Marketing Plan

CHAPTERMARKETING PLAN

Introduction

Marketing is a key part of business success. Each entrepreneur needs to decide whichcustomers to target. He needs to work out how he will reach and win new customers.He needs to make sure that he keeps existing customers happy. And he needs tokeep reviewing and improving everything he does to stay ahead of the competition. The marketing plan should be the reference document to be used as a basis toexecute the marketing strategy. It sets out clear objectives and explains how he willachieve them. Perhaps most importantly it looks at how he can ensure that themarketing plan becomes reality.Remember that marketing in itself will not guarantee sales, but by adopting a well-researched and coherent plan, he will have a much better chance of building long-term, profitable relationships.All organizations perform two basic functions. They produce goods or services orideas and market them. Through the production and marketing, organizations satisfya commitment to society, customers as well as owners. They create want-satisfyingpower of goods and services. Thus, the role of marketing can be considered as one of the most critical part of any business organization because that is where the moneycomes from. The inability of the businesses to market their products will lead tofailure and probably incur losses. The marketing plan helps to identify those things the business does during theplanning period that will help the business to generate the required demand for itsproducts and services. Furthermore, the marketing plan frequently deals with issuesfarther out on the planning horizon than some of other departments. Thus, one of thechallenges faced by today’s business entities is to produce products or services thatare able to fulfill customer satisfaction and monetary return to the business entitiesin the form of profits. This guide outlines the key areas to look at and what to include in an effectivemarketing plan.

Definition of marketing

Marketing is basically a complex process. Marketing experts have yet to agree uponwhat marketing is and what it consists of. According to the American MarketingAssociation,

marketing

is the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion and distribution of ideas, goods and services to create exchanges that satisfy individual and organization objectives.

Looking at the definition, first, marketing is viewed as a process of planning andexecuting which clearly suggests that marketing is a managerial process. Second, themanagerial process involves conception (that is thinking of or deciding what idea,good or service to market) including the pricing process, promotion and distributionof ideas, goods and services. Third, the managerial process is directed at creatingexchanges that will satisfy individual and organizational objectives. In order for theexchanges to happen, there are five conditions to be met:

•

There must be two or more parties

•

Each party must have something that could be of value to the other.

•

Each party must be capable of communication and delivery

•

Each party must be free to accept or reject the offer

•

Each party believes it is appropriate or desirable to deal with the other party

Target market

In general, a total market is too big and may consists of buyers who are tooheterogenous to be a viable target for an organization’s marketing efforts. Thus, abusiness firm will select a target market which refers to a group of customers orbuyers with similar traits that the organization wants to attract through their productsoffering. The group of buyers identified by the firm are chosen based upon the understandingthat their needs and wants can be fulfilled accordingly and within the capabilities of the firm.

The importance of target market

We must understand that most businesses have limited sources of energy, moneyand time. At the same time the products being offered are not capable of meetingthe needs and wants of every group of customers. Moreover, any marketing effortsthat are not focus and tries to meet the needs and wants that are too wide will leadto confusion among potential customers as to what are the actual marketingactivities of the business concerned.It is only by identifying the target market, the businesses can offer their products toactual potential customers in the market to generate sales. At the same time,businesses can avoid or even reduce wastage of resources. Even if businesses nowhave their own target customers, it does not mean that other group of customers arebeing neglected. Whatever sales made through these groups becomes an additionalincome to the firms. The actual income will be computed based upon sales made tothe target market.

Steps in identifying the target market

There are several steps to be taken in the process of identifying the target market:1.identify the products that can be offered2.focusing the marketing efforts3.choosing the target market from market segmentation

External and internal analysis for your marketing plan

Understanding the environment the business operates in is a key part of planningand will allow to discern the

threats

and

opportunities

associated with the area of business. A

PEST

analysis helps to identify the main opportunities and threats in themarket:

•

P

olitical and legal changes such as new regulations

•

E

conomic factors such as interest rates, exchange rates and consumerconfidence

•

S

ocial factors such as changing attitudes and lifestyles, and the ageingpopulation

•

T

echnological factors such as new materials and growing use of the Internet

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