Three things your competition does NOT have

You have something that your competition doesn’t have. No, I’m not talking about that one-of-a-kind feature built into your product or exclusive new twist you’ve added to your service offering. It’s much more important than these, and I’m sure competitors are in the dark about what you have.

Still, interestingly it’s not a big secret. In fact, most know they need to do it. So, it’s not necessary to close the doors and lower the window shades.

Here it is -- your competition doesn’t have a marketing strategy. Oh sure, they’ll tell themselves that have a real marketing strategy, yet at best it’s just a collection of tactics.

But wait, there’s more. For the few companies you compete against that have a marketing strategy, there’s no practical action plan that ties back into the strategy. The only action is the scurrying of people in almost endless circles trying to sell their product or service using outdated tactics that make little sense.

There’s a third missing piece too. Your competition doesn’t follow a proven system to getting more customers. Following a process gives your business the dependable tools needed to fuel your marketing action plan.

In a survey by Connect Marketing it was revealed that 89% of small business owners consider marketing to be a high priority. Yet, a shocking 74% said they didn’t have a marketing plan!

That’s good news for you since the majority of the companies you compete against don’t have a marketing strategy or plan, much less a way to consistently implement it. Your company has all of this in place -- right?

Your strategy. An effective marketing strategy optimizes the fit between target customers and their needs, what your company’s core competency is, and what you uniquely do better than competitors. It provides a framework for clearly positioning and differentiating your business from others. Break your strategy into bite-sized initiatives you’ll pursue to meet you strategic objectives -- but no tactics yet. Think of your marketing strategy as the automobile of your dreams that the automaker made just for you, but you have no idea how it was designed and built.

Your action plan. This is the “how”. Get specific on the tactics for your most pressing needs -- generating new leads, customer retention, and so on. Details matter. Lay out what you need to make it all happen. Include key deliverables, what resources are needed, who’s responsible for what, team roles, timelines, and budget. Your marketing action plan is the detailed blueprint behind that wonderful automobile of your dreams. Now you’re cooking, yet there’s one last critical piece.

Your system. You need gas and a map. A consistent marketing process that moves prospects around the customer marketing and selling cycle will keep your business on track. A repeatable system will get you organized, take the guesswork out what needs to be done, and prevent you from wasting your marketing budget. Like any other system you have in place for your company, a marketing process is a dependable way to help you stay the course. It will steadily move prospects forward to become customers.

So there you have it, the three critical factors for marketing and sales success -- marketing strategy, practical action plan, and a repeatable and proven system.

This is the simple and effective way to consistently generate targeted leads and convert them into business. Your competition doesn’t do it, but thank goodness you do!

Ron Stein is President of FastPath Marketing (www.marketing-strategies-guide.com). He works with small business owners, helping them to energize their marketing and sell more of their products and services. Ron has developed his own highly successful 7-step approach to winning new customers as a result of his experience as a small business owner, corporate CEO, marketing and business development executive, salesman, and mentor at two nationally recognized business accelerators. Ron offers one-on-one and small group mentoring, conducts seminars, and consults. He can be reached at 727-398-1855 or Ron@FastPathMarketing.com.