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Friday, April 01, 2005

Secrets to Rapid Business Growth

A key factor to achieve success in today's market is finding subtle differences to give a business a competitive marketing edge. Businesses that target specialty markets will promote its products and services more effectively than a business aiming at the "average" customer. The purpose of a business is to create and keep a customer.

Opportunities in marketing increase when segmented groups of clients and customers with varying needs are recognized. Markets can be segmented or targeted using a variety of factor. The bases for segmenting consumer markets include:

Demographical bases (age, family size, life cycle, occupation)
Geographical bases (states, regions, countries)
Behavior bases (product knowledge, usage, attitudes, responses)
Psychographic bases (lifestyle, values, personality)

Marketing mix is a combination of marketing tools that are used to satisfy customers and company objectives. Consumers often call the marketing mix "the offering." The offer is generally controlled by the variables such as: Product, Price, Place (Distribution) and Promotion .By using variations of these four components, it is possible to have the ability to reach multiple consumers within the target market.

Creating a successful marketing mix that will increase results often takes experimenting and market research. There are many methods that can be used. The key is to not always depend on "one" mix and combining and coordination of these elements will be more effective than depending on one

Ten Tips to Prepare for Sustainable Growth
Companies primed for growth base foundations of infrastructure and knowledge, and avoid the pitfalls of undisciplined growth that can dissipate quickly. Here are ten ways to prepare:

1. Know Your Financials: The growth involves knowing your financials and to have the idea of difference between cash flow and profitability.

2. Know Your Outside Financing Options: Companies primed for growth know how, when and where to get outside money and what type of financing to tap. They know the appropriate financing option at each point in the company’s life cycle, and are versed in how companies are valued and the impact of current trends on the ability to raise money.

3. Leverage Core Competencies: One key to growth is to leverage your company’s competitive advantage by developing new products or going after new markets.

4. Focus Externally as Well as Internally: Tracking your company’s financials, operations, sales and marketing efforts is must. Comparing yourself to your competition and understanding the impact of marketplace trends will help in improving the growth of the business.

5. Consider Non-Organic Ways to Grow: Acquisition can be an ideal way to grow, but need to evaluate what type of company is a good fit with yours. Be precise about how the target company adds value to your enterprise and what the necessary benchmarks are to capitalize value. Other ways of gaining a marketplace advantage: team up with another company and form a joint venture or strategic alliance.

6. Move from Micro-Management to Macro-Management: Business owners often have trouble letting go and turning matters over to subordinates. And that’s even critical to do. Delegate responsibilities and tasks to appropriate staff. Communicate critical and actionable information.

7. Make Strategic Use of Outside Advisors: Put together a good board of advisers, and this will create a powerful asset that can make a huge difference when you need to get objective advice, scout the marketplace, gauge future trends, seek new strategic positions, build repeat customers.

8. Reap the Rewards of Technology: You can improve your business through access to timely, critical information about performance. And it’s equally important that you identify and seize technology-enabled opportunities that help you reduce costs and increase productivity. Use relationship-management systems that integrate information to better serve customers, improve cash flow and promote cross-selling.

9. Protect Intellectual Property: Products, technologies, business methods, patents, trademarks, copyrights and other forms of intellectual property can significantly enhance a company's ability to secure and defend sources of marketplace advantage.

10. Manage Risk Through Insurance: Just being in business is risky. Since risk can’t be eliminated, you have to manage it by insuring your company with general liability and property coverage, an umbrella policy, automobile insurance etc.


Sources – http://www.stengelsolutions.com/tips15.htm
http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/0,4621,317200,00.html
http://marketing.about.com/cs/sbmarketing/a/smbizmrktseg.htm

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