Floriology September 2014

MARKETING

RECIPE for SUCCESS

M arketing is similar to cooking—it’s about time (prep and cook time), effort (patience and detail), and money (cost of the ingredi- ents required). If you want your marketing efforts to succeed, it’s important to plan your work and then work your plan. WHY PLAN? Having a plan identifies your goals and provides a guided road map to achieve them. Creating a plan is not time con- suming, it is merely developing an outline for your purpose. Plan- ning also allows you to budget. Furthermore, attaching money (budget) to a project increases perceived value and encourages a stronger commitment. WHERE TO START? Writing a marketing plan is not as daunting as it seems and can be accomplished in just six easy steps. Once you have chosen your target audience (brides, fu- neral homes, corporate accounts, etc.) and your initial investment (marketing budget), the plan almost writes itself.

6 STEPS

for Creating a Successful Marketing Plan

1 } Analyze your current situation. Identify obstacles and opportunities; write down what products and services you currently offer; size up your competitors; determine who your customers are and what their needs are; address any problems such as stagnant sales periods or complaints you may have received.

2 } Set achievable goals. Make goals specific and attainable; maximize your business for each holiday; energize your business with special promos and/or offers to keep sales steady during slow periods; build business with current customers; consider increasing the scope of products/services you offer; look for new and un- tapped opportunities (i.e., corporate events you may not have considered). 3 } Determine Your Budget. Typically, a marketing budget is 5 to 8 percent of estimated gross sales; research your costs (be sure to include cost of production); stick to your budget and track your results ... enabling you to make adjustments as needed and refine your marketing plan.

4 } Find the right marketing mix. Identify objectives and write down as many ways of achieving each one as possible; prioritize your list of strategies for each objective; describe each strategy including how/when it will be accomplished, who will handle the project, and how much it will cost. 5 } Put it all together. Arrange your objectives in the order you feel will generate the most business; add up your estimations and assign a rough percentage and dollar amount of your marketing budget to each objective.

6 } Evaluate your success. Monitor results of your marketing strategies; tweak and make changes; experiment with what works best.

LOOKING AHEAD TO THE 2014 HOLIDAYS Sales and marketing opportunities for the upcoming holiday season could be somewhat bright and merry, considering the recent economic reports. The Conference Board announced in July that its consumer confi- dence index rose to 90.9, the highest reading since October 2007, two months before the Great Reces- sion officially began. In addition, the U.S. Commerce Department reported that the nation’s economy grew at what was described as a “fast 4 percent annualized rate” during the second quarter of 2014. This was underscored by a growth in consumer spending during the quarter of 2.5 percent. “Consumer confidence continues to advance,” Lynn Franco, director of economic indicators at The Conference Board, says. “Expecta- tions regarding the short-term outlook for the economy and jobs were moderately more favorable, while income expectations were a bit mixed. Still, the momentum going forward remains quite positive.”

September 2014 | floriology

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