This article will discuss the basics of marketing and will provide marketing solutions for enterprises looking to improve their business-to-business marketing. The topics that will be covered in this article include defining the ideal client and differentiating your business.

Defining the Ideal Client

The first element of a successful marketing plan or the first step towards successful marketing solutions is identifying your ideal client or target audience. A target audience consists of the businesses and individuals that are most likely to want or need what you have to sell. Before creating a marketing plan, it is critical to define your target audience and create a profile of your ideal client so you can properly generate marketing solutions that will attract this audience. After identifying your ideal clients and target audience it will be much easier to create marketing solutions around their identity and needs.

There are numerous questions you may want to ask in an attempt to define your target audience. These questions include:

• Where is the business located?

• In what industry is the business?

• How big the business?

• How long have they been in business?

• What is the business' annual revenue?

• Is the business a multi-unit business or a sole proprietorship?

• Who in the business are you marketing to? CEO, CFO President, Etc.

There are other questions that may need to be asked, but once you have answered the correct questions and created your ideal client profile, you can then incorporate this information into your marketing solutions. Incorporating this information into your marketing solutions will ensure that you spend less time looking for clients, and once you find these clients they will be more likely to purchase your product or services.

Differentiating Your Business

The next element of a successful marketing plan is differentiating your business from your competitors or positioning yourself properly to your target audience. Positioning can be defined as how your product or service is perceived by your target audience relative to your competition. Your goal is to create the perception, or an image, that is differentiated, unique and definable in the mind of your target audience. To successfully position your service or product, try the following:

1. Define and create a list of your business' competitive advantages. These advantages might include lower costs, better customer service, higher quality, etc.

2. Choose the competitive advantage that differentiates your business. What you choose, or which benefits of your business you select, will depend on what positions your competitors have chosen and how you wish to position yourself amongst these competitors. However, some competitive advantages may be inconsistent with other products or services, too costly to develop or simply not strong enough to differentiate yourself in the marketplace.

It is essential that your marketing solutions and materials support the image or position you are trying to create. It is also essential for your business to know your potential and present competitors, both direct and indirect. You should examine your competitors' strengths and weaknesses relative to those of your business. This will help you select marketing solutions and a market position that provides your business a competitive advantage.

Your market position should emphasize the factors that your customers or clients value most and those which differentiate or set yourself apart from your competition.