1 Who Are You? Presented by Greg Rosenberg In today's competitive environment businesses need to differentiate themselves from their competitors. If you haven't considered a formal marketing program, perhaps it's time.

2 Marketing Your Small Business Presented to the Better Business Bureau July 17, 2014

3 What is marketing? Marketing supports sales Sets the stage Defines the audience Builds awareness Generates leads

Clearly identify your goals Develop a sustainable strategy and specific tactics Create broader consumer awareness/ branding 4 The path to success

5 Your value from the customer’s perspective Key differentiators USP/Value Proposition Not what I’ve done or what I can do, but how what I do translates into results for you Your market niche Know yourself

6 What do they really need? What makes them tick? How do you reach them? Is each customer segment different? Be customer centric

7 Build a plan Keep it simple and precise Make it your own Allow for growth and change How do I begin?

8 Refine your message Segment your message where necessary (one size does not fit all) Stimulate emotions Solve problems/create a need Answer concerns Tell them WIF them? 8

9 Attack the markets from all fronts Clarity Consistency Commitment Long-term repetition Balance of media 9

10 Budget but be flexible 10

11 A Proven Approach 11 1.Identify business objectives 2.Define audiences 3.Formulate appropriate messages 4.Identify communications channels 5.Create budgets and schedules 6.Produce compelling communications materials 7.Manage the entire process from start to finish 8.Test your systems 9.Measure the results (cost per lead/incremental sales/gross/net)

12 THE REALLY, REALLY ABREVIATED MARKETING PLAN Behaviors your marketing should motivate. Prime benefit you offer. Target audience or audiences. Define your niche or what you stand for: economy, service, quality, price, uniqueness, anything. Personality of your company. Marketing budget, expressed as a percentage of your projected gross sales. What marketing weapons you plan to use.

13 MARKETING ENGAGEMENT QUESTIONNAIRE Date Completed:________ Sales Objectives:Last Year’s Sales____________________________________ 2014 Realistic Sales Objective___________________________ 2014 Stretch Sales Objective___________________________ How do you think you can get there? Try to provide realistic methods. Are there specific segments of your products of services that have the most potential? Does your company sell primarily to local, regional, national or international markets? Do you have a written business plan? Do your employees understand where you are and where you want to go within this plan? From where is your highest profit derived? Which products? What type of end-users? Current Customers? Top Five in Sales? Average sales per year per customer? Please indicate how many customers you have at various price points. Decision-makers (job titles)?

Questions? 14 BCSIPR.com Presented by Greg Rosenberg