Secretarial Services - Planning for Profits

Plan Your Business for Profits
by Leva Duell
Copyright: 2005-2006

Most businesses fail to plan for success. Knowing your customers, and uniqueness are the first steps to developing a successful business. Follow these steps to position your business for profits.

Step 1: Define Your Ideal Customers, Their Needs and Concerns

Many businesses are trying to attract everybody. Don't make this mistake. Your business will be more profitable when focusing on your ideal prospects who are likely to buy your products or services. Ask the following questions to create a profile of your ideal customers.

- Who are your customers?
- Who wants or needs your products or services?
- What is the age range, gender, profession, industry, income level, and education of your ideal customers?
- What are your customers' needs, wants, and concerns?
- What problems can you solve for your customers?
- What is the common denominator of your customers?
- What information do they want?
- Are most of your customers computer literate? Will they look for products or services like yours on the Web?

After defining your ideal customers, target your sales copy, sales materials, web design and web content directly to them.

Tell right away what you offer and what's in it for them. If they don't read further, they were not prospects. Attract your target audience with a benefit-oriented headline and provide valuable, useful, and interesting information your prospects are interested in.

If you are targeting seniors, make your text large. If your prospects are accountants, use a conservative design. Make your design colorful for children. Avoid video and sound on your web site if your clients have slow computers and Internet connections.

Step 2: Demonstrate Your Uniqueness

Emphasize your uniqueness to stand out from your competition. Attract your audience with a benefit that is different from your competitors. What is your distinct advantage? What separates you from your competition? What is distinctive about your offer?

Answer these questions to help you formulate your uniqueness.

- Why should prospects buy from you instead of your competitors?
- What are the most important benefits or results your customers will achieve from your products or services?
- What do you do better than anyone else? Do you possess hard-to-find or specialized expertise?
- Do you offer a free consultation, initial visit, analysis, or better advice?
- What makes your products or services better, unique, or more desirable than your competitors?
- Do you have the lowest prices or the highest quality products in your industry?
- Do you provide the fastest service, the strongest guarantee, longest hours, or better follow up?
- Do you keep customers informed with newsletters or information hotlines?

Determine what makes your business unique. Then emphasize your uniqueness to make your sales materials and web site stand out and set you apart from your competition.

Plan your business for profits. Determine who your ideal audience is and what makes your business unique. Only after implementing these steps are you ready to start developing your sales materials and web content.

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