How to Successfully Launch a New Business
By Bob Leduc
Every
week I talk with business owners who tell me how excited they are
about their new product, service or business opportunity. Usually,
their comments include something like, "Everybody needs it. I
know I'm going to make a lot of money with this."
They sincerely believe it will be easy to generate hordes of
customers standing in line to spend money. I really hate bursting
their bubble. But, it's not going to happen that way.
Building a successful business is hard work. Most of that work
will be devoted to finding customers. Finding customers will be
your toughest job. You need a detailed strategy to attract the
number of paying customers required to meet your financial goals.
By trial and error over many years, I've developed a 5 step
marketing strategy that enables me to launch a new product or
service profitably every time. You can copy this system to launch
your own new enterprise or to revive a floundering business.
Step 1: Identify Your Target Market
The first step in developing your strategy is to isolate the
best target market for your product or service. Your sales efforts
will be most effective if you focus on a group of prospects with
common characteristics and similar problems.
Start by defining on paper your ideal customer or client. List
all of the characteristics you expect to find in good customers or
clients. Be sure to include characteristics that make your product
or service valuable to them. Then, use this list to identify a
target market. Define your target market in writing.
Step 2: Find Your Most Appealing
Customer Benefit
Exactly what is the most compelling problem you can solve for
prospects in your target market? Why is your product or service
the best solution to their problem? Your answers to these 2
questions reveal the customer benefit(s) to stress in your sales
approach.
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Step 3: Develop A Few Motivating
Offers
Develop 2 or 3 offers that motivate prospects to take buying
action immediately. For example, can you use a special discounted
price offer with a deadline? Are there bonuses you can add if
prospects order or sign up before the deadline? Can you combine
both into a "special price plus bonus" offer?
Decide which offer on your list is the most powerful and use it
in your sales material and/or your selling presentation.
IMPORTANT: A special offer providing obvious value always
increases your sales volume. It's a proven way to overcome buyer
resistance and procrastination. A special offer also provides a
logical reason in the buyer's mind to justify what may actually be
an impulsive decision to buy now.
Step 4: Decide How To Publicize Your
Business
How will you introduce yourself to prospects in this market?
Will you use classified or display ads in print publications or on
the Internet? Will you use direct mail? Is broadcast media such as
radio or TV appropriate and cost-effective? What networking can
you participate in locally or on the Internet to draw attention to
your business? What other methods of promotion can you use?
Prioritize each method on your list and develop an action plan
with deadlines for implementing them.
Step 5: Establish A Plan To Promote
Customer Loyalty
Decide what you will do to cultivate customers so they continue
to do business with you and give you referrals. For example, write
or call your customers or clients immediately after a transaction
and thank them for their business. Ask them if they're pleased
with what they received. Most will express their satisfaction.
That's the ideal time for you to follow up with a request for
referrals.
Don't be afraid to uncover an unhappy customer. When you do,
take whatever action you must to leave them feeling good about
you, even if your only recourse is issuing a prompt refund. Most
dissatisfied customers won't take the trouble to contact you about
their problem. They'll just take their business elsewhere and tell
other people about their negative experience with you. That will
cost you a lot of future business.
I've used this 5 step process successfully many times. It
reduces risk by replacing guesswork with a proven strategy that
gets results. You can follow this system to successfully launch a
new enterprise or to revive an existing business that isn't
growing.
About the Author
Bob Leduc is a Sales Consultant with 30 years experience
in generating low-cost leads. He recently wrote a manual for small
business owners, "How to Build Your Small Business Fast With
Simple Postcards", and several other publications to help
small businesses grow and prosper. For more info: Email: BobLeduc@aol.com
Subject: "Postcards" Phone: 702-658-1707 After 10 AM
Pacific Time/Las Vegas, NV
