1. What makes your product or service different?

2. Where is your company’s store front located in relation to your customers? Is it convenient? Is your location physical, virtual, or both?

3. How are you promoting to your market? Who is your Target Audience?

4. What is your product’s pricing structure? Is it competitive?

5. Is your product needed? Does it have any intrinsic value?

Once you have defined these 5 key elements, you are able to build your marketing plan. Building a plan will give you a road map to keep your marketing efforts focused, on track, and working for you.

There’s one more element that is essential to marketing success. This + 1 element is Measurement and Adjustment. Remember, a marketing plan is a living document. You’ll need to monitor the results to see what is working. The ROI of a strategy is vital to success. Without measurement, however, you will never know what is working and what isn’t. Without knowing what is (or is not) working, you will never know how to adjust your efforts for maximum return. Adjusting for the market can be the difference between sustaining and growth. While sustaining a business’ position can work for the short-term, businesses that are not growing will eventually fade away.

Keep your business growing and thriving!