PrintWithout effective marketing, a small business won't thrive -- or even survive. One way to make sure your marketing gets results is to create a marketing plan for your business. Similar to the way a business plan explains how your business will start, run, and grow, a marketing plan explains the overall marketing strategy for your business.
Your marketing plan should include:
- A description of your products and/or services
- The demographics of your target market
- How you will sell your products and/or services
- How you will price your products and/or services
- Your marketing budget
- Your geographic market
- Your competition and your competitive edge
- An overview of the marketing tools available (media outlets, PR possibilities, community activities, conferences, potential speaking engagements, and so on).
Some of this information you will most likely have on hand from market research that you did in completing your business plan. The ultimate objective of your marketing plan is to define the target customers that you are trying to reach, what you are selling to those customers, what marketing methods you will use reach this audience, and how much it will cost to do so.
Your marketing plan spells out how you will communicate your marketing method to your target audience by using different forms of media, product samples, sponsorships, and any other marketing methods that are appropriate for your business. For example, if your plan is to increase the sale of your brand of healthy popcorn to a teen market, you might show how you will distribute samples at school activities, sponsor a series of events for teens, and propose articles on the health benefits of your popcorn to teen-oriented magazines and websites. As a small business, you can make a big impact by seeking out media that appeal to your niche market.
Most businesses create a marketing plan for a 12-month period. This enables you to plan ahead for seasonal fluctuations in sales. It's important to plan for some level of marketing at all times. During slower seasons, you may do minimal marketing just to keep your brand in front of your audience; during busier seasons, you will need a more aggressive approach. Define this strategy in your marketing plan.
Tracking the results of your marketing will show you which parts of your marketing plan are bringing in a return on investment, and which need to be reassessed. Keep in mind that marketing is a long-term effort and slow and steady typically wins the race - or in this case, the customers.