When you get the appropriate people around the planning table, as discussed earlier in this section, one of the first things to start thinking about is your marketing plan. This document is a thought starter – a way to ask for and record information. As you work through the market analysis stage, this plan could be finalized for use in writing thebusiness plan.
This is taken from the federal government’s Small Business Association Web page.(www.sba.gov/gopher/Business-Development/) It is an alternative – or an addition in your planning work – to manyother forms, approaches, etc., contained in this manual. No one way is right for everyone. This is a tried-and-true outlook at what you need to know in building your marketing plan and your wisdom.
The Entrepreneur’s Marketing Plan
This is the marketing plan of ____________________________________________
I. Market Analysis
A. Target Market - Who are the customers?
1.We will be selling primarily to (check all that apply):
Total Percent
of Business
_____Private Sector ...................................................................................... ________
_____Wholesalers ......................................................................................... ________
_____Retailers ................................................................................................ ________
_____Government .......................................................................................... ________
_____Other ...................................................................................................... ________
2. We will be targeting customers by:
a. Product line/services. We will target specific lines _________________
b. Geographic area? Which areas? _______________________________
c. Sales? We will target sales of __________________________________
d. Industry? Our target industry is _________________________________
e. Other? ____________________________________________________
3. How much will our selected market spend on our type of product or service this coming year? ................................................................................... $ ________
B. Competition
1. Who are our competitors?
Name _______________________________________________________
Address _____________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
Years in Business _____________________________________________
Market Share ________________________________________________
Price/Strategy ________________________________________________
Product/Service Features _______________________________________
Name _______________________________________________________
Address _____________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
Years in Business _____________________________________________
Market Share ________________________________________________
Price/Strategy ________________________________________________
Product/Service Features _______________________________________
2. How competitive is the market?
_____High _____Medium _____Low
3. List below your strengths and weaknesses compared to your competition (consider such areas as location, size of resources, reputation, services,personnel, etc.):
Strengths Weaknesses
1. __________________________ 1. __________________________
2. __________________________ 2. __________________________
3. __________________________ 3. __________________________
4. __________________________ 4. __________________________
C. Environment
1. The following are some important economic factors that will affect ourproduct or service (such as trade area growth, industry health, economictrends, taxes, rising energy prices, etc.):
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
2. The following are some important legal factors that will affect our market:
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
3. The following are some important government factors:
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
4. The following are other environmental factors that will affect our market,but over which we have no control:
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
II. Product or Service Analysis
A. Description
-
Describe here what the product/service is and what it does:
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
B. Comparison
- What advantages does our product/service have over those of the competition (consider such things as unique features, patents, expertise,special training, etc.)?___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________
- What disadvantages does it have?___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________
C. Some Considerations
- Where will you get your materials and supplies?___________________________________________________________
- List other considerations: ___________________________________________________________
III. Marketing Strategies - Market Mix
A. Image
- First, what kind of image do we want to have (such as cheap but good, orexclusiveness, or customer-oriented, or highest quality, or convenience, orspeed, or ...)? _________________________________________________
B. Features
- List the features we will emphasize:
a. ________________________________________________________
b. ________________________________________________________
c. ________________________________________________________
C. Pricing
1. We will be using the following pricing strategy:
a. Markup on Cost ____What % Markup_____
b. Suggested Price____
c. Competitive____
d. Below Competition ____
e. Premium Price ___
f. Other ___
2. Are our prices in line with our image?
_____Yes _____No
3. Do our prices cover costs and leave a margin of profit?
_____Yes _____No
D. Customer Services
1. List the customer services we provide:
a. ________________________________________________________
b. ________________________________________________________
c. ________________________________________________________
2. These are our sales/credit terms:
a. ________________________________________________________
b. ________________________________________________________
c. ________________________________________________________
3. The competition offers the following services:
a. ________________________________________________________
b. ________________________________________________________
c. ________________________________________________________
E. Advertising/Promotion
1. These are the things we wish to say about the business:
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
2. We will use the following advertising/promotion sources:
_____Television _____Radio
_____Direct mail _____Personal contacts
_____Trade associations _____Newspaper
_____Magazines _____Yellow Pages
_____Billboard _____Other ____________
3. The following are the reasons why we consider the media we have chosen
to be the most effective:
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
Resource
Small Business Administration (SBA).