Creating a Unique Selling Proposition for Your Business Startup

As you think about your new business, you must create a way to make your business stand out in the minds of potential customers/clients. And you must describe your products or services to make people want to come in and buy. You must create a Unique Selling Proposition (USP).

The most important thing to remember about a USP is "benefits, 

not features." Focus on benefits to your potential customers, not the great features you think are really cool. The technical aspects of your products are great, but your customers are more concerned with whether the product or service is what they need or want.

For example, 

if you are selling shoes, don't describe the way they were made, talk about how they will make the customer feel sexy, or comfortable. Focus on:

• How the product/service will solve a problem
• How this will change the person
• How the product/service will improve the person's life

Creating a USP is one of the most difficult parts of a business plan, but one of the most important. You will need to keep working on getting it right, so you know how to market your products or services.

By Jean Murray

US Business Law / Taxes Expert

How To Develop a Marketing Strategy - By Laura Lake Marketing Expert

The benefits of a planned marketing strategy are numerous. Business owners often rely solely on their intuition to make business decisions. While this informal knowledge is important in the decision making process, it may not provide you with all the facts you need to achieve marketing results. A marketing strategy will help you in defining business goals and develop activities to achieve them.

Difficulty: Average

Time Required: 2 hours 

Here's How:

1. Describe your company's unique selling proposition (USP).
2. Define your target market.
3. Write down the benefits of your products or services.
4. Describe how you will position your products or services.
5. Define your marketing methods. Will you advertise, use Internet marketing, direct marketing, or public relations?

Tips:

1. Your Unique Selling Proposition sets you out from the rest, don't try to develop a marketing plan without one.
2. It's important that you have a budget developed for your marketing plan. Marketing is an investment.
3. Revisit your marketing plan at least once every quarter. Are you on target? Do you need to revise it?

What You Need:

• A place to concentrate.
• A pen or pencil.
• A notebook or journal.

By Laura Lake

Marketing Expert

What Makes a Marketing Strategy Different From a Marketing Plan? By Laura Lake Marketing Expert

Marketing Strategy vs. Marketing Plan

          It's not uncommon for people to confuse the difference between a marketing strategy and a marketing plan. I've found the easiest way to explain the difference is like this:

Marketing Strategy - Your marketing strategy is an explanation of the goals you need to achieve with your marketing efforts. (What) Your marketing strategy is 

shaped by your business goals. Your business goals and your marketing strategy should go hand-in-hand.

Marketing Plan - Your marketing plan is how you are going to achieve those marketing goals. (How) it's the application of your strategy a road map that will guide you from one point to another.

The issue is that most people try to set out to achieve the "how" without first knowing the "what." This can end up wasting resources for a company, both time and money.

When it comes to marketing, we must always identify the what and then dig into the how. If you remember one sentence from this article, it's this one:  Strategy is the thinking and planning is the doing. Here is an example of how the two work together

Example:

Objective: To gain broader market adoption.
Marketing Strategy: Introduce into new market segments.
Marketing Plan: Develop marketing campaign that reaches out, identifies with and focuses on that specific segment.

A successful formula that can be used to further explain the importance on marketing strategy and marketing planning looks like this:

Marketing Strategy ---> Marketing Plan ---> Implementation = Success

• Your marketing strategy consists of:

  The "what" has to be done -

   

  Inform consumers about the product or service being offered - 

  Inform consumers of differentiation factors - 

  Construct marketing campaigns and promotions that will achieve the "what" in your strategy.

• Your marketing plan consists of:

The "how" to do it - 

Construct marketing campaigns and promotions that will achieve the "what" in your strategy. 

•  Your implementation consists of:

Taking action to achieve items identified in marketing strategy and marketing plan.

If you are preparing your marketing strategy and your marketing plan to go into your business plan these are the components that must go into each section:      

Components of Your Marketing Strategy

• External Marketing Message
• Internal Positioning Goal
• Short Term Goals and Objectives
• Long Term Goals and Objectives

Components of Your Marketing Plan

• Executive Summary - High level summary of your marketing plan.
• Your Challenge - Brief description of products / services to be marketed and a recap of goals identified in your marketing strategy.
• Situation Analysis - This section should identify the following:
• Goals
• Focus
• Culture
• Strengths
• Weaknesses
• Market Share
   
• Analysis of Your Customer - How many customers would you like to strive for? What type of customers are they? What are the values that drive them? What does their decision process look like? What customers will you focus on for the products or services that you offer?
• Analysis of Your Competitors - What's your marketing position? What's their market position? What are your strengths when it comes to your competitors? What are your weaknesses? What market share are you going after? What market share has your competitor already tapped?
   
• Identification of your 4 P's (Product / Price / Distribution / Place)
   
• Summary - Summary of above and how you will use this information to achieve the goals you have identified in your marketing strategy. Be specific - the more specific actions you have the easier it will to follow through on the last step which is implementation.
  As you can see your marketing strategy goes hand-in-hand in with your marketing plan. Without both you will find that you not only waste resources, but that you could also end up stuck without an idea of where to go.
  Another key point is don't forget to measure any marketing campaigns that you launch in order to see what works and what doesn't. You can use this information to guide you in the future

 

By Laura Lake

Marketing Expert

What Does a Marketer Do? By Laura Lake - Marketing Expert

          When considering jobs and employment opportunities, often times marketing comes into mind and you may ask yourself, just what does a marketing position consist of and what do they do?

A career in marketing is enjoyable and fun. Most people who work in marketing will tell you it provides them with the challenge they have always wanted. The reason being is marketing is always 

changing; there are always techniques to learn, cases to study, and strategies to research.    Do you have what it takes to be successful in a marketing career?

          When a person tells you that they work in marketing, there could be hundreds of different types of jobs they may be talking about. Marketing jobs are plentiful and vary based on the company, structure, and type of position that you are seeking.

          Marketing account managers and marketing account executives are just two types of marketing jobs. In these types of positions, a person would normally be one that has the day to day contact with a specific customer or client and is their point of contact for any and all issues.

          Another job responsibility of one of these positions would be to design the marketing strategies for their company to help expand business and grow. They look to you as if you are their consultant, feeling confident that you know how to best market their business. When the customer needs you for something, they expect you to be there.  There must be a good communication liaison between you and the customer at all times. Having people skills are critical to these types of positions because you are face to face with clients and customers constantly.

          There are also marketing jobs that don’t consist of you working with customers all the time. Careers or positions what would be less people oriented could be ones such as a product marketing manager or a brand marketing manager. You would probably report into an account manager that would be the go to person with customers and you do the office work without the communication directly with the client. These positions would have a person being responsible for understanding a specific brand or product. You would have specific strategies based on your product or brand and have a solid understanding of how you can promote and market their products. You would look at the market, gain information on who wants to buy that specific product and what drives the product to sell. You may create presentations to validate your research that the manager could then in turn go to the client with. You may be responsible for scheduling a complete marketing plan from start to finish including the budget, communication, and organizing materials. These types of jobs give all around experience in the marketing arena.

          Careers as a marketing manager are those that are the decision makers. They manage an entire marketing organization and have people under them who they are responsible for as well. Normally a position of marketing manager is going to entail some years prior with other marketing positions and one can be promoted into a marketing manager job after proving themselves.

          A career in marketing can take you in several different directions. Marketing is comprised of many facets and activities. You will find that there are many opportunities in marketing, is there a career path that is right for you? Explore the different career opportunities and decide which one fits you best. Marketing jobs are out there, but the job market is tight. Do the proper research and find the one that works best for you. Once you find it you will need to market yourself in order to stand out from the crowd.


 By Laura Lake
Marketing Expert

   

Bob Chapman

الراجل اللي في الصورة ده اسمه  Bob Chapman  - رئيس مجلس إدارة شركة Barry-Wehmiller ودي شركة ضخمة بتشتغل في كذا صناعة وعندها أكثر من 7000 موظف .

المهم - في 2008 لما حصلت الأزمة المالية العالمية، 30% من الصفقات اللي كانوا عاملينها اتلغت في يوم واحد، وطبعًا دي كانت كارثة.

الشركة مقدرتش تستوعب قدر الموظفين اللي عندها بمرتباتهم وكدة، وكانوا مجبرين يوفروا 10 مليون دولار من مصاريف الشركة، وزي معظم الشركات ساعتها مجلس الإدارة اجتمع وقرروا يمشوا جزء من الموظفين.

بوب شابمان رفض، وفضلوا يتنقاشوا فترة طويلة عشان يعرفوا يلاقوا حل، لحد ما وصلوا لبرنامج مُرضي يحل الأزمة.

البرنامج ده كان بيقول ان كل موظف، من أول العمال لحد رئيس مجلس الإدارة، مطلوب منهم ياخدوا اجازة 4 اسابيع بدون مرتب، في الوقت اللي هما عايزينه، ومش شرط الـ4 اسابيع دول يكونوا متتاليين.

العبقرية مكنتش بس في فكرة الحل، العبقرية كانت في الطريقة اللي Bob Chapman أعلن بيها البرنامج ده.

قال للموظفين: "It's better that we should all suffer a little, than any of us should have to suffer a lot".

الموظفين لما حسّوا بالأمان في شركتهم وحسّوا ان لهم قيمة، بدأوا يساعدوا بعض. بقى اللي معاه فلوس تكفيه ياخد 5 أو 6 أسابيع اجازة، واللي ميقدرش يعيش من غير مرتبه ياخد اسبوعين بس، وهكذا.

الشركة وفّرت 20 مليون دولار، يعني ضعف الرقم اللي كانوا محتاجينه، ومن غير ما يسرّحوا بني آدم واحد.

فيه فرق كبير اوي بين الـManager اللي بيبص ع الأرقام بس، والـLeader اللي عارف قيمة البني آدم.

Lost in Life ....?

It's ok to not have a grand plan.

We are expected to have a plan. A grand plan for our lives. But what if you don’t have one, like these famous people?

As a kid you get asked what you want to become. The higher your tuition grows, the more you are supposed to know what all your learning will amount to.

People Who Took An Indirect Path To Success

There will be a direct path from college into a high-paying, intellectually stimulating, and satisfying-in-all-other-ways job. At least that is the plan. A direct path to success, right?

Why then so many successful people look lost at the beginning? Why didn’t they find this direct and easy path? Success of others  can only be seen in hindsight. And hindsight distorts reality. What looked like a mess at the time in hindsight looks like a series of perfectly executed maneuvers.

Take Silicon Valley angel investor Pejman Nozad – at 30 a rug dealer. Selling carpets at 30 is not failure by any means, but how many people who do that job believe that they are just a few steps away from being a high-power angel investor? An investor with a stake in one of the most influential companies in the world, like Dropbox. Not many. And how many people working in a rug shop would invite a founder of a hot startup to their rug shop to introduce them to other investors? Pejman did. Although now it may look like he had a plan, at the time it seemed random.

Is there a Grand Plan for my life?

It makes sense that anyone famous would have a grand plan – until you look at the life of, say, Ray Croc. The founder of what we now know as McDonalds was still just a salesman of paper cups and milkshake mixers on his 50th birthday. Then one day he stumbled upon a clean restaurant with good burgers. He bought it and franchised it. Could it have been his plan all along? Unlikely. While being a paper cup salesman is not the same as failure, it doesn’t look like a grand plan either.

So, is it ok if at the bottom of your heart you know you have no grand plan? As long as you are alive, you still have a chance

Written by Anna Vital

Information Designer and Infographic Author

How to Create a Marketing Plan ... !!?

               Everyone will tell you that you absolutely have to have one. Few of the people who say that, however, are able to tell you what exactly a marketing plan consists of. Creating a marketing plan for your small business should n’t take you a few hours. Ideally, it should take you at least a few days to do the research and have the necessary discussions — potentially even a few weeks depending on factors like the size of your market and the uniqueness of your product line(s).

The following steps may help you in developing your marketing plans.

1. The Executive Summary. 
A high-level summary of the marketing plan as a whole, and a paradox on paper

         this is the last section that you should write, but the first section that should be in the finished report. It’s best to keep the Executive Summary as short and sweet as possible — just a couple of sentences to sum everything up. While writing it, imagine that you’re going to present this summary “elevator pitch” style. Once you’ve finished it, read it out loud. If it takes you longer than ten seconds to read it all, it probably needs to be simplified even further.

2. The Challenge. 

           This section should contain a brief description of the product(s) and/or product line(s) that your company offers. With each description, include goals that you want to set for each product and product line (sales figures, strategic and company-wide goals, etc.). Keep the number and complexity of your goals at a maximum of three per product/product line, and remember that they need to be concise, measurable, and moderately easy to achieve.

3. Situation Analysis. 

           This section contains a snapshot of your company, your customer base, and your market at large. It should be divided into six subsections:

• 1. Company Analysis:
  • Long and Short-Term Company-wide goals.
  • The focus of your company (should fall directly in line with your mission and vision statements).
  • Analysis of the culture of your company (is your company a fast-paced shark tank, or a laid-back ping-pong table environment?).
  • Strengths of your company.
  • Weaknesses of your company.
  • Your company’s estimated market share.
• 2. Customer Analysis:
  • Estimate size of your customer base (i.e. how many people could potentially purchase any of your products. “Anyone” is not an answer).
  • Key Demographics of your customer base (age, social class, gender).
  • Value drivers (what about your products and/or services provides true value to your customer base?).
• 3. Competitor Analysis:
  • Market Position (are your competitors fully invested in the market, or do they only play in specific segments? Are they big or small?).
  • Strengths.
  • Weaknesses.
  • Market shares.
• 4. Collaborators: – People and companies that are key to continuing what you do.
  • Subsidiaries, joint ventures, distributors, suppliers, etc.
• 5. Climate: — “PEST” Analysis.
  • Political and legal environment (are there any specific regulations or laws governing your products?).
  • Economic environment.
  • Social and cultural environment.
  • Technological environment (are cutting-edge techs integral to your products? are there any projected updates?).
• 6. SWOT Analysis:
• Your company’s internal strengths (what does your unique structure and/or unique employee team help you be the best at?).
• Your company’s internal weaknesses (in what areas do your unique structure and/or unique employee team hold you back?).
• External opportunities for your company (what’s out there that you could easily take advantage of for your betterment?).
• External threats to your company (what’s out there that can potentially destroy your business if you’re not careful?).                                       

4. Market Segmentation:

• Each market has its own different segments. Understanding the relevant segments for your product(s) in your market is important, for they allow you to adjust your “marketing mix” (the “Four P’s” discussed lower) to better adapt to the different needs of each segment.
• Segments should be measurable, accessible, different from other segments in response to a marketing mix, durable (not constantly changing), substantially large enough to produce a profit, and homogeneous.
• Inside your marketing plan, listing your segments should follow a clear and predictable form, like the one listed below:
• Name of the Segment:
• Description.
• Percent of your overall sales this segment accounts for.
• What, exactly, this segment wants and needs.
• How this segment uses your product.
• What sort of support this segment needs.
• The best ways to advertise to and communicate with this segment.
• The price sensitivity of this segment (are they largely price elastic or price inelastic?).
• Repeat this until you feel that you have identified all of your major segments.

5. Alternative Marketing Strategies: 

                                                                                                          Write down details about any alternatives that you and your team considered before arriving at your current strategy. These may include eliminating a particular product or line, changing the price point of a product or line, etc.

6. Selected Marketing Strategy: 

             Explain the strategy that you and your team have developed and agreed upon. Why did you choose this strategy? Why do you feel that it’s the best possible strategy for the near future? Once that’s on paper, put your “Four P’s” down for each product. Each product should have its own “Four P’s” – you can follow the format below:

• Product
  • Branding/Brand Name.
  • Intended quality of the product (is it a $1 plastic toy firetruck, or a $30 metal one with real flashing lights and a siren?).
  • Scope of the product line.
  • Warranty.
  • Packaging.
• Price
  • List price.
  • Discounts.
  • Bundling.
  • Payment terms.
  • Leasing options (if applicable).
• Place (Distribution)
  • Distribution channels (do you sell this product yourself, ship it to retailers or warehouses, etc).
  • Channel Motivations (what sort of margins should your distributors expect, if applicable?).
  • Criteria for evaluating your distributors.
  • Locations.
  • Logistics and Supply Chain.
• Promotion
• Advertising (what types? how much of each type? what type of advertising channels — TV, print, internet, etc. – do you plan to use?).
• Public Relations.
• Promotional programs.
• Budget, including your break-even point.
• Projected results of this promotional program (impact to customer loyalty, new customer acquisition, etc.).

7. Short and Long-Term Projections. 

               This section should include forecasts of revenues and expenses, your break-even analysis, and any changes or adjustments that you predict you’ll need to make in the future.

8. The Conclusion This is an expanded version of your Executive Summary.

                  You should include all specific numbers (projected costs, revenues, profits, etc.).