The SAE Business Practicum Marketing Plan Overview

1. The SAE Business PracticumMarketing Plan Overview Presentation by Ana Estrada Member of Cal Poly Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) Under a grant from HSBC Bank

2. The Planning Process • It is based on the concepts and process in a popular book on small business marketing called Duct Tape Marketing by John Jantsch. • The process uses a popular software package, Sales and Marketing Pro that is designed to accompany Duct Tape Marketing. • The Business Practicum’s Big “5” Questions and the SWOT analysis have also been incorporated into this process.

3. The Purpose of the Plan • To help the business owner focus his marketing efforts in a simple, effective, and affordable approach that results in improved business performance.

4. Steps in the Process • The SAE team is provided a series of checklists to guide you through the process of getting information from their business and developing your analysis of this information. You will also have a short reading assignment in Duct Tape Marketing related to the checklist. • The team meets with the business owner or representative in a series of at least three meetings and goes through the questions on the appropriate checklist, taking extensive notes on the business owner’s answers. • In the SAE Computer Lab, the team enters the information in the appropriate sections of the Sales and Marketing Pro software.

5. Steps in the Process • The checklist sometimes asks you, the team, to come up with marketing analysis and ideas based on the information you gathered. You can also start working with the business on one deliverable. • Once you have entered all of the information, You will assemble it into a draft of a marketing plan and present it to the business owner. • The business owner will add or delete what he thinks is best. Then you and the business owner will come up with a marketing budget and action plan. • A final version of the marketing plan will be prepared with a budget and action plan. This will be presented to a panel of judges on March 15 or 16.

6. The Final Presentation • Your team’s project will be evaluated on three factors: • The marketing plan • The deliverable • The presentation itself

7. The Marketing Hour Glass A Key Concept • The old way, a funnel, vs. the new way, an hour glass • The old funnel: get as many suspects and identify the prospects near the top, and funnel them down till you make a sale at the neck. • The hour glass: turn your suspects into prospects, then into customers. Then, try to make them repeat customers and eventually champions who sell for you through referral. In this way, your customer base becomes bigger and bigger at the bottom.

8. The Seven Phases of the Hour Glass: Identify Touch points for Each Phase to Move the Custmer from Suspect to Champion • Know – ads, articles, referral leads • Like – Web site, reception, social media profile, email newsletter • Trust – marketing kits, sales presentations, • Try – Nurturing activities, webinars, product evaluations, try-before you buy workshops, demos • Buy – Fulfillment, new customer kit, delivery, financial arrangements • Repeat – Post-sale customer survey, cross-sell presentation, quarterly events. • Refer – results reviews, partner introductions, community building

9. How You Will Build a Marketing Plan: Overview • Know your business – Big 5 Question 1 • Know who your customers are and decide who matters – Big 5 Question 2 • Know what customers value – Big 5 Question 3 • Define results you want to achieve and to what extent the business has met its goals –Big 5 Question 4 • Define the Core Marketing Message: how the business is (will be) different • Evaluate your brand identity and needed improvements • Build the Marketing Plan - Big 5 Question 5

10. Checklist 2 What have been the business’s results? (Big 5 Question 4) • How well is your business achieving the results you expected? • Does your business’s current market appear to be viable? (i.e., Is your business profitable) • How does your current location help or hurt your business? • How well do you think your business is using its resources?

11. Know Your Business Checklist 1 • What products and/or services does you sell? • What percentage of your income comes from the different products and/or services? • What are your business hours? • What are your busiest times—of the day, of the week, of the month? • Do you sell online? If yes, what percentage of sales? • Why do your customers come to your business as opposed to another business? • What do your customers consider ‘value?’ • What is unique about your business? • What is your market niche?

12. SWOT Analysis • What are the business’s strengths? • What are the business’s weaknesses? • What are the business’s opportunities? • What are the business’s threats?

13. Know Who Your Customers Are and Decide Who Matters • What is their age and income? • Where do they come from? • Is your customer base changing? If yes, how? • Who would be your ideal customer? • What are your different types of customers? • What does each type buy from you and what is the approximate value • Which customers are the most profitable and which are the least? • Which profitable customers are most likely to refer you to others? • What is the demographic of the profitable customers who are likely to refer: Age, income, zip code? • What has attracted your most profitable customers to you? Part 1 – Checklist 1 (Teams may have already done this) Part 2 – Checklist 2

14. What will be your core marketing message? Your Remarkable Difference • Differentiators: What makes you different from your competitors? • Examples of unique points of difference: with the business, create a summary statement. For example: • Unique product • Unique service • Market niche • Special offer • Solve a specific problem • Message of value • Unique packaging • Outrageous guarantee • Customer Service • Doing things your competitors don’t • A way of doing business

15. What will be your core marketing message? Your Remarkable Difference • Create a talking logo: • Action verb (insurance salesman example: “I provide”) • Target market (“homeowners in this region”) • Problem solved or need met (“peace of mind”)

16. What will be your core marketing message? Your Remarkable Difference • Constructing the Core Marketing Message. • Suggestion: the business owner (or team) should ask several existing customers: • Why they choose this business • Why the stay with this business • Why they refer this business to others • To create your core marketing message, use what you have already learned from: • Your ideal customer • Statement of remarkable difference • Your talking logo • What your customers value from Checklist I-III to create your core marketing message. • Test your marketing message with current customers. These questions about what your business provides or plans to provide.

17. What will be your core marketing message? Your Remarkable Difference • Do your business’s elements of identity communicate your core marketing message—your brand? • Store environment • Signage • Stationery • Forms • Print materials • Advertising • Web site • Social media presence • Phone message • Attire

18. Assemble Your Marketing Plan (Big 5 Question 5) • Identify and create products or services for every client stage • Suspects • Prospects • Customers • Repeat customers • Champions who refer

19. Assemble Your Marketing Plan (Big 5 Question 5) • The Seven Phases of the Hour Glass: Identify touch points for each phase to move client from Suspect to Champion. • Know – ads, articles, referral leads • Like – Web site, reception, social media profile, email newsletter • Trust – marketing kits, sales presentations, • Try – Nurturing activities, webinars, product evaluations, try-before you buy workshops, demos • Buy – Fulfillment, new customer kit, delivery, financial arrangements • Repeat – Post-sale customer survey, cross-sell presentation, quarterly events. • Refer – results reviews, partner introductions, community building

20. Assemble Your Marketing Plan (Big 5 Question 5) • For each touch point offering, indicate how the business will measure its effectiveness • With the business owner, develop a calendar for touch point offerings and brand improvement activities. • With the business owner create a draft budget of the cost of each touch point activity

21. All of the steps you have just seen will be on your Marketing Plan Checklists • The order may differ slightly from this presentation • The order of your checklist may differ slightly from the Sales and Marketing Pro Software • You checklist will contain a reference map to the software components. • You may not be able to get all of the information on the checklists from the business owner, but try to get as much as you can

22. The Software: Sales and Marketing Pro • Designed to be used with Duct Tape Marketing • The sections in the software differ from order chapters in the book, but has references • The software has sections to input most of the information from your checklists but not all of it. • Your team will save and present the following separately: • Basic business information • Answers to the Big 5 Questions • The SWOT Analysis

23. Questions? Thank you Now Let’s Try It!