By:
Debra Kahn Schofield
www.gmarketing.com
In their excitement to launch a new business, some entrepreneurs
neglect to delineate the idea of marketing plan writing. Guerrillas know that a
strong marketing plan helps you create, guide and coordinate your
marketing efforts. Preparing the plan encourages you to examine and
appraise the current state of your industry.
Think of a marketing plan
writing as a road map to assist you in setting
and realizing goals and keeping you on course. Your marketing plan is
a crucial element of a business plan. It consists of information about
your company and its products or services, marketing activities
objectives and strategies, and your method for measuring success.
Typically, it outlines the marketing activities you'll perform during
a designated time period (generally six months or one year). In it
you'll document the costs of your planned marketing activities as well
as the measurements used to determine success.
Before you sit down to
write your marketing plan, make sure you
have a clear idea of the following:
- your products or services and their benefits and features
- your target market and its buying habits
- competing products or services
- the problem, need or desire your product or service solves
Guerrillas know that marketing objectives should lead to sales.
They should be distinct, measurable, and have a time limit for
accomplishment. If you have multiple objectives, ensure that they are
consistent and don't conflict with each other. Also, be sure that all
parts of your marketing plan --from strategy to budget -- support
these objectives.
In your marketing plan
writing you should provide a Promotional Plan. For
example, if your marketing objective is to expand book sales among
school age kids, you could:
- contribute books to school libraries
- provide book stores with discount coupons
- sponsor a literacy event for kids
Another essential section of your marketing plan is the Action
Programs section. Here you detail the steps that need to be taken,
when they should be accomplished, who will do them, etc.
In the Placement section, you describe how your products and
customers fuse together through sales and distribution. Define your
sales method. Are you more concerned with quick sales or slowly
building up relationships with customers? Do you employ contract sales
people or employees? When you illustrate your distribution system,
explain where your product will be placed in order to attract
customers. Your business plan probably already describes your
production and inventory capacities. Another question to deal with is
whether you sell to individuals or to re-sellers? Many businesses
utilize both methods.
Although it is helpful to research other business plans, no two
businesses are identical (variables include industry, company size,
location, product, budget, competition, staff, and inventory). The
process of marketing plan writing compels you to think about your business
goals and how your marketing strategy will facilitate realizing those
goals.
Remember to update your plan on a regular basis. The tactics that
proved successful one year may fall flat if market conditions alter
drastically. Plan to review and update your marketing plan frequently.
Reviewing every quarter would be ideal, but if that's not feasible, do
so at least once each year
