What if you have the WRONG plan?

Good morning. Have you ever questioned the plan you have? Have you even considered that you might be following the wrong plan? Having a plan requires work, hard work. Do you think that you will have to work during your golden years? Most people don't, yet that is becoming the norm for many unskilled workers, the majority of wage earners, and millions who have worked 30 plus years only to find they don't have enough to live on after retirement.

Jim Rohn said, "If you find yourself in a little boat with no motor and no oars 300ft.from Niagara Falls, it's over it's already done. You just don't want to find yourself there in such a predicament." So you've got to have a plan.

The next few weeks we will learn about marketing which we find to be of great interest to those who follow this blog. For these lessons we will use multiple resources, not just our beautiful mind. Marketing is a very complex somewhat scientific way of giving your business a great chance at success.  If you are an author, street vendor, or an aspiring chef, you must start with a plan, and that begins here:

• What is marketing? Marketing is managing profitable customer relationships. That is the shortened definition, in fact it is defined as the process by which companies create value for customers and build strong customer relationships in order to capture value from customers in return. 
• What is the marketing process? There are five steps.

1. You must understand the market place,customers needs and wants.
2. You must design a customer driven marketing strategy.
3. You must construct an integrated marketing program that delivers superior value.
4. You must build profitable relationships and create customer delight.
5. You must capture value from customers in return to create profits and customer equity.

Before we go in depth with the marketing  process we want to talk a little about strategic marketing. This is a process of planning that seeks to solidify a clear direction and one purpose for all of your marketing efforts. This should be a part of the marketing plan you will create.

• There are also five steps in the strategic marketing plan.

1. Identify your mission.
2. Analyze your situation. (S.W.O.T.)
3. Set objectives.
4. Develop a marketing strategy.
5. Planning for evaluation. (how,when,and by whom)

It looks like this:

 Koindo Trading International Marketing

A.Handlin, (5 Step Strategic Marketing Process), Demand Media,(2015), retrieved from smallbusiness.chron.com

We will break these 10 steps down into easy to process, real world ideas on the next post this week.

"The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well the product or service fits him and sells itself." Peter Drucker

To your success,
D.S. Woodard