Business Mastery
Home Study Course Series
Course Descriptions
Chapter Nine
Effective marketing is the cornerstone of a flourishing practice. Explore "value-centered marketing": promoting your business in a way that reflects your personality, philosophy and integrity.
This course introduces a wide range of marketing concepts.
The Marketing Overview course includes:
- Reading chapter Nine of Business Mastery
- Answering 20 short answer and true/false questions
Advertising is gaining public notice for your business through means that require direct payment. It is best used when your target market is a mass market, your product or service is purchased frequently, the competition is high, or your goal is to quickly create awareness of a new service or product.
This course walks you through the various modes of advertising and explores marketing through advertising from print to computer.
The Advertising course includes:
- Reading chapter Nine of Business Mastery
- Answering four short answer questions
- Completing an advertising assessment project
- Designing an ad
Increase your visibility and enhance your image through community relations. It's important to be clear that you are doing the activities to serve the community and not just to build your business. This builds confidence in you and your work.
This course helps you look at the options available to you in your community.
The Community Relations course includes:
- Reading chapter Nine of Business Mastery
- Answering four short answer questions
- Developing a community relations event
The more you know about your competition, the easier it is for you to determine the most advantageous manner to market your practice. After assessing your current marketing skills, it's time to assess your competitors.
This course helps you plan how to market to your advantage and explores marketing through image, purpose and distinguishing a business's unique characteristics.
The Competition Analysis course includes:
- Reading chapter Nine of Business Mastery
- Completing a competition analysis project
Save time and money by combining some of your marketing tasks with others. Find strength in numbers and mutual support.
This course explores marketing through working with other practitioners, and assists you in finding the markets that complement your practice.
The Cooperative Marketing course includes:
- Reading chapter Nine of Business Mastery
- Answering eight short answer questions
- Outlining a cooperative marketing event
- Interviewing two groups of people who have done a cooperative marketing venture
No matter what you do in life your ability to introduce yourself well greatly impacts your success. Because this business thrives on word-of-mouth promotion, you must inspire confidence in others by the way you introduce yourself.
This course explores marketing through advertising from print to computer and helps you construct a powerful introduction.
The Dynamic Introduction course includes:
- Reading chapter Nine of Business Mastery
- Answering eight short answer questions
- Writing three self-introductions
Successful practitioners include a good mix of marketing techniques in their marketing plans. Creativity and timing are key to a small practice when bringing the marketing pieces together.
This course introduces a large variety of marketing concepts to assist you in creating your own personal and balanced marketing plan.
The Marketing Plan course includes:
- Reading chapter Nine of Business Mastery
- Answering 15 short answer questions
- Completing a Strategic Planning project for one marketing goal from each of the four marketing categories
- Outlining a marketing schedule
Establishing a strong network is fundamental for success in this word-of-mouth field. Learn how to develop a support group of cooperating individuals to establish and share contacts.
This course explores marketing through networking and helps you develop your networking skills.
The Networking course includes:
- Reading chapter Nine of Business Mastery
- Answering six short answer questions
- Completing two projects:
- Assess your networking needs
- Research potential networking groups
Positioning is a key principle of marketing. You must determine exactly what niche you intend to fill.
This course helps you determine your niche and walks you through developing both your position statement and differential advantage. It explores marketing through image, purpose and distinguishing your unique business characteristics.
The Positioning and Differential Advantage course includes:
- Reading chapter Nine of Business Mastery
- Answering 10 short answer questions
- Interviewing two professionals about their positioning and marketing differentials
High-quality printed marketing materials such as business cards, letterhead, envelopes, brochures, gift certificates, newsletters, client information sheets and fliers are essential to generate a professional image. They keep you favorably established, recognized and positioned. The creative ways to promote your business are unlimited.
This course assists you in developing your promotion materials and explores establishing awareness of your business in the community through promotions.
The Promotion Materials course includes:
- Reading chapter Nine of Business Mastery
- Answering five short answer questions
- Refining your promotion materials
Promotion techniques attract the attention of potential (and current) clients and keep you favorably established, recognized and positioned. There are many creative ways to promote your business such as networking; holding open houses; presenting workshops and demonstrations; writing articles about your services or general well-being for local newspapers, magazines and newsletters; having booths at community events, health expos and state fairs; sending direct mail pieces and newsletter; providing your services at conventions, store openings, sporting events and at malls; obtaining referrals; and offering specials and incentives.
This course assists you in developing your promotional plan and explores establishing awareness of your business in the community through promotions.
The Promotion Plan course includes:
- Reading chapter Nine of Business Mastery
- Answering six short answer questions
- Organizing a promotional event
- Creating a one-year promotional plan
Public speaking is about the way you share information with others. It's easy as long as you share something that excites you and can make a difference in the audience's life. As a health care provider you've got it covered since you frequently witness profound changes in your clients!
This course assists you in developing venues and techniques to share how you make a difference in other people's lives.
The Public Speaking course includes:
- Reading chapter Nine of Business Mastery
- Answering six short answer questions
- Completing your choice of a project:
- Plan an educational forum/open house
- Outline a presentation for an education organization
- Attend a Toastmaster's International meeting
- Write a 2-minute self-introduction, videotape it, and critique it
Publicity is a powerful tool for any business -- yet people rarely take time to work the system of free media exposure.
This course explores marketing through publicity and helps you look at your options in developing your publicity campaign.
The Publicity course includes:
- Reading chapter Nine of Business Mastery
- Answering six short answer questions
- Outlining a publicity campaign
- Creating a media kit
Target markets are groupings of people who can be identified by certain commonalities and defined by both demographics and psychographics. Choosing a specific target market makes your practice more enjoyable, simplifies your marketing and increases the success of promotional endeavors.
This course leads you through defining and analyzing your target markets.
The Target Markets course includes:
- Reading chapter Nine of Business Mastery
- Answering 10 short answer questions
- Analyzing your current clients
- Completing a Target Market Profile exercise
Having an Internet home page with your services and products opens the world to you and you to the world. Take advantage of the technology available to expand your visibility and your network.
This course explores Internet marketing and walks you through the process of establishing your business on-line.
The Websites course includes:
- Reading chapter Nine of Business Mastery
- Answering five short answer questions
- Researching websites
- Investigating website building options