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Business Intelligence Advancements Transform Corporate Decision-Making
Companies have long considered data collection and analysis to
be fundamental activities for long term strategic planning.
Before the rise of the Information Age, most decision making was
based on guess-work or trial-and-error practices....
BUYING A BUSINESS - ADVICE FOR THE FIRST TIME BUYER/ INVESTOR
As a professional M&A intermediary I am amazed when I hear others in my profession at industry meetings proclaim, “I don’t work with individual buyers.” They put it out there almost like a badge of honor or an indication of reaching a higher level...
Franchises - Exit Strategies
At an International Franchising Symposium in London, Peter Holt made the bold statement to his audience of Franchisors that they needed to understand that their business would fail, and in fact all businesses are bound for failure. Needless to...
Should You Write Your Own Business Plan?
If you are just starting a company and looking for funding, or looking for additional funding for growth, you will need to develop a traditional business plan. Creating a business plan is a business hurdle that entrepreneurs seem to dread. ...
Why Just The Right PPC Campaign Management Brings in Lots and Lots of Cash
So you spent all your time and energy building the perfect
website. Now you want to share the fruits of your labor, and
maybe even make some money on the side through your online ads.
Maybe you have an online business that markets a hot...
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It's Time To Get All Strategic - Small Business Marketing Stategy
Copyright 2005 J D Moore
So what's your small business marketing strategy? I'm willing to bet that close to 85% of the people reading this are scratching their heads now. Many small business owners fail to create a marketing strategy at all, instead focusing on tactics.
Let me give you one of the definitions of strategy from the fine folks at Merriam Webster: a : a careful plan or method : a clever strategem b : the art of devising or employing plans or strategems toward a goal
So a strategy is a plan and the implementation of that plan. Tactics are merely the methods with which which you carry out that plan.
Planning is important in small business marketing for a few reasons:
-Planning helps insure you keep a consistent marketing effort. -Planning helps you set goals and move towards reaching them. -Planning helps you set and stick to a budget.
Many small business owners are intimidated by the idea of a marketing plan. They think it needs to be a huge formal document with financials and charts. It can be that, particularly if you are going for funding. However, if you are just in business for yourself, your marketing plan can be very simple.
Here are some items I think it should include:
-Your overall vision, value proposition, and unique selling position -A list of your target markets, and what you know about them -Your budget for marketing -A list of strengths and weaknesses with the customer facing side of your business. -A list of steps you are going to take (I recommend a marketing calendar) -There are three ways to increase your revenue, and your plan should take each into account:
1. Increase your number of customers 2. Increase the
amount of your average transaction 3. Increase the frequency at which your customers buy from you
Most marketing efforts I encounter focus only on #1. However #1 represents the most expensive, difficult, and slow method for increasing revenues.
Remember that marketing is not just advertising and PR. Your plan should encompass your customers' entire experience with you. It might include changing the way you answer the phone, more frequent followup calls, cleaning the bathrooms at your store more often, adding plants to your reception area. your plan also might include some kind of customer satisfaction survey, maybe during followup calls or during a visit to your business.
Your plan might also include presenting your products or services better, or repackaging them in different ways. It might have you creating a new brochure, or giving sales training to your staff.
Your plan should include the tactics you want to use, and a budget for each tactic.
There's an old military aphorism that goes: Even the best possible battle plan has not survived first contact with the enemy. This basically means that the unpredictable always happens - it's what makes life interesting. Do not be afraid to revise your marketing plan to respond to changing conditions. However, you still need a consistent and intelligent marketing effort.
You should be able to capitalize on new opportunities and respond to new challenges.
Plan and stay consistent - you will outpace most of your competition.
About the author:
J D Moore
Small Business Marketing Coach
"helping small business owners inprove marketing results"
http://marketingcomet.typepad.com
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Strategic Planning (in nonprofit or for-profit organizations) |
Adapted from the Field Guide to Nonprofit Strategic Planning and Facilitation. ... First, a Point About For-Profit and Nonprofit Strategic Planning ... |
www.managementhelp.org |
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Basic Description of Strategic Planning (including key terms to know) |
Adapted from the Field Guide to Nonprofit Strategic Planning and Facilitation. ... Strategic planning often includes use of several key terms. ... |
www.managementhelp.org |
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Strategic Planning, Strategic Plan, Business Strategy, Strategic ... |
Strategic planning advice with free strategic planner & sample strategic plan covering mission statement, SWOT analysis with business plan software for cash ... |
www.planware.org |
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Strategic Planning |
FAQs regarding strategic planning - geared primarily toward non-profit organizations but with enough detail and general information to provide useful ... |
www.allianceonline.org |
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Frequently Asked Questions |
Strategic Planning · Fundraising · Financial Management · Risk Management · Credit Card Acceptance. The FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) listed on this ... |
www.allianceonline.org |
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Strategic planning - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
Strategic planning involves defining objectives and developing ... Strategic planning uses "the big picture" to pursue large scale, long term objectives. ... |
en.wikipedia.org |
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08/26/96 STRATEGIC PLANNING |
You guessed it: strategic planning. Suddenly, the idea of rising above the ... But if strategic planning is back with a vengeance, it's also back with a ... |
www.businessweek.com |
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Dr. Strategy - Dr. Pete Johnson, Keynote Speaker, Marketing ... |
StrategicPlanning.com “Turning Change Into A Competitive Advantage”. Dr. Pete's Preview Video Click Here. Take-Away Value Sample Program Handouts ... |
strategicplanning.com |
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Strategic Planning Society: Strategy Development and Implementation |
Strategic Planning Society: Strategy Development and Implementation. |
www.sps.org.uk |
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Guide 7 |
Strategic Planning in Smaller Nonprofit Organizations ... In short, as a result of a strategic planning process, an organization will have a clearer idea of ... |
www.wmich.edu |
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STRATEGIC PLANNING MANUAL |
File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - View as HTML |
Your browser may not have a PDF reader available. Google recommends visiting our text version of this document. |
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BPubs.com: Strategic Planning & Business Planning Articles |
Business Publications related to Corporate Strategic Planning. |
www.bpubs.com |
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Strategic Planning Tools |
Strategic Planning is a method for positioning an organization to take ... A strategic planning process incorporates an in-depth planning model that takes ... |
www.nsba.org |
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Center for Simplified Strategic Planning, Inc. |
The Center for Simplified Strategic Planning offers training, seminars, consulting, speakers, workshops, a book and a newsletter on strategic management for ... |
www.cssp.com |
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LEADERSHIP: Strategic Planning and Strategic Management |
Introduction: Is strategic planning really worth it? ... The purpose of strategic planning is to encourage thinking about your organization's "big ... |
vskn.ca |
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The CEO Refresher Archives - Strategic Planning |
When done right, the integrated strategic planning process can take a ... Strategic Planning and Project Management: The Key to Successful Implementation ... |
www.refresher.com |
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HEFCE : Publications : 2000 : 00/24 - Strategic planning in higher ... |
This guide reviews good practice in strategic planning in higher education (HE). It originated in a consultation exercise which we held in 1998 to review ... |
www.hefce.ac.uk |
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The Association for Strategic Planning |
The Association for Strategic Planning (ASP), is a non-profit professional society whose mission is to enable people and organizations to succeed through ... |
www.strategyplus.org |
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Amazon.com: Strategic Planning for Nonprofit Organizations: A ... |
Amazon.com: Strategic Planning for Nonprofit Organizations: A Practical Guide and Workbook: Books: Michael Allison,Jude Kaye by Michael Allison,Jude Kaye. |
www.amazon.com |
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Amazon.com: Simplified Strategic Planning: A No-Nonsense Guide for ... |
Amazon.com: Simplified Strategic Planning: A No-Nonsense Guide for Busy People Who Want Results Fast!: Books: Robert W. Bradford,Robert W. Bradford,J. Peter ... |
www.amazon.com |
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