For Marketing to define your Business Players -> Your Brand, Product or Service

Communication comes in hand for Marketing Planning in every step of your daily work. Once you have clear business objectives, finding and deciding how to move with your key business players will become a piece of cake.


Player #2: Your Brand, Product or Service


If you take a look back at your business objectives, you will get a clear idea if the key player in this step is your brand, product or service.


Once you have that clear, let's take a deep dive to where you want to take it to:


Where is it today? 
Depending on where it is standing today, your plan can move in a specific direction. 
Let's say that your product has existed in the market for over 3 years, or that your website which provides a magnificent client service has had steady maintenance in the last year.   A product/ brand or service optimization plan can be helpful.  
If your last action was a launch, then maintenance should be your next step.

What is your brand/product/service's personality today?
When we talked about defining your target, you realized that maybe your target needs to stay the way it is currently or that it has changed. Whatever happens to your target, your product/brand/service needs to be a step ahead at least. Whatever your target is saying, your brand might being having to say it too.


If your target changed to a younger segment (which in many cases I have heard is happening) then your product, brand or service need to be worked ahead thinking as a young brand, product or service. A younger language needs to be considered too.


It needs to mirror your target, not always directly, but certainly in many of characteristics that will help it stay engaging and continue to engage tomorrow through its messages & experiences.


The longer you get to last with your target, hand in hand, the greater short, mid and long term results you will see.


Where would you like to have it standing tomorrow?


Planning where you want to take your brand, product or service stands on three main pillars:
->Your short, mid and long term Business objectives
-> Your target's evolution
-> Communication comming in handy by seeing what your brand/product/service has for social presence.


If your business intends to gain market share in the next 5 years keeping the same target, then your brand or product might just need more exposure or a little tweak to get it shiny again.


Or maybe you want to increase sales with market share growth by touching new targets. If that's the case, then how will your product talk to them and engage them?


The combinations are countless, the more you innovate through your planning process, getting your product/brand or service in your target's shoes can surely help.


Innovation


Some companies have the constant practice of innovating, let's say Apple. They not always find a way to improve the current product, but also always find a way of creating new markets through new products. 
Having this business model as your main business dream can work out great and be quite profitable, but the truth is many brands/products or services aren't that ready....yet.


Whatever your current stage is, don't forget that innovation doesn't always mean "new", sometimes it just means "start with better", "find alternate solutions" or "imagine the unimaginable forgetting tabus around your brand/product or service".


For a deeper conversation be sure to follow me on Twitter as @ammore or in Google+ as Ingrid Noceda.