Review your marketing plan
Having an effective marketing plan, and acting on it, will help you to grow your business. Take time to review your marketing efforts, and ask yourself:
- Have you created products that meet your customers’ needs?
- Are your customers spreading the word about your business?
- Have you set SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time-bound) marketing goals?
Analyse your data
Look at any data you’ve collected, to see how effective your marketing has been.
- Look at customer feedback forms. How did your customers first learn about your business?
- Think of each of the places from which you advertise and sell (e.g., your website and an online marketplace). Count the number of customer enquiries and the number of sales from each.
- Compare the gross revenue and the total cost of each advertising outlet. If you need, adjust your marketing strategy.
Competitors and pricing
Don’t forget to think about your competitors and any product price differences:
- Compare your prices to those of your competitors. What is the lowest possible cost at which you can sell your product while still making a profit?
- Research your market to find out how much other sellers are selling their products for. Compare them to your own. Are you overpriced? Under priced?
- Are there large price differences between you and your competitors? Are there any factors that might help explain this, such as the location of customers, or other differences such as income?
Further reading
- This article is adapted from the Business Victoria resource Create Opportunities to Grow your Business.
- Read the Business Victoria article Write a Marketing Plan. Learn how a marketing plan can help you define your goals and come up with a realistic strategy to achieve them.
- You might like to download Business Victoria’s Marketing Plan Template. List your marketing goals for your business and come up with a plan to achieve them.
