Ms Small Business Planning
60Small Business Planning Time :)
Doesn't that just send chills down your spine? Or maybe you like to have a plan or a mud map to guide you and keep you focused?
All these years in small business I have tried so many different ways to plan for growth in my businesses that I have come to the conclusion that a plan really doesn't need to be a formal document that sits on a shelf but more like a "mud map" ... a simple 3 or 4 page document.
Where to start:
If you are starting a new business and you need a formal small business plan, for a bank loan or investor, here are some quick links for you:
Starting a Small Business Plan
Now if you are just looking at planning for growth in your existing small business then really all you need is a simple 3 or 4 document that gives you and everyone involved in the business a little direction :) Simple really :)
Where to next?
1. Who are your best customers?
2. Where do you find them?
3. Advertise, socialise (online and locally) and sell to them specifically!
These are my 3 keys to easy and successful business planning!
Who are your best customers?
Explain who your best clients are ... you may have a couple of key groups but think really hard about who these people are. How can you define them ... what makes them similar? How old are they, are they male or female, children or adults, tech heads, tradesmen ... whoever they are - you need to define them.
If you can't answer these questions yourself ... see if you have some friends who may be able to help ... you could have a brainstorming session and they may have ideas you never thought of.
Where do you find them?
Where do they go, what do they do? Are they on the social internet sites like Facebook, Twitter, or MySpace?
Are they senior citizens and they have no relationship with the internet world at all?They still use phone books to find services and they have limited social outings?
These are all really important questions because they tell you where to find them - so that you can create relationships with them AND THIS will save you money in marketing while increasing your bottom line!
Advertise, socialise (online and locally) and sell to them specifically!
Now that you know who your customers are and what they do you can really define where to spend you advertising money rather than just paying large amounts to organisations that have really good sales people :) And we all love those organisations ... NOT!!
Some ideas for cheap marketing:
- Sponsorship of local schools or sports teams, community events, awards, etc
- Ads online such as Yellow Pages Online, FaceBook, Google Adwords
- Talk to the local press - they may have space to fill and you could provide some information that local people really find interesting
- Offering a special deal to your current customers (Upselling - McDonalds are renowned for this "Would you like fries with that?")
- Ask your customers to refer you to their friends - most people are only so happy to help those they know out and there is a reason why they keep coming back to you ... this is a really cheap way to spread "word of mouth"
- There are so many ideas out there that I could go on forever ....
If you are concerned with writing ... just start ... just start putting things down on paper talk about it to a trusted confidante and it will start to become really clear in your mind. And this is how you will grow your business for 2011 :)
After being in small business for over 13 years Tammy Love is Ms Small Biz -- a self confessed small business-oholic! She know owns a website and is helping others achieve their dream of growing their small businesses
