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A marketing plan is a tool enabling your business to get as much value as
possible for any money you spend on marketing.
Many businesses choose to approach the market randomly. Unfortunately, this
attitude often results in waste of resources. A marketing plan can help
structure the actions.
Before you start your Marketing Plan
If you are approaching a new target group it is wise to double-check if you have
selected the ideal target group.
- Estimate the size of the target group – how big quantities will you be
able to sell?
- Is there a demand for your product/service within the target group?
- Will you be able to meet the requirements of the target group? (quality,
service, price level, etc.)
- Assess the competition – is the market characterised by tough
competition?
- What are the future prospects of the target group?
If you estimate a sound correlation between your marketing costs and your
earnings potential (commercial viability) you can go ahead with the planning.
Get ready for a Marketing Plan
It is important to have the necessary materials ready before initiating your
marketing. There is no point in starting before you have sorted out business
cards, stationery, brochures, and a website, etc.
Some activities may suit your product/service and target group better than
others. Always remember to relate expenses to earnings potential. Do not use
expensive TV commercials to sell cheap pencils which are only sold in 50 shops.
Working out a Marketing Plan
A marketing plan is a tool that helps – and forces you to think in a structured
way how you will market and sell your products and services. When you write down
your plans they tend to be more real and fit for use.
A marketing plan could be structured like this:
1. Action plan for sales- and marketing activities
Write how you will manage the marketing in your business month by month. You
might have an underlying description of the activities on another sheet of paper.
When all the months are filled in you will have a good view of how you promote
your business.
2. Calendar that shows what and when the activities will take place
´Focuses on what you want to do and when you will do it. It always helps to put
dates on the activities if you want to get it done. When filled out you can
overview if you have the resources to execute your plans. If your marketing plan
is not too complex you might do action plan and leave out the calendar.
Download Marketing Plan template
You can download a free marketing plan template from this web site. It is not
rocket science to develop a marketing plan, it is common sense. Use the template
as guideline to develop your marketing plan.
- Free download of a template for a Marketing Plan
Notes
Marketing and activity planning is not something to be carried out only once.
Your marketing plan must undergo regular updates and adjustments. It is also
necessary to run regular evaluations of the impact of your activities. What is
the feedback on your advertisement? Is the number of inquiries commensurate with
the marketing effort?
In connection with the planning you should also consider which activities to
handle by yourself and which you need professional assistance for. Also, it is
important to not launch more activities than you will be able to follow up on.
- Go to next
business issue: Business Card and Logo
- Free download of a template for a Marketing Plan
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| Susan Bond, UK |
09-03-2013 |
Thanks a lot for this fine text. I am looking forward to find out if the markering templates is just as good.
| renad, azerbaijan |
10-11-2010 |
marketolog
| tshepo, south africa |
06-07-2010 |
goood
| Ramanath Babu, India |
03-03-2010 |
Just downloaded marketing plan
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