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Every business, no matter what product or service it is providing,
needs a marketing plan. Look upon it as a routemap to help you achieve your
business objectives. You know where you want to go; you just need a plan of how
to get there and signposts along the way. There are a number of components that make up a marketing plan and,
just like your business plan, will need careful planning and research in order
to produce a quality document. Market identificationIt is important to
clearly identify the market for your products and services, as well as explain
your Unique Selling Proposition (USP). Your plan should include:- Market analysis - what is your market? What is your position
within that market? Is it a niche market?
- Sector growth - is your market growing, declining or has it
reached a plateau? Is it becoming more specialised?
- Customer base - what are your customer demographics (e.g. age,
sex, income, location) and psychographics (predisposition, influences,
lifestyle)? What customers offer the best prospects for you? What evidence do
you have that they need or desire your product or service?
- SWOT analysis - identify your business strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities and threats
Marketing mix Once you have identified your
position in the market, you next need to formulate your marketing mix. This is
the combination of: - Product - this refers to the products, services, add-ons,
installation, upgrades, after-sales support, etc that you offer the customer
- Price - putting your product or service on the market at the
right price is crucial. How tight are your margins?
- Place - do you sell your products from a fixed physical
location or do you sell over the phone or internet? How far does your business
stretch geographically?
- People - once you know who your customers are, you have to work
out the best way to manage your customer relationships
Competitor analysis Your marketing plan
should also include a thorough assessment of the competition: - Who are they?
- Where are they based?
- What are their product lines (services offered)?
- What are their prices?
- How many employees do they have?
- What are their strengths and weaknesses?
- What is their market share?
- What ads or promotions are they running?
Promotional activity Clearly state whether
you will use direct marketing, public relations, advertising or sales
promotions to carry out your marketing campaign. Be warned - advertising and
public relations campaigns can be expensive, so it is important that you spend
wisely and evaluate the effectiveness of your campaigns. Budgets Your marketing plan should state the
annual marketing budget, as well as an itemised list of expected expenditures.
A projection of expected returns on marketing expenditure should also be
included. Flexibility Your marketing plan should not be
set in stone; certain factors may make it necessary for you to adapt or modify
your plan, for example, changes in: - Trading environment
- Government policies
- Lifestyle trends
- Technology
- Competition
- Employees
- Suppliers
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