As a small business owner, your main goal is to most likely to make more money. Whether you are a sole proprietor or have 100 employees, you are constantly challenged with finding more prospects, leads and customers. In order to grow your business, you need to enlist the 4 Ps of marketing: Product, Price, Place and Promotion. Often described as the 7 Ps or even the 4 Cs, any small business owner must understand the original 4 Ps to create a marketing plan that will drive more sales. Let’s take a deeper look at the 4 Ps to help your small business marketing plan:

Product: What are you selling? Is it a product or service? What need(s) does your product or service meet for your customers? What is different about your product or service that makes your small business stand out from the competition? Identifying just a few answers to some key questions about your product or service will help you better explain your offerings to potential customers, making them more likely to purchase from your company.

Price: Pricing is a vital part of any small business marketing plan and can make or break a business. When pricing your products or services, small business owners need to consider: How much does it cost to make my product? How much is my service worth? How much research, development or training did I have to do to sell this product or service? What is my overhead (don’t forget to include costs for things like office or production space, accounting or legal services and shipping costs). Many small business owners sell themselves short when pricing products or services, causing them to lose money or go out of business completely. Calculate your costs correctly and then add your markup to ensure you actually profit from your small business endeavors.

Place: How do you plan to distribute your product or service? Will you sell through an e-commerce website, a brick-and-mortar store or wholesale distributor? (Remember to figure the costs of the sales channel you select into your overhead above.) How long will it take to make the relationships needed to sell your product and how big is the territory you plan to cover? If you are selling handmade winter parkas, it probably isn’t worth placing your products for sale in Florida or the Caribbean. Research and plan your placement strategy to set yourself up for successful sales.

Promotion: How will you communicate the availability of your product or service to potential customers? Will you offer discounts, coupons or gift certificates to promote sales? Will you pay for advertising or encourage members of the media or bloggers to cover your product or service? Will you attend trade shows or join networking groups? Will the method of promotion you choose lead to sales of your product or service? Where can you reach people that have a pain point that your product or service relieves? Create a marketing strategy that targets potential customers who need your product or service and you are more likely to make a sale.

While it may seem time consuming to answer these questions about your product, price, place and promotion, it is key to any small business marketing plan. Take four to five hours out of your day or spend a weekend jotting down information about your small business and truly understanding what you are selling and how you plan to sell it. Answering some quick questions could determine whether or not your small business is around for the long run.

Need help marketing your small business or nonprofit organization? Contact Point Taken today!