In this article, I’ll list and explain the elements of a marketing plan.

First, what is a marketing plan?

A marketing plan is a thorough roadmap which outlines the overall marketing efforts of an organization and highlights the steps that will be taken so you retain its marketing objectives. This plan can have a lifespan of between a few months to three years.

Like a business plan, a marketing plan is a very important business document that entails regular review and revision. In particular, three-year marketing plans should be revisited periodically. At least once a year, for the purpose of addressing changes in market conditions, demand, pricing issues, etc.

“For every minute spent in organizing, an hour is earned.” –Benjamin Franklin.

In today’s fast-changing business world, we are witnessing a lot of changes in the customers’ consumption and behavior patterns. It is essential that we stay up to date with the trends and changes.

So, what are the elements of a a marketing plan?

Five key elements of a marketing plan

• Conducting SWOT and PESTND Analyses

Start with conducting a rigorous SWOT analysis with the objective of realizing your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, in comparison with your competitors’.

Also, analyze the political, economic, socio-cultural, technological, natural, and demographic  (PESTND) factors, to better understand the environment in which your business operates. Both analyses are essential to successful marketing planning!

Check out this article that includes a step by step guide how to conduct a SWOT analysis.

• Analyzing the competition, and understanding differentiated points of value

You can generate a list of your competitive alternatives, and define your unique value proposition(s) that can help you stand out in the face of fierce competition.

It is extremely important to articulate what differentiates your offering(s) from others; whether it be in technology, features, pricing, delivery options, ease of use, time to value, etc.

“Marketing strategy will impact every piece of your business and it should be tied to every piece of your business.” -Brandon Andersen

• Knowing the product(s), and defining target market(s)

Understand the features and benefits of your goods or services. And pinpoint the particular group(s) of customers at whom you will be aiming your products.

Your target market could include individual consumers, other businesses, or both. Segment your audience based on variables such as gender, age groups, regional areas, educational backgrounds, occupations, average incomes, social classes, lifestyles, interests, activities, etc.

Did you know that 56% of successful marketers stated that they do audience research at least once per month? Source: Convince and Convert

• Setting marketing goals and metrics

Establish quantifiable marketing goals such as increasing customer acquisition by X%, selling X number of products, or boosting income by X%, within a given timeframe.

In addition, highlight the tracked measures that are associated with these goals. Remember that a good marketing plan is part of an ongoing process. Thus, it involves setting goals, measuring results, tracking performance, reviewing and revising on a regular basis. It should be scoped and managed like any other project.

Successful marketers who set goals in their marketing plans have a 429% greater chance of success, and 81% more chances to achieve their goals. Source: Convince and Convert

• Budgeting

Budget your money, and determine the strategies that can be afforded, what can be done in-house, and what will be needed to be outsourced! Quality must not be jeopardized in order to save a buck.

The Marketing Manager must own the budget, and fight for every dollar he can get from management. However, in the end, it is the dollar (marketing expenditure available) that dictates the direction of your marketing campaign.

Marketing planning success doesn’t come easy, just like anything else. It will require your hard work.

For success, continue reviewing the status of your marketing campaigns against set objectives, comparing your marketing plan with actual results. Then take corrective actions as per the need. This will help you enhance your marketing initiatives on an ongoing basis and facilitate future planning.

Including all the elements of a marketing plan will ultimately put you in the driving seat of helping achieve your marketing goals. Thus, pushing you to reach your sales objectives, and hence, bumping up your bottom line (profits).

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In this “How to Start an Online Business” guide and in related posts that are linked to it, we will guide you through the process of earning money by launching your own online retail business. You can find other examples of how to start an online business by checking our freelancing and blogging guides.

The digital world has skyrocketed exponentially, given the increasing demand for virtual consumers. The ease of online purchasing has enticed consumers to go digital.

Online presence increases your brand awareness, attracts new customers and saves on operational costs. It also allows a convenient and easy way for customers to access your product.

Whether you are starting a new online business or building one for your already established business, there are a number of steps you should consider before taking the plunge.

To give you a practical step by step guide, we will take an example of how to start an online business that sells products on the internet – an e-c0mmerce store. E-commerce is growing at a very fast pace and provides you with an opportunity to put your products in front of a target audience at a very low cost compared with having to open up an actual retail store. On the other hand, there are many sites like www.shopify.com that allow you to set up your store without any technical expertise.

So let’s get to it and detail how to start an online business.

The following are 12 key steps on how to start an online business – an online retail store:

1. Planning before you start your online business

   As with every business decision, a plan must be established. A business plan helps you to ascertain a roadmap for your business’ operation. Without effectively planning you tend to lose sight of achieving both short and long-term goals. The same goes for your online site.

   To help yourself answer the question of how to start an online business successfully, start off with documenting your business model with ideas that’ll make you money.

   If your online site is a new business venture, first consider whether there is a market for your product. If your online site is for an already established business, then consider which products you will offer.

2. Domain Name and Webhost Options for your online business

   Prior to the design stage of your site, the choice of your domain name and web host is essential. The domain name is the forefront description of what your company is all about. Your web host is also crucial because it’s the platform on which your website will run on. The type of web host determines how smoothly and reliably your site will function.

3. Designing your Online Business Website

   How to start an online business requires that you pay attention to the user experience across all touchpoints. One of the most important of these touchpoints is your website and here are a few tips for you to consider:

   • Your site should replicate your existing company image (i.e. logo design, colors, company information). It needs to properly articulate your brand image.

   • Even with the most creative sites and design excellence on board, customers are also looking for a smooth process. Therefore, the site should support user-friendly interaction. The overall experience should be one that is easy to navigate; from when they land on your page right through to making a purchase. Make sure that your website is pre-tested and is void of page/image loading glitches as well as ordering processing mishaps. You don’t want to lose your customers from the get-go.

   • The site should have visible links to your associated social media platforms.

   • Given the increased use of mobile and tablet technologies for online browsing and purchasing, you need to make sure that your site is accommodated for multiple browsers and device compatibility.

   • Provide images that match your products being offered. Images provide a visual interpretation for customers. It helps them to identify if they have found the product they are seeking.

   • Provide descriptive details of the product(s). This can include product dimensions, colors, availability, and any other related information. You could also provide links to other products that relate to their chosen product choice. This is also a great way to upsell other products and increase profits.

   • You should consider providing whether the product is available or not. Customers can find it extremely frustrating to find out that the product ordered is actually unavailable.

4. Available Purchase Methods for your Online Business Consumers

   How do you start an online business that would allow your clients to pay seamlessly? Nowadays, solely relying on Visa and MasterCard payment options is not enough. You need to provide the most desirable options that your customers may use. Other options include PayPal, Paymate, QuickBooks Payments, and E-way. These are great alternatives that many use, as they are not linked directly to their banking details.

5. Securing your Customers Details and Payments in your Online Business

   How to start an online business that is secure? The nature of online security is vital to your success. Your customers should feel that their information and payment processing is secure. This needs to be effectively conveyed when they are entering their personal details (contact and payment information).

   Make sure that your site uses a known security platform that ensures peace of mind transactions. In addition, keep your security features updated and monitored. Not doing this will reduce your company’s credibility. This also pertains to keeping your site safe from hackers taking over it. Imagine all your hard work of establishing a great website, yet only losing it to a hacker!

6. Provide Delivery Options and Dates

   Be sure to give customers a choice regarding shipping options; standard, upgraded or international delivery. Depending on the product(s) being offered you may also set an option to collect in-store.

   In addition, you should specify delivery dates and times. That is, their order will arrive within or before a certain time; by 2 pm between 10and 4 pm, for example. Successful online retailers always provide specific dates and time, so not to keep their customers second-guessing and stressed when their shipment will arrive. This is especially crucial during festive seasons.

   Many websites offer free shipping. The advantage is double-sided; it can increase your customer’s sale order and also act as a promotional strategy. If, let’s say, that the average customer order is $50, then provide free shipping on orders over $75. For orders below that, offer a flat shipping rate.

7. Confirmations and Receipts

   It is vital for customers to receive confirmation and receipt that their order has been successfully processed. Consider using a receipt maker to make customized options for each customer or client. Provide a branded email that details the requested order. In addition, set up a link that tracks their order status via your website. Redirecting your customers back to your site can also instigate additional orders.

8. Set Up A Return Policy for your Online Business

   What can make your online experience a success, over others, is your return policy. Even if customers don’t intend on returning their purchase, offering a return policy increases your company’s credibility and reputation.

9. Provide Support

   How to start an online business that keeps customers and generates good referrals? Customer service is key! Customer service is always a must in any form of business. One of your goals should be to satisfy customers and retain them.

   By putting in place a call center or an online chat feature, customers feel that they are able to reach out for help, whether it is to ask for more information or make a complaint. Not only does this increase your online credibility, but also a communication medium to enhance trust and loyalty with customers.

10. Marketing and Advertising Your Online Business

    Without effective and advertising mediums in place, how can you create online success? The great thing about online selling is that you don’t require a huge financial budget.

    Get connected with social media platforms, understand SEO tricks or take on paid online advertising. Regardless of the choices made, this is crucial in further, boosting your brands’ awareness, driving leads back to your site and of course, increasing sales.

11. How to start an online business and keep it growing?

    Google Analytics is a great tool to track how well your website is performing. Tracking your growth allows key insight into what is driving your online sales. It analyzes and monitors where web traffic is coming from, which browsers your customers are using, the keywords that are being used to reach your website and how customers are landing on your page.

    Doing this permits you to identify how to further expand and grow your online business more successful.

12. Consider Opening a Dropshipping Business

    One business model we want to highlight is the dropshipping model.

    Dropshipping is often a low-risk business venture because you don’t hold on to inventory and only pay for products after a customer purchases them. Startup costs are minimal, as you’ll only need a computer, website, and internet connection. You can also run your startup by yourself.

    Startup owners can automate most of their business operations. For example, these top dropshipping automation tools can do everything from email marketing to product management with little manual input.

    If you want to open a dropshipping business, understand that the market is saturated. However, it’s still possible to succeed with stellar marketing, good suppliers, and a unique product.

The basis for online success is to provide a site that customers can easily find, be simple in navigating products and be voided of problems when placing an order. It should also be one where customers receive orders in good condition, are on time, and be returned, if dissatisfied.

These may seem simple, but without these basic elements, your efforts to start an online business may fail. When allowing an efficient and user-friendly online process experience, customers will surely want to come back for more and more!

We hope that this How to Start an online business guide will help propel you into a successful entrepreneurship career. Take a minute to check out the popular guides at the top of the page to empower you to succeed in the journey.

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Depending on the products and services that you offer your customers, you may have the opportunity to overshoot your sales targets in the month of February. Not only people in love go in search of unique gifts that say “I love you” to their special ones, but also savvy business owners like you, can ride the publicity wave.

Marketing in Valentine’s Day can be the perfect opportunity to increase your bottom lines as customer wallets open as wide as their hearts.

But, how can you link your efforts to such a large special event, that people are already concerned about, and get an additional (financial) boost from the buzz?

Here are 5 simple yet effective Valentine’s Day marketing ideas that can help you grab your customers’ attention, their dollars and help drive your businesses up:

Valentine’s Day Marketing Idea 1:

• Get closer to your current and potential customers

  Conduct a survey aimed at gathering, scrutinizing, and acting upon customers’ comments, reviews, and feedback. In addition, form a focus group from amongst your most loyal customers, and discuss one or more aspects of the customer experience that can be ameliorated. Bear in mind that people will not care about your business until they know how much you care about them!

Valentine’s Day Marketing Idea 2:

• Produce and share informative content reflecting the special occasion theme

  Make sure all content created and posted across your social media platforms are light, engaging and useful, include promotional information and calls to action, and links the products you are recommending as gifts to your occasion-themed website.

Valentine’s Day Marketing Idea 3:

• Make the best use of social media channels on V-Day

  Sending out a message through social media is the simplest and cheapest way of linking your brand to a special occasion. On V-Day, find a romantic quote that is congruent with your brand, and posts it as a caption to an image featuring your product or brand name, if appropriate. This will help you stay on top of your customers’ minds. Furthermore, offer discounts to customers who post your occasion-themed hashtag and help you increase your reach! Also, offering deals through text messages can be of great benefit to your business.

Valentine’s Day Marketing Idea 4:

• Be nice, and reward your best and loyal customers

  Treat your customers with extra care, and get your staff to spread the love. And, as the saying goes, we shall never know all the good that a simple smile can do! Moreover, incorporate gift giving into your corporate culture, and reward your best and loyal customers by adding special gifts or incentives on top of what you normally provide them with.

Valentine’s Day Marketing Idea 5:

• Live out Valentine’s Day spirit by giving back

  Donate a portion of proceeds from the sales of particular goods or services to a local deserving charity, and spread the word across your website, blog, e-mail newsletters, and social media platforms, so as to show how you positively contribute to your community and thus attract more and more customers. Doing so will ensure that you do good for your community and your business. Helping these charities in their Valentine’s day fundraising activities will ensure that you do good for your community and your business.

Marketers have a field day(s) with promoting their goods and services for Valentine’s Day, putting their unique touch or spin on the marketing activities that they come up with.

Be it via social media, your online presence, print media, or in-store activities, the goals are all the same: Sell, sell, and Sell while maintaining the brand image. With millions of ‘Love Struck’ consumers wanting to please their loved ones, the opportunities are out there for the taking.

Therefore, you need to play the game & try to Cash in on the ‘Spirit of Love’!!!

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Franchises could be either:

• Product distribution franchise; which sells the large product(s) manufactured by the Franchisor
• Business format franchise; which sells the entire business format including trademark, product, service, business approach, and methodology.

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There are several key benefits associated with using a MOOC for your training and development environment. For example, learners are not constrained by geography or time, participants can learn collaboratively through online tools. MOOCs are available to anyone, regardless of their software set up or previous educational achievements.

Here are our top 4 tips to ensure that your learners get the most of MOOCs

• Encourage learners to create their own learning goals.

  This is of particular importance if the course already has its own objectives. But establishing learning goals before starting a course is a key component to creating a successful learning experience.

• Encourage learners to commit to a certain number of hours per week for each course.

  Some courses provide a guideline for the sort of time commitment a learner should aim for. But time commitments can vary depending on the goals of the course. A helpful strategy is to encourage learners to block off specific times each week in their calendar for course study. When learning goals have been established, it is good practice for learners to keep an online notebook. An online notebook helps to record learning goals, make notes, list web links, web artifacts, images or any other content associated with the course.

• Get ready for the information overload

  It is not uncommon for learners to feel overwhelmed when they start a course. Many do not know where to begin, where to find course materials and are at a loss as to how the MOOC works. Try running a training session so that learners understand the environment and the basic concept that the course is self-directed and motivated.

• Create guidelines

  It is useful to create a series of guidelines to help learners adapt to the online learning environment. For example, one guideline can help learners treat each course with the same level of seriousness as if they are sitting in a traditional classroom. This means taking careful notes during video lectures and giving the course their full attention.

Finally, A MOOC provides a rich learning experience that can improve an individual’s professional or personal development. Thus shrinking the skills gap in the workplace. However, a learner needs to be self-motivated to get the most out of these online learning opportunities. A learner that invests the time to review materials, set goals, share and collect the knowledge, will get the most out of a MOOC.

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Social Media has become the place where people spend most of their time compared to any other media outlets. When implemented well Social Media Sites can help any business with a limited budget do what only large companies were able to do a few years back.

Here are 4 ways to make use of Social Media Sites for your business:

• Advertising

  Even with limited budgets, businesses can engage with their prospects and promote their products and services.

• Referrals

  There is nothing better than a happy client talking about their purchase from you to their friends and fans on Social Media.

• Customer Support

  To efficiently be able to monitor any issues with products or services.

• Product Development

  Where you can poll and test your prospects’ opinions prior to help in developing your next products and services.

The above use cases can be deployed by businesses of any sizes and at various stages of development.

By using Social Media effectively and implementing the right social media strategy, businesses can save a lot of money and provide a better client experience.

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You might have the best product at the best price, but if no one is going to know about it, then you will be out of business soon. You need to launch a marketing campaign that will actually reach the goals you set in your marketing plan.

To launch any marketing campaign think of these 3 steps:

• Identify the Target Segment

  That has the most to gain from your product or service. The more niche that segment is, the easier it would be to identify the best way to reach them.

• Identify your Value proposition

  By articulating what makes you different and why that target segment should go out of their way to get hold of your product or service

• Have a Call to Action

  For the recipients of your campaign. It could be a sign up process, a simple buying process, or a test drive.

These three steps can guide your through any successful marketing campaign.

With today’s online marketing channels, you can ensure that you reach the right audiences effectively and be able to continuously tweak your campaigns for maximum performance.

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A strategy is an important and crucial pillar of an organization’s culture in today’s global and dynamic environment. The purpose of the strategy is to identify clear goals that develop, enhance and improve the overall health of an organization and its resources. In order to further strengthen an organization’s strategy, one must be able to apply strategic thinking; the act of generating and applying unique opportunities and that allows an organization to create a competitive advantage. Strategic thinking encompasses innovative, creative and entrepreneurial insight into an organizations environment, in addition to strategic planning and operational planning. These simultaneously increase the chance for greater success within an organization.

The following 7 tips are essential to developing strategic thinking to improve an organizations success:

• Be creative and Innovative

  Einstein once said, “We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them”. This is because of the changing nature of the business environment and industry shifts. When you confine yourself to routine, you lose sight of opportunities and the capacity to be strategically creative, imaginative and innovative. Therefore, think outside the box. So you can take risks, be curious, challenge yourself and use collective knowledge around you to generate breakthrough ideas.

• Think critically and challenge conventional thinking

  Playing it safe and taking opinions at face value does make decisions easier. This may reduce the impact of second-guessing; however, it also runs the risk of losing a competitive edge. Being a critical thinker means you question everything, you think open-mindedly about all possibilities and communicate effectively. In addition, you should seek out best available information, expand perspectives and possibilities, identify hidden facts as well as encourage deeper and more creative thoughts.

• Ability to anticipate

  Being able to proactively anticipate change and challenges by monitoring the industry environment for threats and opportunities will give you an advantage over your competitors. By identifying, envisioning and understanding the rapidly changing environment, you can help to ensure the future viability of your organization. If you are not proactive in anticipating future events then you will undoubtedly be unable to move your organization forward into the future. You need to understand what is happening around you, what are the driving forces behind the changing trends and what actions today would affect future outcomes. Conducting market research, studying the actions of competitors and understanding the challenges faced by consumers and stakeholders will give you the edge.

• Be decisive

  When you are indecisive and lack the ability to make a decision, you fall into a state of paralyzed inaction. Consequently, your windows of opportunities are overlooked and quality of decisions lack direction and effective outcomes. For more effective decisions establish priorities, focus on goals and build adaptability and flexibility into your decision-making abilities.

• Learn and grow

  Strategic thinkers are lifelong learners. They use their own experience, the experience of others and are committed to seeking advice and feedback from others. Success and failure come hand-in-hand. Failure, in particular, provides valuable learning lessons and insights. When incorporating strategic thinking, you learn to exercise the notion of ‘what’ and ‘why’; that is, what should the organization be doing and why?

• Ability to interpret

  To help overcome the feeling of uncertainty when planning and setting strategies within your business, thinking strategically will allow you to have the ability to interpret differing opinions and multiple sources of data in order to process and synthesize information accordingly. The outcome results in developing a strong sense of being able to zoom in and out simultaneously to view the bigger picture, ability to recognize patterns and seek new insights.

• Ability to align

  Strategic thinking should be aligned both internally and externally; across the entire organization, with consumers, the industry, and stakeholders. Proactive communication that builds trust and fosters open dialogue of differing views. This allows a more sync approach to building support, assessing risk tolerance across all involved. Also this formulates a confident approach to creating a more strategically successful organization.

Decision makers need to be proactive and need to make time for strategic thinking. The sustainability of an organization requires not only thinking about what is happening now but also taking into consideration future outcomes. Without strategic thinking, organizations lack the capacity to successfully advance the direction of their business into one that possesses innovation, creativity and a competitive edge. The ultimate goal is to outmaneuver your competitors and bring your business to the forefront of the marketplace, which can be accomplished with the ‘secret weapon’ of Strategic Thinking!

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Interpersonal skills are the tools you utilize to interact and communicate with fellow employees, customers, and suppliers in an organizational environment. A trait of successful employees is having strong interpersonal skills. There are more than ten important interpersonal skills that every employee should grasp.

One important interpersonal skill is Listening Active Listening

What is Active Listening?

Active listening means the ability or habit to listen to the speaker with full concentration using all of your senses. Active Listening is an integral part of interpersonal skills. One has to develop this skill via disciplined practice, as it is not something that we are born with. Patience is the key to successful development of the active listening ability.

What are the characteristics of Active Listeners?

Active listening includes a number of verbal as well as non-verbal signs. However, all of these signs may not be a correct fit for every situation. For example, crying loudly does not fit the hilarious situation. In simple words, use of the following signs of active listening may vary in accordance with the kind of situation that is on hand.

Non Verbal Characteristics of Active Listener

Developing eye-contact and Physical posture are important qualities of any active non-verbal listener.

• Developing eye contact

  Active listener always encourages the speaker by developing eye contact mixed with smiles or facial expression that is appropriate to the situation.

• Physical Posture

  Physical posture is something which is also another important characteristic of an active listener. During interpersonal chat sessions, most of the active listeners tend to lean forward to some extent and show great interest in your talk.

Verbal Characteristics of an Active Listener

Apart from non-verbal characteristics, verbal characteristics are important for the development of active listening skills.

• Remembering

  Try to remember the things or points mentioned by the speaker. If you can remember even some of them by the end of the talk that means you are a good active listener.

• Question and answer

  Question and answer are also a good way to ensure active listening. An active listener will always question you about something from your talk. In other words, you have to question the speaker in pursuance of proving that you are actively listening to the speaker. The speaker can, on the other hand, also question you about what he or she is talking about to check to see whether you are actively listening to them or not.

Listening has been staged as an integral part of the ‘Communication Chain’. Communicating with another person is a two-way street. One needs to comprehend what the other party is stating and asking for, and this can be done by actively listening via the verbal & non-verbal characteristics that are available. With strong listening skills, one will be able to effectively communicate with the second party, and thus be in a strong position to reach their goals.

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