1. MARKETING RESEARCH & PLANS

2. GUARANTEE YOUR BUSINESS SUCCESS

You can essentially predict success of your business if you do 2 things:

a) Research & answer the following questions

b) Plan & implement the effort to accomplish the actions suggested by the questions

Question No.1: What does your business do? What do you do well? What do you not do well?

Question No.2: What do your customers want? How do you ensure excelling at meeting their needs? How do you predict their future needs?

Question No.3: Who is your competitor? What do you do better than they do? How do you stay ahead of your competitor?

Question No.4: How do you keep yourself in front of your customers?

Question No.5: Where is your business heading? What is your vision? What do you need to do to get there?

Question No.6: What will you do differently once you get there?

You can find these answers in your business plan. It is a working document that you keep in front of you and your staff. If done thoughtfully, it can become your roadmap to success. (Alan Kay, an author & a consultant has said that the best way to predict the future is to invent it). Do you want to predict your business success?

The four Peez

There are four elements of the marketing mix:

1. Product

2. Price

3. Placement

4. Promotion

This was first introduced in an article “The concepts of the marketing mix” written by Professor Neil Borden and he coined the term “Marketing Mix”.

Regarding a business that consulting is a service rather than selling a product, is not a reason to think marketing will not work. Your client does not receive something to put in a box; it does not mean there is no value. So what are they buying? They are buying a promise that your consulting will solve their problems. They have faith that you will deliver as you state in your proposal. People buy solutions, not problems.

PRODUCT: A consultant’s product is the service he offers his clients. Your product is you and the expertise, knowledge & experience you bring to your clients.

PRICE: It is always a hot topic for a consultant. What is most interesting to contemplate here is that
if clients can’t see your expertise, can’t touch your knowledge, can’t hear your experience, it may be
difficult for them to make a decision. How can they know the value you have placed on the service you
will offer?

Clients have a difficult time understanding why we charge as much as we do; it’s even more difficult
when they must have faith in the outcome. Clients usually like and trust you before they agree to your
price.
(TIP: When your clients purchase your consulting, they buy a promise of satisfaction. Why not give them
a 100% money back guarantee. You must be nervous about doing that? Think about how your client may feel, if you don’t believe in yourself, who will?)

PLACEMENT: It is another concept that is difficult to explain in the service arena. In product sales,
placement is infact distribution. But in consulting, the service resides within the people who are delivering it. Your services are inseparable from you.

PROMOTION: While marketing products, the term “Promotion” refers to things like coupons that push sales or persuade buyers to ask for a brand. We can broaden the definition of promotion of services. For example in consulting it includes all the marketing methods available for you to use in marketing your
consulting services. What mix of personal sales, publicity, advertising, direct mail, and telemarketing
should you use.