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Before you start a marketing program, you need a marketing plan first. A marketing plan will clearly show your current market position of your business and what steps you need to undertake to achieve your marketing objectives.
There are some basics that your marketing plan should cover, including the following:
Market research
- Market dynamics - including seasonality and current sales
- Customers - who is your target market? What are their demographics, needs and wants and buying decisions. What is your market segment?
- Product - what are your competitors offering? What is out there?
- Benchmarks in your industry
- Suppliers - who do you need to rely on?
- Business location, including advantages and disadvantages for marketing
- SWOT Analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats)
Target market
- Who are your customers?
- Find niche or target markets for your product.
- Describe your ideal customer
- Where do your customers come from?
Your product
- Describe your product and service that you are offering
- How does your product relate to your market?
- How will your product meet the needs of your target market?
Competition
- Who is your competition?
- What makes you stand apart from your competitors?
- What do your competitors offer and what is your unique selling proposition?
- What is their pricing strategy and how does it differ from your prices?
Mission statement
Your mission statement will state:
- Your key markets
- What you're selling
- Your unique selling proposition - how do you differ from your competitors and what do you do better than the others?
Market strategies
Write down what marketing strategies you want to use or will consider:
- Networking
- Direct marketing - brochures, flyers, direct mailers
- Advertising - newspapers, magazines, radio, billboards
- Trade shows
- Digital marketing - website, emails, enewsletters
- Press releases
Pricing
- What is your pricing strategy
- How will you achieve brand awareness?
- Where will your product be positioned?
Budget
Determine what you can do in-house and what you need to outsource
Goals
Your goals need to be measurable. For example, number of sales achieved each week, to increase your income by 30%, increase customer satisfaction. To run a successful business, you first need a roadmap to show you how you can achieve your goals and a marketing plan will help you do just that. If you are unsure of how you can start a marketing plan, seek professional advice from a marketing consultancy company.
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