A sound marketing plan is key to
the success of your business. It should include your market research,
your location, the customer group you have targeted, your competition,
positioning, the product or service you are selling, pricing, advertising,
and promotion.
"You're in business to serve a customer need," says Derek
Hansen, founder of American Capital Access. "If you're not
sensitive to customers, don't know who your customers are, how to
reach them and, most of all, what will convince them to buy your
product or service, get help."
Effective marketing, planning and promotion begins with current
information about the marketplace. Visit your local library, talk
to customers, study the advertising of other businesses in your
community, and consult with any relevant industry associations.
This
interactive tool will help you assess your marketing strengths
and weaknesses.
Once you have all the necessary information, write down your plan:
1: Define your business
- Your product or service
- Your geographic marketing area - neighborhood, regional or national
- Your competition
- How you differ from the competition - what makes you special
- Your price
- The competition's promotion methods
- Your promotion methods
- Your distribution methods or business location
2:Define your customers
- Your current customer base: age, sex, income, neighborhood
- How your customers learn about your product or service - advertising,
direct mail, word of mouth, Yellow Pages
- Patterns or habits your customers and potential customers share
- where they shop, what they read, watch, listen to
- Qualities your customers value most about your product or service
- selection, convenience, service, reliability, availability,
affordability
- Qualities your customers like least about your product or service
- can they be adjusted to serve your customers better?
- Prospective customers whom you aren't currently reaching
3:Define your plan and budget
- Previous marketing methods you have used to communicate to
your customers
- Methods that have been most effective
- Cost compared to sales
- Cost per customer
- Possible future marketing methods to attract new customers
- Percentage of profits you can allocate to your marketing campaign
- Marketing tools you can implement within your budget - newspaper,
magazine or Yellow Pages advertising; radio or television advertising;
direct mail; tele-marketing; public relations activities such
as community involvement, sponsorship or press releases
- Methods of testing your marketing ideas
- Methods for measuring results of your marketing campaign
- The marketing tool you can implement immediately
The final component in your marketing plan should be your overall
promotional objectives: to communicate your message, create an awareness
of your product or service, motivate customers to buy and increase
sales, or other specific targets. Objectives make it easier to design
an effective campaign and help you keep that campaign on the right
track. Once you have defined your objectives, it is easier to choose
the method that will be most effective.
For more detailed information, review the following guide: “Marketing
Your Business for Success.”
Executive Summary
Current Situation
Competitor and Issue Analysis
What do you want to achieve? - Marketing
Objectives
How will you get there? - Strategizing with
"The 4 Ps"
Your "to do" list - Action
Programs
How much will everything cost? -
Your Budget
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