Success Strategies for Business Owners Know the Market to Position Your Business Correctly.

Success Strategies for Business Owners

Know the Marketto

Position Your Business Correctly

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About SCORE

Douglas S. Cavanaugh

• Successful and experienced business owners and executives acting as volunteers

• Free ongoing mentoring:One-on-oneE-mailSignup on our website – Mentoring

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• Seminars, workshops and Meetup Group

• Resources for small business: manasota.score.org

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3Introductions . . . Your Expectations?

• Introduce yourself• What business are you in?• What are your expectations for the meeting today?• Record . . .

End of the meeting feedback:

Expectation

Outcome Gaps

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4Identify Your Marketing Goals

Have Your Business Needs Changed?

• Target customers– Existing customers– New customers

• Product or service mix• Pricing approach• Promotion Success• Budget• Sales channels

Karen Bevels

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Understand your target market• Size• Income level (for consumers)• Sales - Business to Business (B2B) and

Business to Consumer (B2C)• Purchasing habits• Demographics• Purchasing channels• Geographic locations• Industry / Geo-Political Trends

Surendra N. Kumar, Ph.D.

Market Research

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Industry analysis using the NAICS number to find info about your business segment (North American Industry Classification System)• Website searches• Customer surveys

SurveyMonkey.com, Zoomerang.com• Social media

Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube…..• Focus groups• Personal Contacts

Market Data Sources

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• Trade associations• Census data - to extrapolate information• American FactFinder (http://factfinder.census.gov)• EconomicIndicators.gov• Fedstats.gov• National Bureau of Economic Research (

www.nber.org)• Harris Infosource (www.harrisinfo.com)• Hoover’s (www.hoovers.com)• ThomasNet (www.thomasnet.com)• Public Library

Market Data Sources

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Is Your Brand Clear?

Branding is not the same as marketing. Branding is the image, logo and positioning of the product or service.

Three steps to brand creation:1. Identify unique selling proposition

(differentiation)2. Understand target market3. Communicate brand consistently

Douglas S. Cavanaugh

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9Competitive Analysis

Analyze the marketing methods or strategies used by your competition.

What is working for you and what is not?

Would similar methods work for you?

Are there niche openings to exploit?

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10Exercise 1 – Target Market Assessment / Goals

Use the Worksheet in your folder. Fill in your EXISTING target market and then potential NEW target markets you might pursue for growth

Fill-in your thoughts about pros and cons of each area list below:

Customer DemographicsCustomer Location(s)Customer Spending Habits / BehaviorsDistribution Channel

10 minutes to work and 10 minutes to discuss

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11Exercise 1 – Target Market Assessment / Goals

10 minutes to work and 10 minutes to discuss

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12Is the Strategy Right for You?

Not every marketing strategy is right for every business

When evaluating the options, ask:

• Will this help achieve my goals?• Will this reach my target customers?• Does this fit my budget? • Do I have adequate staff to implement?

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Assessing Your Business

The SCORE Business Needs Assessment, it is in your packet. Download at: http://tinyurl.com/8j7fkgw

It will help you assess the current state of your business in 5 key areas:

1. Management2. Marketing3. Sales4. Finance5. Operations

Decide what additional sessions to attend Develop a customized business improvement plan

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Business Needs Assessment - Marketing

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Help Us, Help You

Please fill out the session evaluation form

Your feedback is important to help us improve our programs!

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