Table of Contents || Directory of Advertisers

For some, the marketing portion of your business plan can be laborious or a labor of love. For some, the marketing plan could be a simple as printing and distributing flyers to cable advertising. What is critical, is that if the customer does not know you exist, or know you have a great product or service, how will you generate the sales needed to pay back a loan and allow the business to survive?

In most credit situations the marketing plan needs to show, unequivocally the “ability to repay.” Business owners have it tough enough just with overseeing daily operations, unplanned situations, longer than average hours…but if the customers are lined up at the front door, it makes it all worthwhile. Ever pass a group of people lined up for tickets? Or crowded around an activity as simple as a mime or street juggler? Or even in a serious situation, such as an accident, “rubber-necking” is all too common. If you didn’t know what was going on, what was being offered, or what was being passed out, we all would have the tendency to stop and look too.

This “creating interest” is key to the marketing plan. Within your budget, what are the best communication channels to “get the word out?” Could two or more channels work together such as print ads driving the customer to a website to place orders? Would you exhibit at one of several outstanding Chambers of Commerce business and trade shows in order to make contacts to add to your direct mail list? Would that direct mailer than have the customer bring in a coupon or call a toll free number to place an order? Just short of a road block, could you really direct all the cars on the highway to pass by your drive-in, and only then proceeding to work? (don’t laugh, I’ve seen it happen).

 

You need to think, as one of my best marketing friends put it, “begin with the end in mind.” How exactly are the customers going to make that purchase?

An example: Be sure to know what the response, reply, or “call to action” rate is for each promotional channel. If you don’t know, ask. Sending out 10,000 pieces of mail this month with an estimated 4% retention, leaves you with a pool of 400. Of those 400, how many will actually get in the car, pick up the phone, or log on to the computer? Let’s go conservative and estimate 9 out of 10 rather eat, drive, buy the competitors’ brand. You reached the target audience, but 90% like what they have. Now you have 40. Of these 40, how much do you estimate they will spend? If you were a car dealer and you sold 40 new cars/month just from those mailers, this might be considered a good method. If you were selling ice cream cones, would it be a good idea? (yes, only before they melted! Just kidding!).

Which brings me to my next point.

The sales cycle. We are not talking about the cycle of turning the sold item into cash, which then buys more inventory, which is then resold.

You need to know two things: Do I have enough customers in my target market to sell to? And, how many times per year/month/day/hour can I sell my product or service?

Compare the length of time between sales, to the same customer, for a primary residence or a new car? I’ll bet you will find that the time frame is long, therefore do you have enough cash to fill in during the “no sale” times? If you have a product or service that has this time lag, do you have to create, almost simultaneous sales from many customers, not unlike shingles on a roof? Roses don’t grow in the winter and it doesn’t snow in the summer.