Creating a good and comprehensive marketing plan is one of the most important steps to being successful. In fact, it is one part of overall business plan and marketing department must provide detailed planning. You may ask if one post in this blog is enough to do marketing plan, and the answer is “NO”. It is rather to give an idea and outline to catch the whole picture of the procedure.
Follow the process below and marketing plan will not be as complicated as we think. But again, you will need to generate more elements and apply according to your industry.
1. Executive Summary
Though executive summary of the plan always come first, it is difficult to write down without seeing the whole process. So, it is better to do the rest parts of the plan and come back to write executive summary afterwards. But it depends and you can go ahead if you can write at the beginning.
2. Situational Analysis
There are four main things to analyze before we go on and the first will be:
(a)Company Analysis: Try to analyze the company’s goals, mission, objectives, culture (management and operational process), strengths, and weaknesses, and current market positioning.
(b) Customer Analysis: Try to analyze number/percentage of current customers, what kind/type of customers are buying your products/services, what are their values and make decision process when they buy/use the products, and lastly, see what are customer’s particular interest on the products.
(c) Competitor Analysis: See and compare the market position of your competitors, their strengths and weaknesses, threats and opportunities.
(d) Macro-environment Analysis: economy, legal, government, technology, ecological, social and cultural, supply chain
(e) SWOT Analysis: This analysis can be performed by organization’s internal factors (strengths and weakness) and external environmental factors (Threats and opportunities). Read detail SWOT analysis here
3. Marketing Research: information requirements, research methodology, research results
4. Market Segmentation
Basically, there are four markets segmentation as;
Demographic: Region by continent, country, state, or even neighborhood, Size of metropolitan area (segmented according to size of population), Population density (often classified as urban, suburban, or rural) and Climate (according to weather patterns common to certain geographic regions)
Geographic: Age, Gender, Family size and lifecycle, Generation: baby-boomers, generation X, Income, Occupation, Education, Ethnicity, Nationality, Religion, Social class
Psychographic: Psychographic segmentation groups customers according to their lifestyle such as Activities, interests, opinions, attitudes and values.
Behavioristic: Behavioral segmentation is based on actual customer behavior toward products and which will include: Benefits sought, Usage rate, Brand loyalty, User status –(potential, first-time, regular, etc)Readiness to buy and Occasions – (holidays and events that stimulate purchases)
Apart from above segmentation, there are more market segmentation and you can download here to get more ideas.
5. Selecting Marketing Strategies
There are mainly four marketing strategies according marketing gurus such as what kind of PRODUCT, how much is the PRICE, how are you going to do PROMOTION, and which PLACE are you going to set up and distribute to the customers. You can also read 7 Ps here.
6. Financial Summary: assumptions, pro-forma monthly income statement (forecasts of revenues), contribution margin analysis (expenses) and break even analysis
7. Conclusion: Summarize the entire above marketing plan and put some future prediction and actions to apply.
8. Appendix: It is good to attach pictures and specifications of the new product, results from research already completed to have a better clear image.
(Ref: Wiki and Class room notes)
Follow the process below and marketing plan will not be as complicated as we think. But again, you will need to generate more elements and apply according to your industry.
1. Executive Summary
Though executive summary of the plan always come first, it is difficult to write down without seeing the whole process. So, it is better to do the rest parts of the plan and come back to write executive summary afterwards. But it depends and you can go ahead if you can write at the beginning.
2. Situational Analysis
There are four main things to analyze before we go on and the first will be:
(a)Company Analysis: Try to analyze the company’s goals, mission, objectives, culture (management and operational process), strengths, and weaknesses, and current market positioning.
(b) Customer Analysis: Try to analyze number/percentage of current customers, what kind/type of customers are buying your products/services, what are their values and make decision process when they buy/use the products, and lastly, see what are customer’s particular interest on the products.
(c) Competitor Analysis: See and compare the market position of your competitors, their strengths and weaknesses, threats and opportunities.
(d) Macro-environment Analysis: economy, legal, government, technology, ecological, social and cultural, supply chain
(e) SWOT Analysis: This analysis can be performed by organization’s internal factors (strengths and weakness) and external environmental factors (Threats and opportunities). Read detail SWOT analysis here
3. Marketing Research: information requirements, research methodology, research results
4. Market Segmentation
Basically, there are four markets segmentation as;
Demographic: Region by continent, country, state, or even neighborhood, Size of metropolitan area (segmented according to size of population), Population density (often classified as urban, suburban, or rural) and Climate (according to weather patterns common to certain geographic regions)
Geographic: Age, Gender, Family size and lifecycle, Generation: baby-boomers, generation X, Income, Occupation, Education, Ethnicity, Nationality, Religion, Social class
Psychographic: Psychographic segmentation groups customers according to their lifestyle such as Activities, interests, opinions, attitudes and values.
Behavioristic: Behavioral segmentation is based on actual customer behavior toward products and which will include: Benefits sought, Usage rate, Brand loyalty, User status –(potential, first-time, regular, etc)Readiness to buy and Occasions – (holidays and events that stimulate purchases)
Apart from above segmentation, there are more market segmentation and you can download here to get more ideas.
5. Selecting Marketing Strategies
There are mainly four marketing strategies according marketing gurus such as what kind of PRODUCT, how much is the PRICE, how are you going to do PROMOTION, and which PLACE are you going to set up and distribute to the customers. You can also read 7 Ps here.
6. Financial Summary: assumptions, pro-forma monthly income statement (forecasts of revenues), contribution margin analysis (expenses) and break even analysis
7. Conclusion: Summarize the entire above marketing plan and put some future prediction and actions to apply.
8. Appendix: It is good to attach pictures and specifications of the new product, results from research already completed to have a better clear image.
(Ref: Wiki and Class room notes)
0 comments:
Post a Comment