“Because its purpose is to create a customer, the business enterprise has two – and only these two- basic functions: marketing and innovation. Marketing and innovation produce results; all the rest are 'costs.'"

-Peter Drucker

If you take this quote literally then all business strategy is marketing strategy. If business is what you sell and how you sell it, then by definition the “how you sell it” aspect is the strategy of the business:

strat·e·gy   (străt'ə-jē) n., pl., -gies.

1.  
   1. The science and art of using all the forces of a nation to execute approved plans as effectively as possible during peace or war.
   2. The science and art of military command as applied to the overall planning and conduct of large-scale combat operations.
2. A plan of action resulting from strategy or intended to accomplish a specific goal. See synonyms at plan. http://www.answers.com/topic/plan
3. The art or skill of using stratagems in endeavors such as politics and business.

In most of the small businesses that we work with as FocalPoint Business Coaches, the first of those two business functions that Drucker mentions, innovation, is in place – a person has a great idea and they have gone into business to sell it.  But the marketing is in desperate need of help.

Brian Tracy, in his ebook, Turbostrategy, defines four essential elements of marketing: Specialization, Differentiation, Segmentation, and Concentration. Let’s go over these as a way of understanding how a business coach would work with your specific small business needs.

1. Specialization. The first thing that a business coach does, in order to help with a marketing strategy is to clarify what the product or service is.

Your coach is going to look at your business and help you find the specifics: what is your specific product or service; who are your specific customers; what are your specific customer needs?

Unless you are Wal-Mart, and your specialty is everything, low priced, in one store, you don’t want to sell everything. If you do branch out, you want to make sure the products in your expansion are associated and targeted towards a complimentary market.

2. Differentiation. The next thing the business coach is going to do is ask you to clarify what makes you better than the rest. Why the customers are going to come to you. What makes you different enough that customers will switch.

FocalPoint Business Coaches ask hard questions – and this will be one of them – because if you can’t come up with one outstanding feature of your innovation, then it isn’t really and innovation, is it? And then you have to ask – why are you in business?

If you have gone into business because you think you have a better attitude or personality than the people who provide the same service in your area, then you’d better market that – seriously! – if your potential customers know that they can be treated with a smile, as opposed to what the competition has been offering, then you’d better be smiling!

3. Segmentation. A FocalPoint Business Coach is going to ask you who your best customers are – who buys from you the most, right now? By association, who would be your best potential customers?

4. Concentration. Once you have defined you segment of the market, you need to concentrate on that market – make the most of what you already know.

If you are a sign maker and a real estate company is your best customer, chances are you can provide that same great service to other real estate companies. Where are your customers? Where can you be the most visible? Your local realtor association publication might be where you want to focus your efforts.

By implementing these four key elements into your marketing strategy – you will begin to build a system that focuses your efforts to sell your product or service to the people who will buy it.  A Brian Tracy Certified FocalPoint Business Coach can make this easy for you by providing the objectivity, experience and tools to make this happen. Call for a free coaching session and experience the empowerment that a business coach can provide.