The Marketing Plan: Essential Elements

Have you thought about your marketing plan? To compete in a crowded marketplace, you have to go in with a plan that you’ve thought about and put together carefully and intentionally. No matter what stage your business is at, you should have a plan for your marketing efforts.
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Bad News Doesn’t Get Better with Age

Small business owners have to deal with reality. You cannot solve a problem by ignoring it. Bad news will not get better with age. An open culture means being open to honest feedback of any kind, whether positive or negative. Mistakes are ok, but you have to recognize them and move on.
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Applying Political Terms to Marketing Segmentation

There are important insights for product marketing that actually come from the political world. One of the most important lessons is in how to segment the market, identifying which customers to go after and which ones to ignore. You can save time and money by focusing on your most productive targets.
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How Do I Innovate?

It’s easy to say that businesses need to innovate. But it’s a lot harder to actually do it! Successful innovation comes from your business’s core insights—the way you think and the way you use your resources, knowledge, and skills.
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Don’t Fall in Love with Your Ideas

Being excited about your idea is a good thing, but you need to stay objective about it. Remember that for every idea that works out and turns into a great success, there are many others that don’t. It takes a lot of strength to move on, but sometimes you have to do it.
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Handling Competition: Do’s and Don’ts

When you first started your business, you looked at your competitors with the eye of an upstart. But what do you do when a new competitor arises—and suddenly you are the old establishment? The new competitor is eyeing your customers, your employees, and your profits. You can’t afford to make a mistake.
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How to Create an Effective SWOT Analysis

The difference between an ordinary business plan and a strategic business plan is a SWOT Analysis. This breaks down the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats for your business, and shows that you have fully researched your idea.
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