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Anyone selling Marketing Plans to business?

by RyanLester
8 replies
I guess the title speaks for itself.

Ive been contemplating adding this to my service offerings.

It's probably something you can do without investing any cash.

Anyone doing/planning on doing the same?
#business #marketing #plans #selling
  • Profile picture of the author RyanLester
    Originally Posted by Art of Marketing View Post

    Most Businesses would not even be in business unless they had one. Many have set up lines of credit on that.

    Maybe if someone was applying for loan or expanding their business their may be a need but I just would imagine they had lawyers and such already but you never know.

    There still may be a service you can offer newer businesses but I would hope they had alot of that in place before they opened the doors for the first time.

    Maybe you could word it to mean entrepreneurs who want to start a business.

    -Art
    Art - thanks for your input.

    I think what I meant to say was Strategic Digital Marketing Plan/Combined with offline.

    Think about the many ways there are that business could use to attract customers. Many businesses are still just setting up shop and expecting clients to rolling in the front door, but as we know, that is usually not how it works.

    Strategic Facebook Plans
    Loyalty Cards
    Flyers
    Referral Schemes

    etc...

    How many businesses really have a combination of these things in place. They might not need to have all but taking a few and really leveraging them for maximum use is what they could do.
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  • Profile picture of the author Jason Kanigan
    Originally Posted by Art of Marketing View Post

    Most Businesses would not even be in business unless they had one. Many have set up lines of credit on that.

    Maybe if someone was applying for loan or expanding their business their may be a need but I just would imagine they had lawyers and such already but you never know.

    There still may be a service you can offer newer businesses but I would hope they had alot of that in place before they opened the doors for the first time.

    Maybe you could word it to mean entrepreneurs who want to start a business.

    -Art
    Are you joking? That's not what I've seen.

    Most businesses don't have a plan of any kind. Mom and pop operations that rely on "hope" to get there and have nothing written down at all. "It's all in my head," the owner says. They lurch through the month hoping that they'll have enough money in the bank at the end to pay wages & expenses. No plan and no planning. Fly-by-the-seat-of-the-pants 99 times out of 100.

    Only corporate-type businesses, who hire a marketing manager or some other business development exec, more often take the time to develop and run a marketing plan. In their cases, they often have money to waste...so many of them don't even check the effectiveness of their marketing activities!

    Either case is a great opportunity for someone to work on their marketing plan. The hard part is getting that trust between the decision maker and you. Most people don't like the idea of an outsider meddling with the levers and switches of their business. So you're back to sorting: those who are open to it and have need of the service vs those who do not. Then you can have a real conversation.
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  • Profile picture of the author mydream247
    Yes there is a need for this service, and there is also a need for business plans. Many business want to raise capital and need funds to grow but do not have business plan, don't believe me? Just ask any mom and pop business if they have one and I am sure at least 80% don't because most have no clue how to write, and even more don't have time to do research. I am considering marketing this as a service to businesses and offering marketing plan as my free offer, with software it tales less than 15 mins to prepare a marketing plan that has great details. Those of you who already have offline clients are leaving money on the table by not offering business and marketing pans, think about it, your already helping them to promote and grow there business with mobile, and social media, why not offer full package, every business want to grow.
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  • Profile picture of the author bizgrower
    Places like this: Denver Small Business Development Center (all off shoots of a Federal US program), SBA lenders/banks, and other economic development organizations would be good places to contact to offer business and marketing plans, consulting, and marketing services.
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  • Profile picture of the author OwnCoder
    Originally Posted by RyanLester View Post

    I guess the title speaks for itself.

    Ive been contemplating adding this to my service offerings.

    It's probably something you can do without investing any cash.

    Anyone doing/planning on doing the same?
    What kind of Marketing Plans do you looking for ?
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  • Profile picture of the author iAmNameLess
    Originally Posted by Art of Marketing View Post

    Most Businesses would not even be in business unless they had one. Many have set up lines of credit on that.

    Maybe if someone was applying for loan or expanding their business their may be a need but I just would imagine they had lawyers and such already but you never know.

    There still may be a service you can offer newer businesses but I would hope they had alot of that in place before they opened the doors for the first time.

    Maybe you could word it to mean entrepreneurs who want to start a business.

    -Art
    Actually, a marketing plan, marketing strategy, and business plan are completely different and the majority of businesses don't even have a basic business plan, let alone a marketing plan.

    Business credit isn't based on your business plan, or marketing plan. Has nothing to do with that whatsoever. You can't get a line of credit with the best business plan in the world. Your business can't even get a line of credit unless you build up strong business credit or unless you want to put out a personal guarantee.

    Business credit works like this.... you incorporate, have an EIN, get some trade accounts, get more next tier trade accounts, make sure they're reporting, figure out your paydex and continue building and building. Nobody asks for a marketing plan or business plan when it comes to business credit....

    Also.... what does having a lawyer have to do with having a marketing plan?

    I understand why you would assume most people would already have a marketing plan, but business plans are by far more popular, and if the majority of businesses don't even have a real business plan, think about how many don't even have a marketing plan.
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    • Profile picture of the author sandalwood
      Norman makes a very good point about how business credit works. We just got a line of credit for our insurance agency. Didn't give the bank any business or marketing plan. Simply filled out a one page application and their biggest question was how long we had been in business. Gave them the original state issued business license and bingo our account was credited.

      Banking is an ever changing system. What worked last year doesn't this year. What they wanted to know last year isn't what they want to know this year. BTW, the fact we have one account with them helped tremendously. Also the fact that we stayed on our acct rep's ass constantly also helped.

      Being proactive seems to be the magic wand this week. I have no idea what it will be next week. Unless you've been to a bank this week, you cannot really make any assumptions. How do I know? We always ask every week.

      The idea behind getting our business credit was to boost the amount we will ask for next time. Once they give you a small amount, in our case five figures, the next amount can be six figures. Oh yeah, make your payments on time.

      The rule of thumb this month is to make at least six payments on time and then pay off the loan. Wait two to three months and go in for the next loan. It will take less time and you won't have near the hassle as you did with BC #1.

      Mind you, this could all change by the end of the month and I am speaking from OUR experience only in our area. The bank we use for our BC loan is a super huge international by the way.

      I personally like testing the waters to see what works and what doesn't. Banks are fun if you are willing to put up w/their BS and not take anything personal. The money is there so ask how you can get it.

      Just my 2¢...

      Tom



      Originally Posted by iAmNameLess View Post

      Actually, a marketing plan, marketing strategy, and business plan are completely different and the majority of businesses don't even have a basic business plan, let alone a marketing plan.

      Business credit isn't based on your business plan, or marketing plan. Has nothing to do with that whatsoever. You can't get a line of credit with the best business plan in the world. Your business can't even get a line of credit unless you build up strong business credit or unless you want to put out a personal guarantee.

      Business credit works like this.... you incorporate, have an EIN, get some trade accounts, get more next tier trade accounts, make sure they're reporting, figure out your paydex and continue building and building. Nobody asks for a marketing plan or business plan when it comes to business credit....

      Also.... what does having a lawyer have to do with having a marketing plan?

      I understand why you would assume most people would already have a marketing plan, but business plans are by far more popular, and if the majority of businesses don't even have a real business plan, think about how many don't even have a marketing plan.
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