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What Are They And Why Are They Important?

You don’t hear too much Marketing Plans when you first get started in business. Everybody talks about how important your Business Plan is, and it is important, especially if you need to get financing or attract investors. But the truth is, your Marketing Plan is the beating heart that keeps your Business Plan alive. Many people find writing Business Plans, and especially the Marketing component, intimidating because they require a tremendous amount of research and analysis to complete. But if the difference between your company’s life and death hinged on your written plans, wouldn’t you make the effort to do the research and analysis? Or hire someone to do it? Your dreams of business success depend upon your plans.

It All Boils Down To This

Customers. Customers are everything. Every aspect of business–location (place), products, pricing, and promotions (the 4 Ps of marketing, which we’ll discuss later in the Strategies section)–is driven by your customers. Your target audience. Your Marketing Plan is all about your target audience. The more you learn about who they are and how you can make them your customers, the better chance you have to achieve business success.

An Overview of Marketing Plans

Effective marketing, planning and promotion begins with current information about the marketplace. A sound Marketing Plan will include your market research, your location, the customer group you have targeted, your competition, positioning, the product or service you’re selling, pricing, advertising, and promotion.

Using the information you’ll uncover in the Market Research section and your planning outlined in the Objectives and Strategies section, your Marketing Plan will define:

1. Your business

Your product or service

Your geographic marketing area: neighborhood, regional, national, or global

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. Your customers

Your current customer base: age, sex, income, neighborhood

How your customers learn about your product or service

Patterns or habits your customers and potential customers share

Qualities about your product or service that customers value most

Qualities they like least

Prospective customers whom you aren’t currently reaching

3. Your plan and budget

Previous marketing methods you’ve used

Methods that have been most effective

Cost compared to sales

Cost per customer

Future marketing methods to attract new customers

Percentage of profits you’ll use for marketing

Marketing methods (TV or radio ads, Yellow Pages, website, etc.)

Methods of testing your marketing ideas

Methods of tracking results from your marketing efforts

Marketing methods you can use immediately

The final component in your marketing plan will be your overall promotional objectives: how you’ll communicate your message; create brand awareness; motivate customers to buy and increase sales; and 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.

The first step in creating Marketing Plans is doing the research. I know, I know, it’s not fun if you’re not into researching, but it IS necessary. Crucial, actually. So let’s see what needs to be done.

Let’s go to Market Research.