How to create a marketing plan for your home based business

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By hzemel
eHow Community Member

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(3 Ratings)

As a Senior Regional Sales Director at AmeriPlan, a discount health benefits company, one of my main responsibilities is to see that my new Independent Business Owners get off to a good start.

Whether you have a brick and mortar store, an online store or business, have purchased a franchise, own a business creating crafts and handmade items, or your business is an MLM or network marketing company, it is essential to create a good marketing plan. This marketing plan should be fluid and dynamic, and you should update it with some regularity.

Here are some steps that you can follow to create a successful marketing plan.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

pencil and paper
your ideas

Step 1

Learn all you can about your new business. Read all you can about the business and talk to people who have been successful in the industry. If you are with a network marketing company, attend meetings and work closely with your enroller. Review all company literature. Franchise businesses usually have very specific training for their franchisees.
Step 2

Do some brainstorming and free association. Put down as many ideas that you can think up for marketing your new business. Do not censor any ideas. Think of all the ways that you can advertise or promote your business and do this over the course of several days. Even write down some wish list marketing ideas. In other words, if I had an extra $500 or $1000 or even more to spend on marketing, how would I use it for advertising and promotion?
Step 3

Research all of the marketing ideas that you wrote down in step 2. Locate various advertising sources and find out how much each will cost. For example with magazine advertising, you will want to determine not only the price for various types of ads, but what is the circulation? What are the demographics for that magazine (income level, age of reader, interests and hobbies of the reader, etc.)? In other words, whom does this magazine target? Are your competitors in that magazine? Also speak to people who might have done this type of advertising before.
Step 4

Choose your best ideas and come up with a marketing plan. Review your list of marketing ideas and select the 4 or 5 best ideas. (It is always good to have more than one type of marketing or advertising going on at one time. I am a strong believer in not putting “all of my eggs in one basket.” By participating in a number of different marketing activities, your odds of being successful will definitely increase. The ideas that you select become your marketing plan. Write this plan up and keep it in a safe place.
Step 5

Develop your marketing ideas. For each of the ideas that you have selected, write down a course of action to implement each activity. For example, if you are planning to purchase some leads. Your course of action might include the following:

- Research various lead companies
- Compare prices
- Seek testimonials from people who have used this lead service.
- Purchase the leads
- What methods will you use to contact these leads?
- Set up a schedule for mailing and calling the leads.