This is a great presentation for small businesses in need of a general understanding about marketing. Most small businesses feel they can't afford a marketing plan. In all honesty, they can't afford not to market. This presentation provides a few how-to's reveals a few mysteries and will help develop an appreciation for marketing you business.

1. A Few Thoughts About Marketing
Kauffman FastTrac New Venture
April 22, 2015

2. I need a marketing plan?

3. Why have a marketing plan?
a marketing plan makes sense of your business environment
a marketing plan enables clear decision making
a marketing plan prevents panic decisions
a marketing plan is a living working document

4. what should your plan include?

5. a goal
• Make your goal measurable
– instead of saying you want to make more money, indicate a dollar
amount
• If you want to do more networking, set a number of events
you want to attend each week. These goals will keep you
on track and accountable
• Once you have a goal, put it on the top of your marketing
plan. It can be just a sentence or two

6. your methods
• advertising
• public relations
• email newsletters
• media relations
• website
• social media
• direct mail
• personal letters
• networking events

7. other things to consider
• Target audience
– Who do you need to speak to, how do they
receive information
• How will you measure effectiveness
– Sales
– Number of leads that convert to sales
– Number of leads that are potential customers
– Cost of marketing per sale in relation to profit

8. marketing your brand
do you think perception is reality

9. you are your brand
•Who are you?
•What do you want to be known as?
•What do you have to offer?
•What is the “heart & soul” of YOU?

10. define your image
• Short bio / descriptor (you and your company)
• 30 second introduction / Elevator Speech
• First Impressions
• Online Presence

11. Communicate
• Get out there
• Attend networking events (social & professional)
• Volunteer
• Write articles
• Promote yourself online: tweets, posts,
comments

12. promote yourself (this is hard)
• Have a website
– There are many free websites available
(Wordpress, Tumblr, Wix)
• Get a unique business card
• Get a great headshot
• Update your personal style/look
• Get a good bio written

13. your online presence
website, social media, blogs, online videos

14. the one big thing about your website
• What’s the one big thing you want people to do on
your website?
• Is your website a maze of confusion and easy to follow
– or is it a great mystery
• The best websites take the form of a physical action
– is it sticky
– is it intriguing
– is there a call to action

15. but to tell you the truth …
• 90% - 98% of your visitors will not do that one
big thing you want them to do!
• Help them along:
– Offer newsletter signups
– Download white papers are articles of interest
whitepaper downloads
– Coupons or discount codes
– Project samples: make them visual

16. and on another note …
• How current is your website technology
• When was the last time you updated your site
• Does your site have outdated technology,
flash, music, is it slow to load
• Do you have a mobile site
• Do you even have a website …

17. mobile sites are now
• Upon the introduction of the iPad in 2010,
there were few people who saw the Tablet
market as having the potential to become
bigger than the PC market.
• In 2013 mobile pad shipments reached 231
million, compared to 186 million PCs, a trend
that will continue through 2017.

18. so what does this mean
if you don’t have a mobile site you
need to consider creating one

19. and what about social media

20. choose your mediums
• Big three – Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn
– others – YouTube, Pinterest
• Choose a few to start and move to others when
you are more comfortable – quality over quantity
• How will you monitor your social media
– website analytics, email response
• Use a service: Hootsuite, Tweetdeck

21. Craft your content
• Figure out what you’re going to post on each social
media account and how often
– this involves research and trying things out
• Create a schedule
• Use holidays and special events
• Subscribe to Google alerts (it’s free)

22. getting started
• Create a facebook and or twitter page
• Include social media logos on all printed and electronic
communications
• ie: Follow us on
• Use hashtags (#)
– hashtags create a clickable link. If you click the hashtag in any tweet,
you’ll display a live feed of every tweet that has that same hashtag in
it.
• Use the @ symbol to make a personal name or
business page name a clickable link.

23. having a marketing plan and utilizing
social media will connect you with more
customers and protect your business
during a crisis

24. top questions
• How much will it cost to maintain
• How many hours should I spend on it
• Where do I start
• How long will it take to see results

25. how much will it cost
• Determine your capacity and your need for training
• How much marketing knowledge do you have
• How much time and money can you reasonably
devote to marketing each day
– factor in the “figuring out” as well as the “doing”
• Your marketing activity will depends on three things:
– size of your budget
– size of your goals
– your time

26. where to start
• listen. (don’t jump in right away . . . )
• check out marketing trends in your industry
• what are your competitors doing
• how is their social media activity
• monitor the chatter in your industry
• what topics get the most responses
• what topics go ignored
• what are the trends

27. so, now do you think you need a marketing plan?

28. “business has only two functions –
marketing and innovation”
Milan Kundera, author

29. questions

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