The Inventor’s Initial 10-step Marketing Plan
One of my readers asked, “How do I market a product?” Yeah, the question was just that simple. And here’s your simple answer: Invest time, money or energy. Or just pick two. Or maybe it is just that simple.
First, some questions: Are you marketing a product or a service? Is it local (geographic marketing) or national? Industrial, business-to-business or retail product? To a wide or narrow niche?
Also, how much does your product cost? What is the sales buying cycle, and is it need-driven? Impulse? Seasonal? Is price important?
Most importantly: What are your sales goals? How much do you want to sell? And what’s in the marketing budget, anyhow? You do have a budget, don’t you? Sigh, anyhow, all these different possibilities have different marketing campaign strategies — but they all start here with these 10 steps.
1. The first step in any marketing plan is to identify your most likely prospects. The most likely to purchase are the ones who have money in their hands and are waving it at you. They are ready to buy, right now.
2. Create a coherent PR campaign for newspapers, websites and magazines. This is a series of press releases: a campaign that is sustained over time that is well thought out up front. Write each release headline for now.
3. Create “informational booklets” to give away for free and offer them in your press release. The free booklet title is responsible for the quantity and quality of the response, so write a great title using the 100-to-1 rule: write 100 titles, go back and pick out your best one. By offering a free booklet, you give consumers a non-threatening reason to call and something to ask for in return for calling.
4. When your press releases are published in the magazines, keep tight track of where the response came from. Then plan on eventually placing ads in the most successful and responsive magazines in your campaign.
5. If your product is expensive, or if you are looking for wholesalers who will carry your product and offer it to others, start creating a mailing list of your top 250 prospects — at both the wholesale and retail levels. That’s right, start digging for names and addresses. Yeah, it’s hard work. Thankless, too. But your further success depends on your mailing list.
6. Track every call, every inquiry. Have a sheet of paper by every phone and ask, “How did you hear of our company?” Write it down and put that slip of paper in a drawer. At the end of a few months count the slips for each, you’ll know exactly what marketing technique is working.
7. Create quality literature and cover letters. Cover letters are sent with everything — every mailing package you send out should have a cover letter.
8. Mail to your top 250. In fact, for larger sales, mail to your best prospects frequently, every four-to-six weeks if you can. If you can’t identify your market tight enough and make this mailing work, you’re in trouble.
9. Test and retest small ads in various media. Don’t forget to look at low-cost, unusual advertising opportunities such as association newsletters and so forth.
10. Keep marketing to wherever the best prospects and most sales are coming from. Clone your best customers — figure out where they came from, what they like, why they purchase — and look for more of the same. Reach them the same way you reached the original group.
