3.Keys to Success
Instructions
Examples
Concept Kick-start
1. Objectives
Instructions
Your plan objectives should be specific goals that can be measured. Keep the list to three or four because long lists make it harder to focus. Since you deal with products, you might watch gross margin or unit sales, so you should set objectives for these key factors. Other specific objectives will depend on your type of business.
Additional Detail
Set measurable objectives; your chance of
implementation depends on being able to track progress and measure results.
Where general or intangible goals are critical to your business, find a way to
make them specific. For example:
- If service to the community is a priority, put your objectives in terms of percent of people served, specific numbers of complaints, or letters of praise.
- If image or awareness is a priority, build a customer satisfaction survey into your plan, set the sample size and satisfaction scores you want to achieve, then carry out the survey to check on success.
Press F1 for help
Examples
There are four major objectives to this business plan, of which three are immediate and the fourth is of a longer-term nature:
-
Solve the present working capital shortage. This will allow some flex
space to pursue the more permanent marketing solution expressed in the
fourth objective mentioned below. Bizcomm should immediately
arrange to factor its accounts receivable. A major lending company has
agreed to provide the necessary funding to Bizcomm, on the basis
of an 80% advance. The first weekly transaction will take place in the
second week of February.
-
Modify the Bizcomm website. This will result in more sales; and,
with adjustments, the Internet site will increase exposure and will result
in even greater sales. Two meetings have already been held with a Web
designer. He is convinced that he can completely overhaul
Bizcomm's registration with the major search engines, as well as
the Yahoo! Store, which will result in visitors to
Bizcomm's website in large numbers.
-
To prepare and package some of Bizcomm's more popular generic
Slida-Card™ products so that they will be accepted by
large discount retail chains. By inserting a small brochure inside these
retail packets, mail order leads for Bizcomm's traditional
customized offering will result without the high cost of sending out
mailers.
- To replace Bizcomm's shotgun approach to mail order selling of cards to more of a rifle method aimed at one or two targeted industries. Key words: Market Segmentation. This objective must be executed carefully after adequate market research, careful design of the mailer, using the traditional skills of direct mail while considering new technology and trends. Results are not expected to appear until the second and third years of this plan.
2. Mission
Instructions
Additional Detail
The mission statement is also a good
opportunity to define what business you are in. This can be critical to
understanding your keys to success. For example:
- An accounting practice is probably in the business of peace of mind as much as it is tax reporting and financial statements.
- A medical office is concerned about preserving health as much as treating sickness.
As another option, experts in
value-based marketing recommend
that a mission statement include a "value proposition," which summarizes
what benefits you offer, to whom, and at what relative price. Using this
reasoning:
- A tire company might be selling the benefit of highway safety to safety-minded consumers (especially parents) at a price premium.
- A luxury car might actually be selling the benefit of prestige to status-conscious consumers at a price premium; or the benefit of reliability to value-conscious consumers at a price premium.
Press F1 for help
Examples
Bizcomm's mission is to provide specialized customer communication products through the mail. These products are either not available at the retail level, or are too expensive if obtained from normal commercial printers.
3.Keys to Success
Instructions
There are five generally accepted keys to success in the mail order industry:
- Identify the market.
- Prepare the mail order package.
- Choose the list.
- Test mail.
- Roll out if successful.
There is a huge market in the United States for customer communication products, with plenty of profitable business to be had. Nearly 700,000 businesses have been identified as attractive in addition to those market sectors to which Bizcomm has directed its attention. Capturing market share at a profit is definitely achievable if the above five steps are skillfully executed.
Examples
There are five generally accepted keys to success in the mail order industry:
- Identify the market.
- Prepare the mail order package.
- Choose the list.
- Test mail.
- Roll out if successful.
There is a huge market in the United States for customer communication products, with plenty of profitable business to be had. Nearly 700,000 businesses have been identified as attractive in addition to those market sectors to which Bizcomm has directed its attention. Capturing market share at a profit is definitely achievable if the above five steps are skillfully executed.