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Marketing encompasses everything that an organization does to facilitate an exchange between company and consumer - a deliberate process that takes considerable time, research and evaluation for a marketing plan to be effective.
Do you have a plan for your business? Much like an operating budget, a formal written marketing plan establishes a set of measurable and actionable parameters and benchmarks for your company’s success within an established timeline. While the activity of marketing encompasses all the things you do as a company to promote your core offerings to interested potential customers and clients, a formal plan concretely defines your goals and expectations, and provides the necessary road map for successful implementation.
An effective marketing plan addresses the following key points |
Corporate Position
A company should articulate its brand (desired representative image or business personality in the mind of buyers), market segment and competitive positioning (market leader, challenger, etc.).
Core Offerings
A company should identify the products and services it provides, and the unique characteristics or benefits of those products and services that differentiate them from competitors.
Customers
A company should establish the profile of existing customers and desired prospects (end users), and how factors like pricing and brand recognition play a role in affecting buyer decisions.
Competition
A company should objectively evaluate its perceived placement (rank) in a given market category, the quality of its products and services in relation to its competition, and how it will adjust to competitive pricing fluctuations (ignore, act as a price leader, follower, etc.).
Business Objectives
A company should always maintain a clear set of defined business goals, including quantifiable financial growth, improving real and perceived market position and increasing brand awareness. These business objectives should be the driving force of all marketing efforts, and should be reviewed for consistency and performance.
ROI Expectations
In addition to setting an annual marketing budget, a company should evaluate and track each marketing investment (trade shows, direct mail, website development, email marketing, online advertising, etc.) and generate a realistic ROI that can be periodically reviewed and refined in order to make adjustments as needed.
ISM | Strategic Group: We Are About You! |
ISM’s clients range from industry icons with complex marketing and branding issues to small startup organizations many of which have never considered developing a marketing strategy outside of a word of mouth business model. ISM consults with more industrial manufacturers, distributors and service companies regarding their complex industrial business-to-business growth challenges. Industry trusts ISM to plan, design and execute comprehensive plans which help them reach their strategic growth objectives online and offline. ISM can help:
A Manufacturer who wants to generate leads for distributors
ISM serves manufacturers with direct or indirect distributor networks. You know how challenging it is to maximize sales revenue per distributor. Our executive partners work with you to design and implement the best online and offline marketing strategies to generate highly qualified distributor sales leads.
A Distributor who wants leads from the Internet
The Internet has caused much trepidation recently as online sourcing as enabled buyers to find the information they need directly from manufacturers. ISM works with you to create the product content you need from the manufacturers you represent in a way that better serves your suppliers and customers.
A Custom Manufacturer who wants more RFQ opportunities Online
Machining and Fabrication companies can now promote themselves as serving virtually any geographic area they wish. Custom manufacturers know how much competition there is for a finite amount of work. ISM works with you to intercept these buyers when they are looking for exactly what you do and get the RFQs you seek.
A Service Provider who wants to business from a local area
Service providers are now beginning to see business from buyers looking for local companies online. ISM works with service providers to create strategies so as to intercept buyers who are looking for your services in locations you can support.
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