marketing plan that fits the demographic appropriately.

But with the constant changing landscape of the world do you ever check that the target is still there? While you focused on your product, new development, and sales did you remember to also keep an eye out on your original target?

Re-focus on Your Target

A good marketing plan has something in common with a good business plan - you revisit it often. Sometimes you can initially create a great product. But after the initial launch, things can change. Maybe you are making adjustments for different versions or upgrades. Perhaps you haven't changed anything but the actual customers that end up buying your product on not the ones you initially assumed would.

As you take time to review your business plan to ensure that everything is sound and proceeding properly, you should also do the same with your marketing plan.

Questions to Consider:

• Where are the people buying my product hiding? (Social media sites)
• Does my current marketing strategy address my primary and secondary group of customers?
• Am I sending the right message out about my product or is it outdated?
• Have I updated all of my marketing information recently?

Appearance is Everything

It is surprising how many businesses ignore marketing after their initial launch. Web pages that were exciting during their initial launch are soon outdated. Marketing materials don't reference current contact information. Links to Facebook and the other channels just look unprofessional.

The general consensus from a customer is, "If you can’t handle keeping track of this stuff to promote yourself, why would I want your product?"

Aside from the simple aspect of retaining current customers and winning new customers, your marketing is also a reflection of who you are. What do you think of a business that has a web page that hasn't been update with anything current in the past year?