Before you start any marketing, you need a plan. Without one, you’re bound to make scattershot efforts. A waste of time and marketing dollars.

Unfortunately, we’ve seen more than a few startups  make this mistake. It’s painful to watch.

But it’s an easy fix! Start with developing a client profile.

What does your ideal client look like?
This provides direction for how you position your company and informs content development for all of your marketing.

Think in terms of the attributes of someone you’d consider to be the perfect client. You might give him, her (or them)  a name if that helps create a personae. Then lay out the following:

• Type of Company
• Industry
• Number of Employees
• Sales Volume
• Geographic Location (if relevant)
• Job Title:
  • CEO
  • VP of Sales
  • Marketing Manager
  • Sole Proprietor, etc.
• Personae
  What traits does this ideal client have? Patient, focused, responsive, direct, open to suggestions or knows exactly what she wants?
• Budget: Ideal allocation for your product or service. No budget, move on.
• Value Recognition
  What value do you bring to this ideal client?  What problems can you solve? What needs can your product or service fill?

Once you’ve got this ideal client profile laid out, you’ll have a clear picture of the type of client you want to attract.

Then you can proceed to direct your marketing efforts to convince that potential client why they should do business with you..

If you’re ready to move forward, here’s a Guerilla Marketing Form to work on next.

See you next month!