Top 20 Planning Questions
When we offer products to anyone, that's selling. When we place customers into groups we can define, and separate them from everyone else in the world, and target our sales efforts specifically to them, that's marketing.
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Who are the most likely customers or who are the most likely target audiences?
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How are they different from the general population?
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What events trigger the need or desire for our type of product or service?
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When does this trigger occur? Can it be predicted?
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How do they go about deciding who to buy from?
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What are the key decision factors?
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How do you compare vs. the competition on these factors?
8. Are these differences meaningful to the customer?
9. Does the customer know these differences?
10. How can our products and services be exposed to our most likely potential customers?
12. How can we sell more of our current products and services to existing customers?
13. What other new products and services could we sell to our existing customers?
14. What is our competition doing to steal customers away from us?
15. What are other non-competing companies in our industry doing to increase their sales?
16. What current non-sales producing costs can be converted into sales-producing investments?
17. What emerging social, economic, or technological trends can be turned into new sales opportunities?
18. How can we make our products and services easier to use or buy?