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Like any other business, your home business needs a solid marketing plan. Please no that if there are no sales, then there is no home business to run!
So researching, developing and executing a marketing plan for your home business is vital. Treat this aspect of your business with utmost seriousness it demands.
The Next Step: a Marketing Plan.
Many people include their marketing plan as a section in their business plan.
Really, though, marketing is important enough that it deserves a plan of its
own, separate from the technical details of the business. Here’s what your
marketing plan should include.
Your Marketing Strategy.
It might sound silly, but it’s good to get the core of your marketing plan
written down, just so people can see what the rest of your plan is aiming at.
Keeping your strategy in mind can also be good when you receive offers to place
ads here, there and everywhere – you can ask yourself whether it really fits in
with your overall strategy.
Your Competitors.
You should have a list of everyone in your area who could be considered to be a
competitor, followed by how you plan to differentiate yourself from them.
It does not end there. You need to have chart of all your competitors products
and compare it with your home business product occasionally. This will give you
a picture what the market wants, what is there in the market how to restructure
your home business to meet these changing demands.
Advertising.
Your marketing plan should contain a comprehensive list of all the advertising
you plan to undertake. This includes a website, advertising in newspapers,
leaflets, and so on. For each method of advertising you should list an estimated
cost, and the number of customers you expect the advertising to bring in. This
allows you to work out your ‘cost of acquisition’, which is how much you need to
spend on advertising to bring in a customer. The market works out so that this
will be more for higher-end customers, and less for lower-end ones.
Pricing.
Your marketing plan should also list all of the pricing policies you plan to
have, as well as any special offers that you think will be good. That doesn’t
mean that you can’t make up new offers later, but it’s still good to have some
on the plan for the long-term.
For e.g. you can have special purchase packs for bulk buyers of your home
business products. You can think of giving discounts to repeat buyers of your
home business products.
You can also offer special consideration to existing customers who recommends
your home business products to their friends and associates. Think hard on this
you will come out with innovative pricing strategies to market your home
business products.
An Example.
The Catering & Cake Co.: Marketing Plan.
Strategy: Our marketing strategy will be to advertise sufficiently that
we will be the first company coming to mind when catering is needed in the
Anytown/Othertown area. Marketing will be especially targeted towards people
arranging weddings and people planning corporate events, so we will always be
looking out for new ways to reach these customers. We will not repeat any
marketing effort where the COA proves to be more than 20% of the profit those
customers provide.
Competitors: In the Anytown area, the established catering companies are
Cathy’s Catering and Fun foods. Cathy’s Catering mainly cater for low-end
corporate events, while Fun foods specialize in food for children’s parties. Our
position in the middle-market means that we would be unlikely to provide
children’s birthday cakes, and could provide a higher-quality alternative to
Cathy’s Catering for corporate customers.
The watch word to remember in your home business products is 'USP'. i.e Unique
Selling Proposition. You must have at least one USP that differentiates your
home business products from your competitors.
The company that we believe would be our main competitor is Luxury Food and
Cakes, based in the Othertown area. They serve the same kinds of food we plan
to, and to similar events. However, we differentiate ourselves from them by
offering our food at far lower prices. While they use more expensive
ingredients, our taste tests have shown that most consumers are unable to tell
in blind taste tests which food cost more. Offering mostly indistinguishable
quality at a lower price gives us a powerful way to move in on Luxury’s
customers.
Advertising (in order of decreasing cost-effectiveness):
Leafleting. $0.01 printing per leaflet, 10,000 leaflets, plus delivery at
$100 = $200. Projected 50 customers. COA $4.
Local newspaper. $500 per half page, run once monthly. Projected 100 customers,
COA $5.
Corporate mailshots. $0.10 printing per mail, 100 mails, plus delivery at $20 =
$30. Projected 3 customers, COA $10 (however, customers are high-value).
‘Weddings’ magazine. $200 quarter page, quarterly. Projected 20 customers, COA
$10.
Pricing:
Basic catering: cost + 50%.
Deluxe catering: cost + 70%.
Cake: cost + 100%.
Large cake: cost + 80%.
Personalized cake (large only): cost + 120%.
So now you have a rough idea how your home business products are to be priced in
comparison with your competitors. But do not be complacent, your competitor is
also keenly watching your home business and what new strategies you are coming
out with!
Special Offers: Business is slower in winter than in summer, so there are
special winter deals. For example, we plan to offer ‘every third person free’ on
basic catering to give extra value for corporate functions in the winter months
(November, December, January, February). There will also be a ‘free champagne’
offer with the deluxe catering in these months.
Hope this has given you clear idea how your marketing plays an important role in
your home business. Be ready with a marketing plan with the provision of
modifying it if a situation arises.
Many more such home business articles are available on this site. Browse freely and make use of them.
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