Marketing your Business / Marketing Plan

Simple, marketing your business is anything you do to get potential customers to your place of business and purchase your products and/ or services, yet it is the most complicated aspect of doing business. A good marketing plan is essential to the survival of a business.

Developing a good and effective marketing plan starts with market research aim at identifying and qualifying who are your potential customers, there location, and why they will choose to buy your products and/ or services. You also need to research and analyze your competition, the industry trends and growth, and how your business fits into the market place.

The components of an effective business plan should include:

Executive Summary – introducing the company by briefly describing the nature of your business and the products and/ or services you offer. Include the company’s organizational structure, management and marketing team, mission statement, goals and objectives, and a brief overview of the marketing objectives and recommended strategies contained in the body of the plan.

Location Description – provide information about your current or plan location and identify the key issues your company faces.

Market Analysis – provide a detailed analysis of your industry, with information about other businesses/competitors who offer similar products and/ or services as you do and what set you apart from them.

Target Market – identify and profile the population segment you are trying to reach and the percentage of the market you aim to capture.

Marketing Objectives – clearly state your marketing objectives and the time frame for achieving these objectives.

Marketing Strategy – this is the heart of you plan and should objectively enumerate the strategies/ promotional tools for achieving your stated objectives. In this section you will also describe your pricing strategy.

Mile Stones – here you will assign a time line for accomplishing the marketing activities/ tasks, who is responsible for accomplishing the tasks, and when they will be completed.

Financial Budgets and forecast – this section will offer a realistic financial forecast the marketing activities to include a marketing budget, sale forecast, and break-even analysis.

Supplementary Documents – include any supporting documents that you might have reference in the plan, such as market research results, resumes of management and marketing teams, etc.

Marketing plans need to be revisited and change as the industry your business is in changes and the ever-changing customer-buying habits. You must also be prepared to take advantage of new and innovative marketing trends and strategies to enhance your marketing plan.

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“Creativity, Consistency and continuity are the keys to sustained marketing success”.