Month: January 2016

Business Plan

pleasethink1

Let’s discuss the need for a business plan. The two major problems that many small business owners run into with business plans is that they will put one together for a back loan and then forget it, or never formalize one since they “know” what they are doing and keep a plan in their head. The first case indicates a misunderstanding of what the plan is about and in the second doesn’t understand how it should be used.

The business plan is an all-encompassing map that brings you from startup to success and then beyond. It lays out who you are and where you are going. It tells you how you plan to grow and what obstacles you may be expected to face. It tells you how much money you need and expect to make and when. It then adjusts to changes you may need to make. As we said before it includes you marketing plan as well as your financial plan, competitor information your mission statement and how you are going to operate.

Your plan is also a living document, not intended to be filed and forgotten. As your business expands so must your plan. How you deal with customers from your kitchen table is going to be different from operating a storefront or multiple locations. Adjustments to work flow and management charts will be constant. Financial information will be adjusted and SWOT will change.

JANUS Think is able to help you write the initial version as well as work with you to adjust as needed. Contact us for additional information.

 

Marketing and Branding

pleasethink1 Leave a comment

Marketing

Marketing and Branding Your Business

 

Too often smaller businesses ignore formal marketing because they consider it either too expensive or ineffective for their business. The fact is that all businesses should have a marketing plan with-in their business plan. This is also a way of saying you should have a business plan, but we will get to that in another post. It is a way of getting your message to your customer and increasing business. Contrary to what we have seen on TV it is not a tool to persuade someone into your place of business under false pretenses and then try to get him to buy something they do not want or need. It is a way of telling the customer who you are what you do and why he should do business with you.

Branding on the other hand is the core of your marketing, but is not marketing. Branding is reviling who you are and what makes you different. Why would a customer shop with you if everything your offered was exactly like your competitor and for the same price? You need to know your brand then own your brand.  Understanding your brand is key to targeting your market. An example would be Walmart™ whose brand has always been getting more for your money. When they decided to increase market share to customers who did not normally shop there they maintained the brand but upped the market. They changed the logo to make Wal*Mart one word and the slogan from “Always low prices” to “Save money. Live better.” There were of course a number of other changes inside the stores, but they held on to the brand to keep the core business and adjusted the marketing to attract a new demographic.

So to restate, branding and marketing are linked but not the same. Once your brand is set and your target market identified your marketing can begin. A good marketing plan may not let you grow to the size of a big box store, buts it a start.

Paul Davis MBA is President of JANUS Think, a consulting business in Northern Virginia, janusthink.com, https://www.facebook.com/janusthink