January 16, 2009, Newsletter Issue #194: Can You Handle The Truth (Found in Your Marketing Plan)?

Tip of the Week

You may be eager to put together a marketing plan so that you can better define your goals for your business. But are you prepared to find out the ugly truth about your business??

Because a marketing plan involves heavy analysis of not only your industry and competitors, but also of your own business, you may learn things you wish you hadn’t. While you’re eager to define your company’s strengths, you may unintentionally find weaknesses you didn’t realize were there. Are you prepared to turn the weaknesses into strengths, or will you want to bury them with the rest of your business’ problems?

Examples of weaknesses you might find include:

Inadequately trained staff is creating problems in sales support Lack of organization in promotions plan causes decreased sales Marketing budget is being overspent each year A marketing plan uses data and research to help you make important decisions about your business’ growth. But if the data is faulty, you could make a very costly mistake as a result. Make sure that the data you base your plan on is reliable and accurate.

It’s important for you to face your business’ characteristics: the good, the bad, and the downright ugly. Before you start your marketing plan, prepare to face your problems and find solutions. It will make you a stronger company as a result.

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