RESOURCES - The FOCUS Marketing Intelligence Report

Want to Know More About Business Marketing Intelligence? Starting Here Will Help. The FOCUS Report is a our very own e-mail newsletter - a.k.a. 'e-zine' - is dedicated to keeping our clients and subscribers up-to-date with thoughtful, relevant news articles and opinion on how to build your online business. Enjoy!

Marketing 101 - Marketing Tips

  [  ...about social bookmarks]

By Roy McClean, Principal
The Custom Fit Communications Group

By doing the proper planning up-front, you will save time and money when developing marketing tactics such as advertising, printed materials and Web sites. Plan this information to your benefit. Ignore this information to your peril. Know and share this information with your professional helpers (e.g. ad agency, research firm, graphic designer, consultant, Web developer) before you start your work.

1. Know your business.
   McDonalds isn’t just in the food business. They are in the convenience and ease-of-access business. Fast food companies put huge resources into determining what real estate they are going to acquire because it affects how convenient and accessible their restaurants are to their target market. What’s your real business in the eyes of your customers?
    
2. Know your target market.
   Can you determine your target market in general? How about for different product or service categories by age, gender, geographic location, and other relevant characteristics? Toyota knows the differences between the target markets for small cars vs. sports utility vehicles. Have you done any formal research to determine who your target market really is?
    
3. Know your competition.
   What makes you unique in the eyes of your customers? We refer to this as differentiation. What are your strengths and weaknesses versus your competition? What opportunities or threats present themselves when comparing your business to your competition?
    
4. Know your objectives.
   Do you want to increase business - in general? ...For a specific product or service? ...By what dollar volume? ...By what 'unit' volume? For which target market(s)?
    
5. Know how to measure your results.
   How are you going to track your results? This will help you determine the success or failure of your marketing tactic and will help you improve it in the future.
   
   When you really know points 1 through 5, then share this information with your professional help before you start working on a project. In general, the more background your professional help has, the faster and better they can work. This saves you time and money.
    
6. 6. Know your help.
   If you have hired professional help, know their specialties, strengths, weaknesses, etc. Not sure how to find this out? Try asking them directly. Talk to their clients. Match your company’s needs to the profile of your professional help.
    
7. Trust your help.
   You have to be comfortable with the final product, whether it be an ad, brochure or Web site. However, if you have done your homework in selecting your professional help, then you should be able to trust them. When you request revisions, explain why - not just how or what you want changed. Remember: you have hired a designer or a copywriter for a reason. They are professionals. When you assume the role of a designer, copywriter, etc, then you are potentially undermining your efforts, thereby increasing the time and cost of developing marketing tactics.

Follow these tips to develop marketing tactics faster and cheaper.

The Custom Fit Communications Group develops a communications brief for our clients before starting production of any marketing tactic. We recognize that knowing your company, your objectives and your competition is vital to developing tactics that work, are on time and on budget.

Print This Page

We'll send you a FREE Estimate for Your Next Project. Fill out a Projects Estimate form and we will contact you within 48 hours. Roy McClean, FOCUS Business Intelligence; Vancouver & Whistler.