Marketing Plan How To | Business Plan Component

If you can recall, I wrote about the different plans that when put together make up your successful business plan. Inclusive in this is the Marketing Plan which details how you plan to get the word out about your new business venture. There should be a clear message and direction in your plan and the following considerations are important to constructing a good marketing plan:

• How will you inform people about your business?
• What message are you trying to convey to your target market after you get their attention?
• Specify the methods, technology, and resources you will use to deliver and reinforce your marketing message
• How will you secure actual sales with this marketing plan?

As you can see, your work is cut out for you. Your great idea will only go as far as you push it. What methods and vehicles will you use to push your message and ultimately sell your product or service? A proper Marketing Mix will help you reach your target market and gain the market share you're working towards.

Marketing Mix refers to the Product or service, Place, Price and Promotion, otherwise known as the 4 P's. The internet has not made this model obsolete, as some may want to convince you. In contrast, the internet makes accomplishing these tasks much easier. Identifying each element and how they fit into a successful marketing strategy (which is the point of your written marketing plan) can be achieved with a little research and time.

Do not worry if you are not an expert in marketing. Finding out who your target is and how to reach them is also easier than ever before with the internet. Here are some ways you can organize a proper marketing mix for your product or service:

• Construct a relevant questionnaire to distribute
• Google certain details about your market to learn their purchasing habits
• Are your buyers motivated by pain avoidance or to gain pleasure?
• How does your market usually go about obtaining information?
• Which websites does your market frequent?
• What type of information would be beneficial to them AND indirectly market your product or service?

As you can tell, the 4 P's are relevant online and the internet only makes targeting more accurate and feasible for small businesses. It also gives us the opportunity to reach a broader market from the comfort of our offices or homes with minimal expenses. 

Product or Service -- What is it? What does it do? How will solve a problem or ease the pain in someone's life?

Place -- Where can this product or service be found, and how do prospective clients find it? It should be easily accessible to your market and purchasing it should be a breeze. If you have a brick and mortar as well as an online presence, consider how you can efficiently fulfill orders and re-stock both places.

Price -- Be careful here. Perceived value is automatically equated with price. You can competitively price your product or service or price higher if you can offer additional value via more quality materials. You will need to know what your target markets price sensitivity is and what influences their buying power, i.e. children, income, fear, etc. You may have to adjust this before you find the perfect price where supply and demand meet. Pricing too high will give you surplus or exonerate certain buyers. Pricing too low may cost you market share and decrease the perceived value clients feel your product or service gives them, thereby decreasing demand. As yourself how you view price? That is a great place to begin.

Promotion -- Promoting and marketing are not the same. Promoting is just oneform of marketing. How do you plan to promote your product once you get your target markets attention? What ways do you believe will be most successful and why? What vehicles will you use to accomplish this goal?

The 4 P's fit together nicely to tell you how to execute your marketing plan. Feel free to use as many marketing vehicles as possible in order to share the message you want about your product or service. Marketing is not always about numbers and sales, rather about relationships and ability to deliver value, which can directly translate into more leads and more sales. How does viewing marketing as a relationship change the way you will promote your product or service?

ChrissyBiz Solutions provides clients with customized, results-driven web marketing strategies. Our primary business writing duties include: article marketing,  search engine optimized web copy, blog content, social media, press releases, and newsletters  designed to drive traffic to your website and influence buyers decisions when purchasing products and services.

Contact ChrissyBiz today to discuss the impact that web marketing copy can have on your business.