But remember that the price of your product or service is different than the cost. The perceived value dictates how much clients are willing to pay for it. For example, George Industries, a metal-finishing company in East Los Angeles, devised a way to make designs on flashlight bodies and earn more money. But owner George Gering realized that for only pennies, designs could be added at the same time. The finished flashlight could then be sold for dollars more because they had a higher perceived value.
Some business owners fail to promote their product, believing ads cost too much.
Or they plunge into a shotgun promotion campaign, creating fliers, attending expos and running ads that are inconsistent, contain mistakes or fail to target their customers. An effective marketing plan, by contrast, sets objectives. You must ask yourself what you are trying to accomplish, such as increased sales, more awareness of your business or new business leads. And you have to make sure you are targeting the right people to meet your objectives. For example, a neighborhood gift shop owner who seeks more sales and puts fliers on windshields of cars in a nearby corporate garage may see little result if those employees never venture on the streets outside their building.