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If you're thinking about developing a marketing program, you
need to begin with a marketing plan. Having been in marketing
for more than a decade, I have seen my share of marketing plans.
Some are short and to the point, others are hundreds of pages
thick and cost thousands of dollars to produce.
The irony is that many of the expensive marketing plans end up
on a shelf and rarely get implemented. The simple plans, if
researched and implemented effectively, have the greatest impact.
Regardless of the scope of your marketing plan, you must keep in
mind that it is a fluid document. Every business needs to begin
with a well structured plan that is based in thorough research,
competitive positioning and attainable outcomes. Your plan
should be the basis for your activities over the coming months.
However, you should always be willing to enhance or redirect
your plan based on what proves successful.
Marketing Plan Basics
1. Market Research Collect, organize, and write down data about
the market that is currently buying the product(s) or service(s)
you will sell. Some areas to consider: *Market dynamics,
patterns including seasonality *Customers - demographics, market
segment, target markets, needs, buying decisions *Product -
what's out there now, what's the competition offering *Current
sales in the industry *Benchmarks in the industry *Suppliers -
vendors that you will need to rely on
2. Target Market Find niche or target markets for your product
and describe them.
3. Product Describe your product. How does your product relate
to the market? What does your market need, what do they
currently use, what do they need above and beyond current use?
4. Competition Describe your competition. Develop your "unique
selling proposition." What makes you stand apart from your
competition? What is your competition doing about branding?
5. Mission Statement Write a few sentences that state: *"Key
market" - who you're selling to *"Contribution" - what you're
selling *"Distinction" - your unique selling proposition
6. Market Strategies Write down the marketing and promotion
strategies that you want to use or at least consider using.
Strategies to consider: *Networking - go where your market is
*Direct marketing - sales letters, brochures, flyers
*Advertising - print media, directories *Training programs - to
increase awareness *Write articles, give advice, become known as
an expert *Direct/personal selling *Publicity/press releases
*Trade shows *Web site
7. Pricing, Positioning and Branding From the information you've
collected, establish strategies for determining the price of
your product, where your product will be positioned in the
market and how you will achieve brand awareness.
8. Budget Budget your dollars. What strategies can you afford?
What can you do in house, what do you need to outsource.
9. Marketing Goals Establish quantifiable marketing goals. This
means goals that you can turn into numbers. For instance, your
goals might be to gain at least 30 new clients or to sell 10
products per week, or to increase your income by 30% this year.
Your goals might include sales, profits, or customer's
satisfaction.
10. Monitor Your Results Test and analyze. Identify the
strategies that are working. *Survey customers *Track sales,
leads, visitors to your web site, percent of sales to
impressions
By researching your markets, your competition, and determining
your unique positioning, you are in a much better position to
promote and sell your product or service. By establishing goals
for your marketing campaign, you can better understand whether
or not your efforts are generating results through ongoing
review and evaluation of results.
As mentioned earlier in this article, be sure to use your plan
as a living document.Successful marketers continually review the
status of their campaigns against their set objectives.This
ensures ongoing improvements to your marketing initiatives and
helps with future planning.
About the author:
Michael Fleischner is a marketing expert with more than 12 years
of marketing experience. He has appeared on the TODAY Show,
Bloomberg Radio, and other major media. Visit
http://www.Marketingscoop.com for further details, free
marketing information, and more free reprint articles.
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