Featured Biz Question

Hello,

We've just ventured forth and started our own business. The problem we have is that neither my partner nor I paid much attention in those marketing classes in college. We are good at what we do on the technical side of the isle, but we are not totally sure where we can find our clients. Our business is a "business to business" type of service. We are a DVD authoring house where we can take video content and basically turn it into a deliverable DVD title for replication or we can custom create a project for low runs and burn a DVD that will be playable in most set-top players. Does anybody have any ideas on how to reach the corporate communications departments of companies that could use this type of service? DVD is here to stay and we are ready to roll; we just need to get those first couple of clients. Any help will be appreciated.

Richard, Mares Multimedia

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Here's Your Answer from Expert Laura Wiegert of Creative Consultants

Hi, Richard:

Congratulations on your DVD-oriented business! I'll be happy to give you a refresher course of Marketing 101 to help you start marketing your DVD services. Let's work on finding the right recipe for attracting those first crucial clients.

First and foremost, you need a marketing plan. This can be a detailed document including revenue projections and competitive analysis or a simple menu of marketing activities. Do what you feel is most comfortable -- as long as you get a plan on paper. I recommend that you at least include the following ingredients in your plan:

Define Your Market

Come up with a customer profile to help you understand who your customers are and the best way to reach them. To help you do this, answer some of these questions. You mentioned targeting corporate communications departments, but who in the department would you want to talk to? At what size company -- small, medium or large? Which industries? And what about HR departments that make training videos? Or CEOs of smaller companies? Put your thinking caps on and come up with a list of primary groups of customers you want to target. Knowing who your target market is an important first step in your client quest. (continued)

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Laura Wiegert
Owner of Creative Consultants
Laura is a marketing production expert helping businesses stretch their dollars with effective advertising, marketing, and public relations. She also has a flair for writing, design, and desktop publishing. more

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