Texas Border Business
By Pamela Kaur
There are 6 questions a business plan, or anyone starting a business must answer:
1) What need are you addressing? Do the research to verify that the need actually exists.
2) What makes you different? There are probably multiple businesses out there who are already serving this need. That doesn’t mean you can’t serve it better, or serve it in a different way, you need to figure out your competitive edge.
3) Who is your audience? What is your key demographic? Think about factors like age, sex, education, geographic location, working status, marital status, income level, kids, pets etc
4) How is your business going to make money? How and what will you sell and for how much. The best way is to see what the market pricing is for similar products.
5) How will you promote your business? A good marketing strategy is key. And these days most businesses also need a digital strategy, particularly if they are B2C.
6) What do you need to get started? Do you need any equipment? Do you need to rent space / hire employees? This will determine your startup costs and overheads. Now you are ready to determine your potential cash flow.
Q: How do I market my business?
That’s a good question. It depends on the type of business, i.e. what you’re selling and who you’re selling to.
The classic definition for a marketing strategy is that it is a long-term plan for achieving a company’s goals by understanding the needs of customers and creating a distinct and sustainable competitive advantage. It encompasses everything from determining who your customers are to deciding what channels you use to reach those customers.
What is marketing, really… it is all about connecting with the customer. It involves understanding your customers’ needs, translating those needs into products and services, packing and pricing appropriately, and then convincing customers that they need to buy those products and services. We call the last branding.
What it isn’t… Marketing isn’t just advertising, public relations or putting together a website or email campaign. It definitely is all of that, but it is also about everything leading up to those activities. You also have to support both your customers and your sales team. Ideally, it drives your entire business and determines what products you produce and how you distribute them.
A good marketing strategy defines target audience, value proposition, the product mix, brand messaging, promotional initiatives and content marketing.
Most businesses these days require digital marketing. The largest social media platforms are LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest. It is not necessary to use all of them. I suggest focusing on one or max two initially. The platforms to focus on depends on the products or services that you are selling, and where your key demographic spends the most time.
Pamela Kaur is an Assistant District Director and SCORE Mentor and leads business turn-arounds and strategy for a hedge fund. She can be reached at pamela.kaur@scorevolunteer.org
SCORE, an arm of the SBA (Small Business Administration), provides free workshops and mentoring for small businesses. If you have any questions about your business – structure, funding, cash flow, budgeting, employees, marketing etc please email us. We will respond to all questions.
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