When I first started my embroidery business, I thought that all I had to do was put out my sign to let everyone know that I was now in business! I soon found out that getting customers was not as easy as I had envisioned. I really loved what I did, but I had no plan in place to attract new customers. This is not the right way to get your business started! I learned very quickly that a Marketing Plan was essential for my embroidery business and I needed to have a plan in place for every aspect of my business!
What is Marketing?
Marketing in my own simple terms is All of the things that you do to get your product in the hands of the right people! It is also all of the ways that you do to get the word out about your product or service.
The most important process in getting ready to market your embroidery business is to create a working plan. A working Marketing Plan is essential and you want one that will help keep you on the right track. If one strategy is not working, you can go back and review your plan and make some changes, but without a working plan you spend your time running in circles and do not have any idea as to what to do or where to get started.
The Starting Point For Your Marketing Plan!
You need to create a simple picture of your next 12 months. By that I mean what is going on around you in the next 12 months. What are the holidays, special happenings, the different times in a persons life that they need gift items, school sport seasons, and corporate events that take place in your area. These are just a few of the areas that you can cover. Make a list for each type of event.
- Do you have a Niche Market?
- List the events that are held throughout the year.
- What type of items are needed for each one?
- What months do each of these happen?
Write down each month that these events are happening in. You can plan special promotions around each one? This is the beginning of your plan.
In this economy today we have to be very proactive and not sit and wait for the next customer to walk in the door. It is not going to happen! There are too many choices for them and we have to make sure that we are in their mind first and foremost so that they will think of us instead of the competition when they need our services. Without an actual working plan it is very hard to be proactive.
People need you and what you have to offer. All you have to do is make them aware of what you have, work with them to find out exactly what they are look for and you can create the perfect relationship.
Once I put a Marketing Plan together and started working my plan, I found out that letting everyone know that I was in business was not as hard as I thought it was going to be.
If you do not have a Marketing Plan written out, take the time to get it started today. This is extremely important! Without a Marketing Plan it is very hard to grow your business and keep yourself on track!
Click Here to help you get started creating your own Embroidery Marketing Plan today!