Every start-up venture needs a business plan, yet many
entrepreneurs don't realize a marketing plan is equally
vital.
Unlike a business plan, the marketing plan focuses on the
customers. A marketing plan includes numbers, facts and objectives,
but it is not primarily numerical; it is strategic. It is your plan
of action-what you will sell, to whom you will sell it and how
often, at what price, and how you will get the product to the
buyer. Here's a closer look at putting together a marketing
plan that works.
Step One: Define your product. The first part of the
marketing plan defines your product or service and its features and
benefits in detail, then shows how it is different from the
competition's. The more clearly and succinctly you describe
your product in your marketing plan, the better you'll
communicate with your target customer.
Content Continues Below
Markets and products have become extremely fragmented. There are
hundreds of special-interest magazines, for example, each targeted
to a very specific market segment. It's the same with
restaurants, cars and retail clothing stores, just to name a few
industries.
Positioning your product competitively equires an understanding
of this fragmented market. Not only must you be able to describe
your product, you must also be able to describe your
competitor's product and show why yours is better. Positioning
your product involves two steps. First, analyze your product's
features, and decide how they differentiate your product from its
competitors. Second, decide what type of buyer is most likely to
purchase your product. Pricing and placement are critical to
competitive positioning. In today's marketing culture, pricing
cannot be separated from the product.
Take grocery stores, for example. The full-service supermarket
is still the most popular form of grocery distribution. But today,
busy families want faster service and more convenience, even if it
means higher prices. As a result, convenience stores, home delivery
services, personal shoppers and takeout restaurants have
proliferated. At the same time, warehouse grocery retailing has
also increased. Warehouse stores cater to customers who prefer low
prices to convenience.
Service, distribution and price are the essential elements of
the products offered by supermarket, convenience and warehouse
stores. To develop a successful marketing plan, you need to analyze
how these same elements fit into your business. What are you
selling-convenience? Quality? Discount pricing? You can't offer
it all. Knowing what your customers want helps you decide what to
offer.
Step Two: Describe your target customer. Developing a
profile of your target customer is the second step in an effective
marketing plan. You can describe customers in terms of
demographics-age, sex, family composition, earnings and
geographical location-as well as lifestyle. Ask: Are my customers
conservative or innovative? Leaders or followers? Timid or
aggressive? Traditional or modern? Introverted or extroverted? How
often do they purchase what I offer? How much of it at a time? Are
there peak buying periods or times of the year when people
won't buy my product or service?
Step Three: Create a communication strategy. Your target
customer must not only know your product exists but must also have
a favorable impression of its benefits. Communication includes
everything from logo design and advertising to public relations and
promotions.
Find out what your target customers read and listen to. You need
to know this to get their attention. In addition to where to place
your message, consider how frequently customers need to receive it.
This part of the marking plan should spell out your promotional
objectives. What do you want to achieve? Do you want people to
recognize your company name? Know where you're located? How
much money can you spend to get your message across? What media are
available, and which will work best? Finally, how will you evaluate
the results?
Ask yourself the right questions and analyze your answers, and
you'll come up with a marketing plan that will help you achieve
your goals.
Excerpted from Start Your Own Business: The Only Start-Up
Book You'll Ever Need, by Rieva Lesonsky and the Staff of
Entrepreneur Magazine, © 1998 Entrepreneur Press