When starting a business, you need a marketing plan in order to know which target groups to attend to, how to plan your marketing campaigns, how to set up your budget and control it.
Before your start to develop your marketing plan, you should ask yourself the following questions:
- Which product/service are you selling?
- Who is your target audience that will buy your product/service?
- What need does the above market have for your product or service?
- Which information on your product/service do you want to communicate to your target audience?
- What is the best way to get into contact with your target audience (for example TV, radio, newspaper, social media)? – When answering this question you should not forget about your budget?
Your marketing plan should be set up like this:
1. Executive summary(this information you can either take from your business plan or write anew)
>> The questions who, what, when, where and how should be answered in regard to the marketing goals and strategies.
>> This part can be answered easily at the end, after the marketing analysis has been done.
- Description of the company
- Mission statement
- Products/services
- Financial feasibility
2. Analysis of the industry>> Here you should go into the industry, competitors, suppliers, regulatory environment, customers, as well as the role of the company within the industry.
3. Products and the corresponding target audience>> Describe each product/service
- Demographics of the target audience: income, interests,activities, way of life, other geographic descriptions, psychological mindsets, political affiliations, family situation, age, taste
- Market trends and social trends through which customers are being influenced-
- The needs and wants of your target audience and corresponding benefits received from products
4. Marketing strategy- Overall marketing objectives
- Mission statement
- Product's positioning relative to competitors and in the eyes of target customers
- General strategies you will use to reach objectives and fulfill the mission statement
- Product's marketing mix, including specific marketing programs.
- "Four P's":
- Product (any related changes, improvements and issues)
- Pricing strategy for each product
11 different pricing strategies: http://www.websitemarketingplan.com/techniques/pricing2.htm
- Distribution channels (how the product gets to customers and consumers)
- Promotional activities: Public Relations, internet marketing and advertising, offline advertising, viral marketing and other marketing programs
5. Measurements>> Build success metrics into each marketing program, including intermediate measures, and how you will use them to monitor progress and adjust execution when applicable.
6. Prognosis and financial analysis- Size of the target audience
- Size of the market shares
- (monthly) growth forecast
- Profit und loss statement (with sales units and dollar forecasts, cost of goods marketing budgets, fixed overhead and variable expense projections, other expenses, profit margins)
- Breakeven analysis (units and dollars needed to make a profit for each marketing program or new or changed product)
- "What-if" scenarios (sensitivity analyses) showing what happens if forecasts and profit margins are lower or higher than expected
For an apartment complex in a U.S. city it can be hard to find a USP. 'Sedgefield Apartment Homes' in the suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia, was successful in doing so. They decided to address Latin American customers ('Se Habla Español' - 'We speak Spanish') and also offer an additional service to families with kids and teenagers ('Free After School Program & Teen Center'). However, with 'Free Rent' you can hardly attract anyone as most apartments offer 'free rent'. Also, this statement is not entirely correct, as only the first month's rent is free.
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