Marketing Plan

Marketing Planning and Marketing Analysis

The following is a list of most frequently considered issues by marketing and sales managers. Developing marketing plan is a process of creating a roadmap for building success in the marketplace. It’s about exploring the market trends and opportunities and outperforming competitors while building long-term competitive advantage.

Market Segmentation & Target Market

Market segmentation is a process of identifying and analyzing market segments. Market segmentation can be done based on various factors and the marketplace can be divided into large number of segments. However the segmentation process should be developed based on what drives the market, customers, and profitability. Ideally, the target market should be attractive for the business, has good growth potential, substantial size where the business can create profit, and each market segment should be measurable so marketing and sales managers would be able to develop successful strategy. 

Examples of Market Segmentation Dimensions:

- Segmentation based on Ownership (ex: Private, Government)

- Segmentation based on Industry

- Segmentation based on Product/Service Distribution (ex: Business to business, business to consumers, Retail, Wholesale)

- Segmentation based on Location (ex: Region, City, Country, Zip Code)

- Segmentation based on Demographics (ex: Age, Sex, Income, Education)

- Segmentation based on Urgency (ex: Delivery Time, Availability)

Marketing and sales managers should analyze each potential target market and define its potential for success and risks associated with the given target market/segment. Issues to be considered: how large is the segment, key suppliers, technological trends, potential legal issues, current market trends and future market forecasts, market growth potential, customers… 

Competition

Identifying Major Competitors: Who are the major competitors in this market? How different they are in delivering customer value? Do they serve/share the same customers? What is their pricing strategy? Create a positioning map where you can locate each competitor on the price/quality matrix. How profitable is each of your competitors? Compare their business models? Why some of these competitors are profitable and successful?

Value Proposition / Unique Selling Proposition (USP)

After identifying attractive target market and understanding the competitive forces in the marketplace, next is developing a successful market approach. It is very important for the business to offer something different and position itself differently in the eyes of the customers. The value proposition or the unique selling proposition has a big impact on the business success. The Value proposition describes the way your business is different and offers different solutions compared to competitors. The value proposition is about unique solutions created by different and competitive product and service features and offering and creating a unique image/brand in the market.

Distribution - Delivering competitive products/services

What are the most effective channels to deliver our offering to our target customers? Retail locations, distribution channels, dealerships, online channels, internal sales force…

Promotion & Advertising         

What is the most effective promotional mix for communication with our target market? The promotional mix is made of public relations strategy, advertising strategy, and promotional strategy. The main goal is to communicate effectively with the target market audience, send clear message about the value proposition, develop competitive brand and image in the marketplace, and position for long-term success.

Promotional mix example:

- Advertising: print media, TV, radio, internet ads, search engine optimization, website marketing, advertising in customer specific associations…

- Public Relations: press releases, crisis management, news media, events…

- Sales Promotion: special offerings, discounts, customer loyalty programs…

- Community Involvement: events, sponsorship…

Pricing Strategy          

What is your pricing approach? Ideally the pricing strategy should be driven by the market forces, competitors, and customer perception of your value proposition. Traditionally the cost of doing business has been the major factor influencing the pricing decisions – the markup on cost of goods sold. However, the pricing decisions should be in line with the value proposition and the positioning strategy of your business. Creating a positioning map with your competitors for your target market segment can help you make good pricing decisions.

SWOT Analysis 

Internal issues - What are our strengths and weaknesses? Issues to consider: sales volume, margins, positioning, offering…

External issues - What are the opportunities and threats we face in this market? Issues to consider: market trends, competition, technology trends…

Positioning      

How we are going to position our company and offering in the mind of our target customers? Issues to consider: branding, promotion, pricing, customer relationships, community involvement… 

Marketing Objectives