Testimonial
Sheji Ho, Olympic Digital Marketing

“Lea-Ann was our international marketing consultant for Lenovo’s Beijing 2008 Olympic Marketing Program. In this role, she drove our Olympic activation marketing across more than 20 countries. Lea-Ann was more than just a consultant — she was a leader, a mentor, and a friend to everyone in the team. Whatever project you hire Lea-Ann for, she is guaranteed to leave a lasting impact because she cares about your results and your people.”

 

 

- Sheji Ho, Olympic Digital Marketing

Marketing Plan Help For Entrepreneurs and Franchise Owners

Posted on Jan 2, 2015
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Entrepreneurs are always challenged to develop unique marketing approaches in order to grow their market and speak to their customers needs.  For franchise owners…well, they do too, but tend to be challenged with a requirement of having to adhere to a franchisors scope of strategies. It’s not a bad thing, actually. Aimed at marketing more effectively, a franchisor typically provides well-researched and centralized marketing programs to work with. But how much information and training does a franchisor really give?

MarketWordsFor both entrepreneur and franchise owner — understanding the marketing activities required to attract new and keep old customers within their demographic area can be a major challenge.

It’s all about making your business a success, isn’t it?

I’ve met many business owners who have spent long hours trying to learn the basics of marketing — and trying to come up with ideas to attract new customers. They are often overwhelmed with the approach and typically are worried to spend the money and time on an idea that may not work.

The key is to be the expert of your own market and focus on building the brand while growing your customer base. Marketing materials and systems must be effective in driving new customers into the business.

Entrepreneurs are willing to put their time into their business, and tend to surround themselves with the right people to help them get the job done. Franchise owners usually have other franchise owners to lean on and listen to – but tend to feel less supported when it comes to the business they own.

This is where I come in to help…

If you have a circle of experts — whether they are business associates or other franchise owners, I step in to help harness their collective experiences to solve your marketing challenges.

Marketing is most successful when you engage customers in a personal and relevant way. Over 13 years ago I started a business consulting practice that held in-house work sessions for organizations that needed to make a change, reach a market that was untapped, or launch new products within existing markets. These business-based team efforts typically last 3 months.

In 2012 I was asked to provide a workshop format for clients with smaller budgets who specifically needed a new marketing plan. In order to do a good job for these clients I knew it was important to make sure the right workshop participants, who intimately know customers, prospects and industry, were involved. Known as an Advisory Panel, these participants help define and address complex challenges – and how to overcome them.

A marketing plan in just 3 days

Team Workshops will have your business prepared to bring in new customers by:

  • Better positioning yourself in the market
  • Taking advantage of your existing organizational strengths
  • Determining strategic and tactical approaches that meet your business goals, franchise requirements
  • Communicating effectively so that customers and influencers move toward a desired behavior.

As a business owner, MOVE workshops result in you:

  • Learning about marketing concepts and how to apply them
  • Developing innovative and collaborative habits and routines within your circle of advisers
  • Having a detailed, actionable plan of marketing your organization’s value & experience (MOVE)

Now isn’t this a great way to create your much needed marketing approach?

4 Comments

  1. Ashley Maria
    January 20, 2015

    There are so many details of what goes into a marketing plan and what it should accomplish that it can get overwhelming. It’s great to know that the outcome of this Workshop is seeing all of those little details put together! Knowing the big picture helps you understand WHY those details matter, and it also helps you understand WHAT details matter.

    Ashley Maria
    Los Angeles, CA

    • Lea-Ann
      January 26, 2015

      Thanks Ashley! This workshop is part training — part strategizing — and part taking action. I really do enjoy facilitating them.

  2. Amber Benton
    January 20, 2015

    I recently had the privilege of meeting Lea-Ann while she was on location with the film crew of Pioneers In Skirts in Charlotte, NC. Pioneers In Skirts is following three students that I work with at YETI Robotics. I am a freelance graphic designer/illustrator and so when my son joined the team I felt that I could be a mentor in that field. Little did I know that meant that I would be the lead mentor of the YETI marketing team. I know graphics and design but the only marketing I knew is what little I had pieced together on my own from blogs, podcasts, and a handful of books.

    When Lea-Ann learned that I was the head of the marketing team she engaged me in a conversation about that. I was hooked right away. The questions she asked were just the ones I was struggling to grasp answers to. She graciously offered to spend two hours with my team of four HS students and myself taking us through a crash course in marketing analysis and planning while the film crew finished up what they were working on.

    In those two hours Lea-Ann helped grow my understanding of marketing exponentially. Without having met her I don’t think that even three years from now I would have been able to pull all the pieces together in my head learning at the speed I was learning on my own. She helped my team discover what their assets are, determine their audience and what they want to hear. She helped them figure out what they want to say to those audiences, showed them how to draft campaigns and establish campaign goals, all while saying what you want to say in a way that your audience wants to hear. Lea-Ann teaches you to draft campaigns in such a way that when you are finished you come away with a calendar of actionable items.

    I haven’t experienced anyone who helps organizations bring all these components of efficient marketing in a way that is relevant for today’s social economy in the way that Lea-Ann did for us. Those two hours in her mini workshop with the YETI Robotics team have me thinking through techniques and strategies that I can use in my own entrepreneurial efforts. All the bits and pieces from websites, podcasts and books have have come together.

    Thanks, Lea-Ann.

    Amber Benton
    Charlotte, NC

    • Lea-Ann
      January 26, 2015

      I was happy to help Amber! As head of marketing for the Yeti’s you have so many challenges — and so many things to get done. I could see you just needed a little bit of guidance as to where to start — and a better understanding as to which direction to take. I am excited to see what your team produces this year. So far it’s looking pretty good!