The first step in creating your marketing plan is to precisely define what your company has to offer. The answer is never as simple as dry cleaning services, pastries or roofing shingles.

Consider the following questions, then describe in a few paragraphs your company and your products or services. Name unique features and benefits. Identify how people use your offerings. Specify how you make products and services available to customers.

Ask yourself what it is you’re selling: not just doughnuts, for example, but a doughnut shop with a gleaming chrome interior reminiscent of a 1950s-style diner—or the friendliest waitresses in town, the freshest coffee, the best prices, the most unusual flavors.

In other words, how are your products or services unique or better than the competition’s? Is your quality higher, and if so, in what ways? Are your prices lower without sacrificing quality? Is your service better or faster? Are your hours more flexible to accommodate busy clients? Is your turnaround faster? Is your product new and improved? More environmentally friendly? Easier to use? More fun or better-looking? More upscale?

Is your product or service in demand year-round or is it seasonal? If seasonal, can you supplement it with other offerings that will generate income throughout the year? Is it a one-time purchase or something that must be replaced regularly?

How do you make your products available to people—and what additional methods of distribution might be feasible? If you have a retail shop that customers visit, consider whether the location is convenient, whether it’s easy for people to find parking spaces, and whether your ideal customer populations are growing or shrinking in that part of town.

Make lists of your product’s or service’s features and benefits. Features describe product characteristics: small size, steel framework, Teflon coating, microwaves in 3 minutes, and so on. Benefits describe what those traits do for customers: fits in a pocket, is built tough to last for years, ensures easy cleanup, provides a quick meal. Find ways to position your product’s features as benefits.

These key points can help you brainstorm creative ways to pitch your product—as well as audiences that will be most receptive.

Ask trusted employees, your spouse or good friends who understand your offerings and your business to help you focus on what sets your products and services apart. The goal of these exercises is to enable you to put on paper exactly what it is you offer. The more clearly you can state it, the better you’ll be able to focus your marketing efforts.