If You Are Starting A Business, DO NOT SKIP THESE STEPS . . .

Digital marketing cannot compensate for a poor business plan. Don't rush - do your homework first!

Don't Skip The Business Plan Basics

It's tempting to rush into business with a stellar product or service offering, BUT just having the desire is not enough to set you apart from your competition. It's important to do some research first on who your competitors are, who your target demographic is, and determine what makes your business idea unique.

The work I do specializes in local SEO (search engine optimization) for websites related to physical 'brick and mortar' businesses, but this basic information applies to businesses in general. All too often, I see new businesses want to have everyone as their customer. Unless you are a giant ecommerce provider like Amazon, developing a clearly-defined niche to target will help focus marketing efforts and reach sales sooner. Trying to become like your business competitors doesn't work very well either. Be different - why else would a potential customer choose you over an established competitor?

Know Your Competition

There are MANY tools and resources available offering help in analyzing competitor data, but the basics can be covered for free. SO much can be gleaned from competitive analysis, but for the purposes of this post here are the main topics to review:

• Who else is offering your type of product? Review their websites.
• What key words do they use? Look for large fonts, bold lettering, or repeated terms.
• Who are they trying to appeal to? Consider the language used in their website content as well as the design (colors, photos) of their website.
• What are the features/services they offer? Can you offer more?
• How is their product delivered? Can you do better?

Knowing these above items will help you determine how your business will stand-out from the competition (AND establish vital concepts towards the development of your website).

Know Your Customer

Knowing how to stand-out from your competition is only half of the equation. Does your new "blueprint" match the needs of your target audience? Your competitors might be popular in Google, but not have many sales.

It's easy to 'go down the rabbit hole' in developing a persona for your target demographic, but I think it's worth the effort. It's crucial to the success of your business. After all, you could have the best product on earth, but you still need people to buy it. SO, think through the following questions:

• Who would most benefit from your product (the correct answer is not 'everyone')
• What is the age range, income level, and lifestyle of your ideal customer?
• What does your ideal customer need to see or hear in order to trust you?
• Is your preferred payment method (and shipping method if applicable) compatible with your ideal customer?
• Is there an under-represented demographic for your product that your competitors are not targeting?

Follow-up the above answers by asking yourself "what would make this demographic want to do business with me?" and "what would I need to do (or be) to connect with this potential customer?"

Armed with this information, you will have gained a massive 'foothold' on the success of your business. AND your digital marketing will be SO much more effective! I will provide more details on how to attract target audiences to a website, and staying ahead of your competitors, in future posts.

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