Going Into Business in West Virginia - West Virginia Department of ...

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Identifying Your Market No matter HOw gOOd you think your product or service is, what the customer thinks is what really counts. Even if your product or service is well liked, you need to be sure that your customers will buy from you often enough, and in large enough quantities, to consistently generate the revenues needed to support and maintain your business. That is why a marketing plan is vital to your success. Planning, for the most part, isn’t fun. But if you don’t plan your marketing, you’ll spend lots more than you have to. And likely not have the results you want for your efforts. Planning is the first step to marketing smart! There are only three ways to increase sales: • Get more customers. • Get current customers to buy more often. • Get current customers to spend more on each visit. Customers — this is the key. It’s cheaper to keep a customer than add a new one; so what can you do to maintain your customer base Who Is Your Customer Most businesses sell to consumers via the Internet, or person to person. That’s the consumer market: business to consumer. But there are two other types of markets: The industrial market (business to business) and the reseller market. These additional markets maybe something to think about to expand your sales, but they take different marketing strategies. 4 Step Marketing Why would a customer want to buy your product or service Do you fill a need Are you convenient Do you help solve a problem Let’s go through this four-step plan to help you narrow your marketing. 1. Identify why your customer wants to buy your product or service. Can you identify the opportunity or problem your product or service will solve for a customer If not, you need to try and figure it out. This is Problem Number 1 when starting to develop a marketing strategy for your business. Most people will point to a feature, and expect customers to “get it.” However, what really sells, either a service or a product, is the benefit of the product, not its features. 40 Going into Business in West Virginia
Identifying Your Market According to Allen Weiss, founder and publisher of MarketingProfs.com, the first thing to note is that product features reside in the product, while benefits reside in the customer. For example: • A car can have 4-wheel drive (a concrete attribute) and provide a benefit to a customer of being able to go various places. • A computer can have a microprocessor with a fast clock speed (a concrete attribute) and provide the benefit of being able to get your job done faster. Benefits are always abstract, and they are often the result of a cluster of product attributes, some of which may be abstract attributes. For example, think of safety (say in a car). There is a cluster of concrete product attributes (e.g., air bags, brakes, and body construction) that give rise to the more abstract concept of the benefit of safety. But note that “safety” can also be applied to the car (so it’s an abstract product attribute). Many times, abstract product attributes are closely related to benefits. When they are, you do not get much benefit out of making a distinction between attributes and benefits. Given this discussion, you can see that it is often easier to think about what a customer buys by thinking along the continuum of concrete versus abstract ideas, regardless of whether we label it an attribute or a benefit. 2. Segment your overall market. Research your market and break it out into market segmentation: Geographic [location]; Demographic [age, education, et al]; Psychographic [gender and lifestyle]; and Behavioristic. To help with your market research you might use SBDCNet at sbdcnet.org. Geographic: People buy from stores within five miles of where they live; how wide an area do you serve Demographics: Age, education, income, minority status. Psychographic: According to Nilofer Merchant, the CEO of Rubicon Consulting in Silicone Valley, after doing good research and finding some natural “clumps” of interests, usages, priorities, or purchase drivers, we typically end up with three to five segments for any particular product, service, or solution area. For example, most technology firms catering to consumers have four or so groups that look like this: • Technology enthusiasts. Typically male, 30–45 years old. • Families with children. Price-sensitive, focused on protection and safety. • Older with money. They may tend to be price insensitive but need guidance on what to purchase and how to use/service it. • Teens and entertainment addicts. Low threshold for boredom, on the go, want the latest. West Virginia Development Office–Small Business Development Center 41
Page 1: GOING INTO BUSINESS IN WEST VIRGINI
Page 4 and 5: Table of Contents Chapter 7 Chapter
Page 6 and 7: iv Going into Business in West Vir
Page 8 and 9: Getting Started Owning a business a
Page 10 and 11: Getting Started Personal Considerat
Page 12 and 13: Getting Started Notes 10 Going int
Page 14 and 15: Finding a Business Starting and gro
Page 16 and 17: Finding a Business • What are the
Page 18 and 19: Finding a Business Notes 16 Going
Page 20 and 21: Choosing a Business Location Your C
Page 22 and 23: Choosing a Business Location Before
Page 24 and 25: Choosing a Business Location 22 Go
Page 26 and 27: Deciding on a Legal Structure The f
Page 28 and 29: Deciding on a Legal Structure Disad
Page 30 and 31: Deciding on a Legal Structure perso
Page 32 and 33: Deciding on a Legal Structure partn
Page 34 and 35: Deciding on a Legal Structure and z
Page 36 and 37: Selecting Your Insurance At some PO
Page 38 and 39: Selecting Your Insurance What are t
Page 40 and 41: Selecting Your Insurance For furthe
Page 44 and 45: Identifying Your Market Generally y
Page 46 and 47: Identifying Your Market These ideas
Page 48 and 49: What have you done What are you doi
Page 50 and 51: Identifying Your Market Notes 48 G
Page 52 and 53: Advertising Your Business Advertisi
Page 54 and 55: Advertising Your Business 5. Don’
Page 56 and 57: Advertising Your Business • Disco
Page 58 and 59: Advertising Your Business Notes 56
Page 60 and 61: Financing Your Business Will YOu ne
Page 62 and 63: Financing Your Business Review and
Page 64 and 65: Financing Your Business Small Busin
Page 66 and 67: Financing Your Business There are o
Page 68 and 69: Financing Your Business The Renewab
Page 70 and 71: Financing Your Business Venture Cap
Page 72 and 73: Financing Your Business Some state
Page 74 and 75: Financing Your Business Also, work
Page 76 and 77: Keeping Your Books Why keep reCOrds
Page 78 and 79: Keeping Your Books Federal Income,
Page 80 and 81: Keeping Your Books BooKKeeping sYst
Page 82 and 83: Securing a Business License Getting
Page 84 and 85: Securing a Business License File a
Page 86 and 87: Securing a Business License What is
Page 88 and 89: Securing a Business License What if
Page 90 and 91: Securing a Business License Departm
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Securing a Business License Contrac
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Securing a Business License Notes 9
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Business Planning Why write a busin
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Business Planning Review the list o
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Business Planning Notes 98 Going i
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Finding and Hiring Employees How do
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Finding and Hiring Employees Job ap
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Finding and Hiring Employees The an
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Finding and Hiring Employees Center
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Finding and Hiring Employees Federa
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Reporting Taxes As an entrepreneur,
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Reporting Taxes To file, use the fo
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Reporting Taxes Warehouse “Freepo
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Reporting Taxes 3 SIMPLE STEPS If y
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Reporting Taxes Notes 118 Going in
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Using West Virginia’s Business Re
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West Virginia Development Office Sm
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