Evaluate their marketing and advertising campaigns. How a company advertises creates a great opportunity to uncover the objectives and strategies of that business.Have friends stop in or call to ask for information. Check out sales materials and promotional literature. Visit their locations. Take a look around.If that information is not available, you may have identified a weakness. Check out their websites and marketing materials. Most of the information you need about products, services, prices, and company objectives should be readily available.How will you compete in terms of price, product, or service? Focus on differentiation. Your products and services have to stand out from the competition in some way.(Take Dominos theoretically they're in the pizza business, but really they're a delivery business.) Focus on what customers get instead of on what you provide. Your marketing plan should clearly identify benefits customers will receive. Focus on benefits. What problems do you solve? What benefits do you deliver? Customers don't think in terms of products-they think in terms of benefits and solutions.Marketing is the face of your to potential customers-make sure you put your best face forward. Before you start to market your business, think about how you want your marketing to reflect on your business and your products and services. Your marketing program should consistently reinforce and extend your brand. Consider your brand. How customers perceive your business makes a dramatic impact on sales.In marketing terms, what does your competition do that works well? What are their weaknesses? How can you create a marketing plan that highlights the advantages you offer to customers? (It's hard to stand out from a crowd if you don't know where the crowd stands.) Know your competitors by gathering information about their products, service, quality, pricing, and advertising campaigns. Evaluate your competition. Your marketing plan must set you apart from your competition, and you can't stand out unless you know your competition.Focus on your target market. Who are your customers? Who will you target? Who makes the decisions? Determine how you can best reach potential customers.Or say you plan to sell services to local businesses in that case, try to determine the amount they currently spend on similar services. (Again, potential spending power is an important number to quantify.) Senior citizens could very well have a lower income level than males or females age 45 to 55 in the prime of their careers. Income by demographics. You can also determine income levels by age group, by ethnic group, and by gender.
A service that is viable in New York City may not be viable in your town. Don't assume every city or locality is the same in terms of spending power. Does your market area have sufficient spending power to purchase enough of your products and services to enable you to make a profit? Some areas are more affluent than others.