A successful marketing plan for your business will have all the elements of a marketing plan laid out in front of you. But what are they? Plans can vary greatly in the outline and format. However, the majority of them will contain the following basics.
What is your current position in the marketplace? This includes bolder trends as well as the competition, product, and customers.
What results have you produced so far? Look at customer perception and attitude, satisfaction, market share, sales, and future profits. Customer behavior is also great to look at when deciding where to focus your marketing efforts in the future. Do not forget to include the frequency of customer purchases, their retention, and the actual size of their purchases. Identify how your product meets your customers desires, these are very important considerations to be making in your marketing.
What is your strategy statement? This is how you will grow you bottom line through more sales and profits. Some marketers feel this should be the main focus of your plan. Keep the statement you use for your main strategy to just a few sentences. You want everyone to understand it at quick glance and be able to remember it.
What are the details of your program? Group all of your company's activities by area and type. This section will explain how these activities work in your company and fit in your current situation.
What are the numbers? These details will help explain your specific opportunities and activities in your marketing. This will include, but not limited to, market share, sales projections, returns from special offers, responsibilities by territory and many others.
Experimentation with your marketing. Test the waters on a small scale if your entering a new market or have a new product. Do not make too many major commitments until you see some positive results. This is a must before moving on to a higher playing field. Figure out what you do not know in your market and learn from it.
You may feel that you've invested a lot of time in your plan, once you've had the time to write everything down and give it thought. Your plan is just a starting point and not written in stone. You'll discover as thing change in your business, your plan will also have to change and adapt. Some thing will work out, and some things will not. Keep revising your plan and adjusting as thing move forward and change. This will help you learn from your experiences and keep you as a flexible, intelligent market who can ride with the tide.
