Michigan Small Business Development Center
Marketing Plan Guidelines
Key Elements of a Good Marketing Plan
1. Measurable Goals
• What do you want to accomplish this year?
✓ Annual Sales
✓ Net Income
✓ Number of customers
✓ Other measures?
• What do you want to accomplish in 3-5 years?
✓ Ongoing client database of customers
✓ Annual growth rate of xx%
• Who is responsible for marketing/sales goals?
• Who is responsible for marketing/sales implementation?
2. Market Analysis
• Research your industry/environment
✓ How large is your industry?
✓ How many prospective customers are there?
✓ How do economic trends impact customer buying decisions?
✓ What unique abilities do competitors possess?
• Research your customers
✓ How do you define your ideal customer?
✓ What is your target market?
✓ Who will buy your product?
✓ When will they buy your product? Seasonally? Any time?
✓ Where will they look for your product? Online? Store? Catalog?
✓ From whom do they want to purchase your product? Owner, Sales rep, Distributor, Manufacturer’s Rep?
• Research your competitors
✓ Who are your direct competitors?
✓ Who are your indirect competitors?
✓ Evaluate direct and indirect competitor strengths and weaknesses in the areas of quality, customer service, price/value, location, convenience and any other areas of importance.
✓ Evaluate your own company – do a SWOT analysis. Compare yourself to your competitors.
o Strengths
o Weaknesses
o Opportunities
o Threats
3. Marketing Strategy
• Develop strategies that incorporate your goals, build on your strengths, and promote your unique competitive advantages. Build a marketing mix to best serve your target customers.
✓ Product: Describe product from customer’s point of view? What’s in it for them? What are the benefits & features of your product?
✓ Price: Set prices to strategically accomplish business goals, while remaining sensitive to customer motivations.
o Cost based: cover your expenses
o Going rate: follow the market leader
o Image pricing: your product is exclusive
o Service pricing: your product is convenient
o Slow entry: work toward building customer loyalty
o Loss leaders: work on generating traffic by setting pricing low
✓ Place: Determine most effective way to get your product to customer
o Shipping, electronic transfer, personal delivery, retail, etc…
✓ Promotion: Determine promotional tools based on what your target customers hear and see…radio, TV, print, etc…
o Publicity: news releases, success stories, organization memberships, community events
o Advertising: electronic media (radio, TV, Internet, Email) versus print media (newspaper, magazine, brochure, direct mail, newsletters, letterhead, business cards)
4. Implementation Schedule & Budget
• Create a timeline for when different methods of advertising and publicity will be used.
• Prepare cost estimates
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