The Five P's of Marketing

After adequate financing and competitive pricing, marketing is most integral to the success of any business. Marketing is a fluid process that changes because markets (customers) change. In most cases, businesses have multiple markets?different types of customers and potential customers. There are a myriad of ways to market your products or services?it's a never-ending process if it's to be effective.

By Lora Meisner, Thingamajob Staff Writer

Keep clients coming back and referring others... forever

Here are the Five P's to help you plan and clarify your marketing direction:

1. Positioning: Communicate with your prospects exactly why they should do business with you. Identify your potential clients, focus on solutions for them, establish your brand, and identify the characteristics that make your product or service unique.
2. Packaging: Package and present your service is to generate interest and response from qualified prospects. Do you have an appropriate business identity package as well as attractive and effective brochures and other marketing materials?
3. Promotion: Get qualified prospects to call, which are ready to do business with you now. To be effective you will need to be an effective networker as well as have a solid marketing letter that highlights your benefits. Incorporate this letter into a direct mail program from lists of potential clients. Another essential for any business is to have a professional looking and interactive Web site with good content.
4. Persuasion: Turn those who call you into immediate sales... often over the phone. Be sure to have a basic phone approach scripted out. Most important, you have to learn to always ask for the sale in a professional non-pushy manner.
5. Performance: Keep clients coming back and referring others... forever. The best way to do this is to have a marketing program as part of your weekly schedule. Additionally, all professionals need to maintain the highest levels of excellence and integrity as well as continually work to improve their skills in all areas of their business.

Take these five P's and add one more-proceed-make plans and move forward.

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