What does a Marketing Plan for a service look like?
344079
you need to define your product, find out who is your target market is(who you are going to sell the product to), find out the place you are going to sell the service at and how you are going to promote it.  You have a lot of work to do.
337151
You need to determine what type of market will your cleaning services tap - do you want to clean private homes, or do you want to service businesses and clean offices? A maid service will be limited to cleaning and maintaining households, while a janitorial business can service hospitals, retail stores, manufacturing facilities, offices, or even parking lots. Opportunities for growth abound in this business, as many commercial cleaning companies as they grow their business offer additional services such as drapery, carpet and window cleaning, lighting, green plants maintenance, heating/ventilation/air conditioning, security, landscaping, parking lot striping, pest control services, etc.\n\nMy advice is for you to read more of the business, so you can determine what you think you want and can given your present resources. The book "101 Best Businesses to Start" estimates that first year potential earnings for this business can be $40,000, while startup expenses can be $5,000 or even lower. Industry experts, however, recommend raising $50,000 for a startup capital in order to be able to invest in heavy duty cleaning equipment and have more resources to spend in marketing the business.\n\nYou may want to read the article "Starting a Janitorial or Cleaning Service Business at PowerHomeBiz.com at http://www.powerhomebiz.com/vol95/janitorial.htm . \n\nFrom the article, here are some tips:\n\n1. The first step to marketing your business is deciding who your potential customers are and determining the types of services you could offer. \n\n2. Create little flyers about your business, and distribute it in areas where there are homeowners or parents. Some ideas include daycares, doctor offices.\n\n3. Create alliances with people who are in a position to refer your services -- examples include real estate agents (they can pitch your services to new homeowners in the area), daycare centers, etc.\n\n4. Networking is the most effective strategy to get ahead in the cleaning business. \n\n5. Word of mouth is another effective form of advertising a janitorial service. It can be generated through favorable feedback from your existing clients that will hopefully filter to other home owners in your area.\n\n6. If you decide to embark on advertising, you can try placing an ad in newspapers or trade journals in your area. \n\n7. You can also try direct mailing to potential customers, sending them information and brochures about your business.\n\nFor more in-depth information about the business, we have compiled a list of books on the topic and you can either purchase the book or borrow them from your library. The list of recommended books on starting a home cleaning business can be found at http://www.powerhomebiz.com/bookstore/homecleaning.htm\n\n- How to Start a Home-Based Housecleaning Business (Author: Melinda Morse)\n- Start and Run a Home Cleaning Business (Author: Susan Bewsey)\n- Commercial and Residential Cleaning Services: A Resource Guide to Developing and Maintaining Your Own Janitorial or Home Cleaning Business (Author: Walter Fenix)\n- Start Your Own Cleaning Service (Entrepreneur Magazine's Start Ups) (Author: Jacquelyn Lynn )\n- Start and Run a Profitable Home Cleaning Business \nAAuthor: Susan Bewsey
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Fundamental headings in a marketing strategy for a single business unit will be something like:\n\nMarket analysis: summary of situation in the external environment\nBusiness analysis: SWOT analysis of the business and it's product markets\nGoals and objectives\nMarketing strategy: how you will compete and reach your goals\nMarketing tactics: 4P's and other considerations\nBudget: financial forecasts and other performance measures\n\nYou could also include an executive summary at the beginning and a project plan or a control plan at the end.
1123115
The best strategy for achieving success in any business is to look at your business through the eyes of potential customers:\n   \n*Why would I want their product or service?   \n*Why would I do business with this company?\n*How would I want to be treated?\n*How would I want my account to be serviced?\n*Why would I continue doing business with this company?\n\nAddress those issues, and always view your company through your customer's eyes, and you will have a head start on being successful.
1062326
good idea but you need to find out if you can find customers for them.\n\nI guess the easiest way is to plan a few things first - what designs are likely to be popular, how much you are going to charge, which areas are you going to sell (locally, nationally or world-wide), how you are going to distribute your products, what about after sales service, etc.\n\nOnce you are through with the above, take a few good photographs, create a site on Yahoo Shopping, and go for it.\n\nBest of luck.
62090
Like the previous poster said, it really depends on your industry. Imagine you were your own customer/client...where would you go to look for your particular service? What types of advertising would "speak" to you? Would PPC work for your service? I listed a couple of links for that.\n\nAlso, consider asking past customers/clients for testimonials, which you can post online. Perhaps provide discounts for referrals. The options are limitless really; you know your industry & your business better than anyone here, so just let the ideas flow & I'm sure you'll do great.\n\nConsider signing up for an affiliate program. These programs enable you to advertise on other's sites (your affiliates) and once a sale is made to you, your affiliates & the program are paid a commission. We use ShareASale & pay out $25 to our affiliates once a sale is made & ShareASale takes another $5. $30 a sale is a pretty small price to pay for us. And I'm sure most programs like that allow you to set the commission rate (no point in your commission being half the price of a sale for you!)\n\nI listed a couple of handy sites relating to marketing, promotion & advertising. I hope they’re helpful for you.
856073
How about incentives. sales, price cuts for select products jsut to get people in the door. How about a special opening for preferred clients?\n\nGood luck!
176455
Lots of possibilities, however these come at a cost, I'll give you one.......\n\nRoute planning, should it expand enough, your service could be incorporated with another service, thus; while providing directions, these directions could be "smart".
571955
Hi Joy,\n\nSome possibilities that you may or may not have tried:\n\n* Referral program for existing customers\n\n* VIP program for high-value customers\n\n* Value-add services, such as pedicure, massage, etc - you could do this in partnership with other specialists\n\n* Free initial consultation with $x worth of treatment at no obligation\n\n* Regular 'maintenance' plan - ie: fixed price per month for a range of regular services/treatments\n\nThese are just a few ideas without knowing you or your particular salon or customers.\n\nEssentially, you should develop a marketing plan. You may find it hard to start the process, but once you get going you will find it easier to finish. You need to identify your key target markets and then establish the most effective way of attracting those people to your business.\n\nThe key to this is providing an unforgettable level of service, so people are reluctant to leave your premises and will tell others how fantastic your service is.\n\nAll the best of luck with it and whatever you do stick with it. Each success will provide you with more strength to continue.\n\nCheers\nAlister\nhttp://www.marketscience.com.au
306433
A retail plan in theory is not much different from any business plan. Since I am not into retailing but general marketing, I will give you my idea of a business plan, of course with some modifications to suit your need.\n\n1. Name of Firm. State the legal name of the business.\n\n2. Owner or Owner-To-Be. State owner(s) name(s), as well as the form and percent of ownership.\n\n3. Information on the Business\n\n    * a. Type of Business and Product or Service.\n\n          o State the general and specific nature of the business (i.e.,general -energy-, specific - oil, solar, wind: or general - food; specific restaurant, catering, farming, ice cream parlor, bakery).\n          o State the type of business(manufacturing, service, construction, wholesale, retail,other).\n          o State the company's goals and electives.\n          o Describe your products and/or services.\n          o State who buys the product/service and who the final users are (briefly here, because youwill be discussing your customers very thoroughly under Market Analysis\n          o Describe how the product/service is sold to customers (walk-in stores,sales representatives, mail order catalogs, telephone orders, etc.).\n          o Describe how and where buyers get the product/service (walk-in stores, mail, delivery, etc.).\n          o Comment on Quality of product/service.\n          o Estimate average price of produce/service. \n\n    * b. History.\n\n          o If new, say so. If existing, discuss age of business, prior owners, how acquired and length of time operated by you, image or reputation, number of employees, last year's sales volume and profit and any significant events that have affected the company's development \n\n    * c. Offices/Plant\n\n          o Give addresses and description of area and building.\n          o State whether rented, leased or owned. If rented or leased, state from whom and under what conditions.\n          o Describe access to building (major roads/freeways, walking, parking,etc.). Is the location convenient for customers?\n          o State business hours. State size of facility (square footage). \n\n    * d. Personnel\n\n          o For the present and future: State the number of employees, type of labor needed (skilled, unskilled, etc.), source of labor (especially minorities, handicapped, veterans or other socially or economicallydisadvantaged groups), timing of hiring (or layoffs).\n          o Comment on the quality of the staff and their job descriptions. \n\n    * e. Economic/Accounting\n\n          o Describe how the business will make money.\n          o State how prices are or will be determined and by whom.\n          o State what financial records will be kept and by whom. \n\n    * f. Inventory\n\n          o Describe what inventory, raw materials and/or supplies the business uses.\n          o List your suppliers - name, address, type and percent of supplies furnished, length of time you have been buying from each, reliability andfrequency of purchase.\n          o How easy or difficult is it to get necessary supplies?\n          o If it is difficult, how will you deal with potential or actual shortages?\n          o Are the prices of your supplies steady or fluctuating? If fluctuating, how do you feel deal with changing costs? \n\n    * g. Legal\n\n          o State form of business (sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation) and status (already formed or in process of formation).\n          o State licensing requirements (type and licensing source) and status (notyet applied, applied and pending, obtained).\n          o State zoning requirements and status (verified, OK, rezoning). State insurance requirements (type, source) and status.\n          o Have building codes been complied with?\n          o State any health code requirements.\n          o Describe any other laws and regulations that affect the business.\n          o Describe lease, if any. Trademarks, patents, licenses and c
347589
is this a marketing ploy?
306891
Outline of a Marketing Plan\n\nYour written marketing plan need not be lengthy and complicated. You can even make it as simple as possible. It is an internal document where you can be honest and direct when describing your company's weaknesses.\n\nGordon suggests the following outline:\n\n1. Situation Analysis. Your first step is to take a comprehensive look at your company's challenges, its position in the market place, level and intensity of competition, and other factors that may affect your marketing strategies. This is the market research portion of your plan.\n\nChallenges. When you open your business, you are faced with the huge task of letting your target market know that you exist, and willing to serve their needs. You are faced with the challenge of communicating with your target market to get them to become your customers.\n\nPosition in the marketplace. Your promotional strategy should highlight the "unique selling points" of your business.\n\nCompetition. This involves a complete analysis of the businesses already offering your type of goods and services within your geographical area (e.g. county, town, and city). You want to learn how many businesses are already in the marketplace, what they offer, and where they are located. By looking at this data, you can identify the relative strengths and weaknesses of your competitors in the area of price, quality, selection, promotion, services, customer service/personnel support, facilities/atmosphere, and location. \n\n2. Target Audience. One of the most important segments of your market analysis involves identifying the people or businesses that may have a desire to purchase your type of product or service. The key is to know who buys what, how often, from whom, and what they may be looking for. If you are operating in a broad geographical market, you may have several target group - the primary, secondary, and so on. Your marketing plan should concentrate on reaching your primary audience, and allocating smaller budgets for the secondary market.\n\nProfile of primary audience. You should identify the number of potential customers, who they are, how often they buy, who they are currently buying from, how much they spend, and if they are brand or store loyal. This group is the segment of the market that will consume your type of goods and services, and hopefully still in search of a business to patronize. If you are a wedding planner, your main market is the engaged couple planning to get married within a definite time frame.\n\nSecondary audience. Utilizing a rifle approach, your secondary audience is those in the periphery of your main target group. \n\n3. Objectives. Marketing objectives quantify the results you are looking to achieve. By clearly stating these results in advance, you provide performance criteria against which your future results can be compared. Whatever marketing objectives you decide on, they should meet certain criteria. They must be realistic, measurable, and be guided by short, medium and long-term deadlines.\n\nProfit. Profit objectives state the bottom line progress you want your marketing efforts to achieve. You may set the goal of achieving 2 percent profit in your first year, and increasing it by 10 percent every year hereafter.\n\nMarket share. Market share objectives state your desired cut of the total industry sales pie, or at least the local industry. If the total revenue of all the wedding planners in your county is $2 million, how much of that is yours? If you only have 2% of that pie, you may want to increase your share to about 10% after launching your marketing campaign.\n\nSales volume target. Your sales volume affects your cost structure: the higher the sales that you generate, the lower your cost. Specific sales volume levels can give you more bargaining power with your suppliers. Sales volume objectives should clearly state the total goods or services you intend to deliver. Your goal can be to increase your sale
738895
This is a little hard because we actually need more information than just what the company does. A good copywriter would want to know:\n\n - Who is your customer? Age? Sex? Residential/commercial? Income range?\n - What are the benefits of your business? Are you saving them time? Helping them grow? \n - Expound on the services you offer.\n\nStatstics show you only have 10 seconds to grab a reader's attention.\n\n********\n\nHow about:\n\n"Gearing up your business, so YOU can get on with business."
649764
Guessing that you need this for a bank? In which case really what you want is a simple Business Plan. In which case the statement should include:\nMission statement\nOverview\nNeeds for the product/service\nThe product/service\nMarket Sector and size\nMarketing strategy\nAbout the business (legal & Resumes)\nFinancial forecasts
94390
Business is all about visibility. The more you are visible, the more business you have. I presume that you know that this is the fundemental rule behind advertising. \n\nNow... for your business... I think you are targetting small scale customers (or customers within a small locality). So trying to list your business in a google search or such enterprise site might be a waste of money. \n\nThe question is how will you then market your business. You have to take an active role in promoting the business. It is self initiative. How will others know about your business if you don't tell. A few ways that you should improve your sell is... \n1. Attach a signature in all your mails with your website URL. Not just tradeall.in Make it the full like eg: http://tradeall.in\n2. Make sure your website is available 24x7. I checked your website and got a MYSQL error. This will give a negative effect for your business. For this, I suggest you should host your website with a reliable external ISP. You might need to pay some money. Remember.. There could be people who provide service for cheap cost. If you pay peanuts you will get monkeys. \n3. Your namecard/businesscard should print your website address. \n4. Try to get an advertisement through the mobile service providers. It can be as simple as a banner outside their office or having a small advertisement printed in their brochure. [You can even offer them that you will take the brochure print charges for these companies in a particular location.. a win-win deal\n5. Last but not the least... the most effective advertisement is the satisfied customer. If your staff is going to deal with your customer in an unpleasant way, be sure the customer will never refer another one. See the success of website 'Google'. With no advertisement they became the market leader. The reason is short and simple. Satisfied customers.
971867
I assume you mean a business plan.  Go to http://bplan.com where there are many sample business plans.
701988
I think it is very possible.  My business does both.  The key is finding a nitche market.  We are in the wedding business so that is always a large market.  What specifically are you looking to sell?  Product or service?