After reading the last post, did you realize that you didn’t have a solid marketing plan for your small business? I would not be surprised. After all, many small businesses might not have a pressing need for marketing – at least that is the mindset. If I were you, though, I would pay some attention to marketing – never mind how small your business is. Marketing just might give you the edge that you need to eventually expand your small business into something bigger.

Long time marketers have already established sets of rules and guidelines as to how to go about marketing. One of the most practical tips I can share with you is the strategy called The Four P’s of Marketing. They are pretty much self-explanatory but let’s take a look at them.

PRODUCT
You have to be clear as to what product or service it is that you are offering. This is the foundation of your business and it has to be in black and white as the other elements are going to depend on this.

PRICE
Once you have decided on what you are selling or providing, then you can work on the pricing. There are many things to consider when determining your pricing. You have to check the current market prices, your own costs, and see how much you can price your product. Then you focus on the advantage that you are giving your customers with regard to price.

PLACE
As with the other P’s, you have to put yourself in your clients’ shoes. Describe the location of your business – its advantages and disadvantages. Describe your assets. The idea is to build your location around your customers and make them see that.

PROMOTION
Now that you have clear descriptions of your product, your pricing, and the place, it is time for you to come up with a clear and effective promotion strategy. We’ll take a deeper look into this in the next post.

Originally posted on February 9, 2011 @ 12:59 pm

Business, Marketing

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