Well, YES, every company should, and we’re glad you asked! This is a process we go through with all new clients here at FG Creative… and it is time well spent. We gather all of the key players from the client’s company, and our team members and meet for a few hours to immerse ourselves in the culture, the mission, the beliefs and the needs. Sometimes, we lock the door, order some snacks, and no one leaves until we reach a consensus… sound fun? OH, we’ve also included a recent interview with CEO Stephanie Greene, on Money Radio 1200AM, talking about this very topic… take a listen!
Radio Interview with Stephanie Green 05-08-2013
Here’s the outline, and it’s pretty simple yet overlooked by so many marketing people. But not by FG Creative, because we’ve seen it work and deliver that golden reward, ROI. Start with this outline and you won’t go wrong, but better yet, let us help you…
1. What is your Unique Value Proposition? My what, you say? What makes your company, product or service unique to the marketplace? Sounds easy and basic, but it’s not. It’s the cornerstone to all marketing strategies. Sometimes we find that what the client thinks sets them apart is good and interesting, but not the true UVP. But don’t despair, keep digging until you find it, we do!
2. Who is your competition? We always do a little research and bring our list for this question, and then we ask the client to identify their main competition, and you might be surprised to find that the lists are not exactly the same. Do you think that Starbucks thought that McDonald’s was their competition? Bet they’re a little upset that they did not have an eye on them… McDonald’s took a hefty bite out of Starbuck’s morning coffee drink sales! And they continue to erode Starbuck’s hold on people’s coffee buying decisions. Soooo, WHO is your competition now?
3. What is your NICHE? Where do you fit into your target market’s daily routine? What need can you fill, what service can you provide, what problem can you solve? Knowing this puts you ahead of your competition and allows you to determine if there are other niches you fill now, or could fill with a little ingenuity.
4. Who CARES? Honestly, who out there in the universe will care about your message? Who will interact with you and purchase? It is critically important to answer this question as honestly as possible, write it down, and set some parameters. This is the part where you outline your target end-user: Who are they? Where do they live? What are their habits? Male/Female, household income, geographic region. A good tip is to create a personality for your target demo; a name, an address, type of car, type of hobbies, age range, kids or no kids, pets or no pets… you catch the drift. Write this down and make sure EVERYONE on your team understands this person and ask them to help flesh out the personality so that you live, breathe and work hard to market to your target.
5. WHAT exactly are you offering? Be very specific about what you are selling. Sometimes it not just end product or service, it’s the stellar customer service, the quick delivery time, the return policies and even your team. This can set you apart if you are in a large category with lots of competitors. A good example is Nordstrom’s. They don’t really sell anything that you can’t get at another store. Their pricing is fair. What made them the benchmark of department stores? The service and the return policy… they take anything back, no matter how damaged or how obvious that it was not from their store. They do it with a smile and an offer to help you pick out the replacement. Now THAT’s a game changer!
6. WHERE should you advertise? Well, how much do you have to spend? It’s hard to have only one stock answer to this question. This part of our strategy meeting goes on the longest. We have to establish the budget, set some parameters, get the client’s feel on media choices, and then go away and put together the best multi-tiered plan that can be achieved with the budget. Trackable and accountable to results. In this, FGC is the leading media planning and placement team, because we review all the choices, negotiating the best rates, and getting results FAST. Our new division, FGCreates the Buzz can really help with this initiative. Using our online expertise, and spending only a fraction of the budget, FGCB can build the buzz and get the phones ringing, in support of all of the other efforts.
Hope this helps, and we hope we can work with you to develop a dynamic, buzz generating and successful Marketing Plan soon.
We are here to help, and we are experts in this… really! Call, fax, text, tweet, post or send us a letter! FG Creative, Experts in Creativity and innovative marketing partners. www.fgcreative.com. (760) 773-1707. Facebook/Twitter/LinkedIn/YouTube.