How Is Your Business Different?

How Is Your Business Different?
Creating a marketing and business plan for a small business
can at times seem like an overwhelming task for a new
business owner. Yet, it need not be. A business plan is
simply a formal statement that contains a set of business
goals; and a marketing plan outlines the necessary actions
which the business needs to take in order to achieve its
marketing objectives.

In order to properly construct a marketing or business
plan, small business owners should ask themselves some
simple questions: How is your business different? What
value do you provide? In what areas does your company
excel? What is your expertise, or the expertise of your
staff? What are your strengths? And equally important, what
are your businesses weaknesses? What image does your
company portray? Is the image truly reflective of your
strengths?

Honestly answering such critical questions will help a
business owner understand their business strengths and
allow them to develop a business and marketing plan.
Invariably, attempting to be everything to everyone is
bound to fail. A component of a solid marketing plan is
building brand and corporate identity. When creating a
brand and company identity, consider how the business is
different from others. A business should not try to portray
itself as something that it is not -- highlight the
business strengths, and emphasize those strengths while
building your business brand. A company identity will help
consumers define your brand, which is how the company is
perceived by consumers. In order to help influence the
company image, it is a business owners job to convey how
their business is different. This can be referred to as a
unique selling proposition.

It is a business owners job to make their customers aware
of the benefits to working with their company. In effect,
it is their job to help customers make an educated
purchasing decision. Provide information on all aspects of
your expertise, from company background to return policies.
Small businesses can build consumer confidence by providing
information related to all aspects of the small business.
This information will help potential customers recognize
your company as a serious business.

It is also a small business owners job to reassure
customers and to make them aware of any advantages to
working with the company. For example, if a small business
excels at customer service, add an email tagline that
conveys the business' commitment to customer satisfaction.
Likewise, if all the businesses products are handmade, add
a slogan to the logo that indicates that.

Just as each individual person is unique, so is each and
every small business. Some businesses are defined by their
unique differences. When developing a business and
marketing plan, it is important to have a clear
understanding of the businesses focus and how the business
differs from its competitors. Once a small business owner
has assessed the strengths and weaknesses of their
business, they can then begin to construct a plan of action
that will establish and build on their corporate identity.

----------------------------------------------------
About the Author:
Sharon Housley manages marketing for FeedForAll
http://www.feedforall.com software for creating, editing,
publishing RSS feeds and podcasts. In addition Sharon
manages marketing for RecordForAll
http://www.recordforall.com audio recording and editing
software.