BUSINESS ENTREPRENEURSHIP

(CUN704)
Module 5
Marketing Strategy
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OVERVIEW
Module Five discusses how to reach your
previously identified target market through
a variety of factors that make up your
marketing mix and overall marketing
strategy, taking into consideration
competitive advantage and analysis.

As noted by the Small Business Administration:

"Before launching your business, it is essential
for you to research your business industry,
market and competitors.“

Source: https://www.sba.gov/writing-business-plan
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MARKETING OVERVIEW
While you will learn about (or have learned about already) marketing in the
marketing course, it is important to review it again as you will be developing
marketing strategies for your business plan template in this module.

According to the Small Business Administration:

“Marketing is the process of creating customers, and customers are the

lifeblood of your business. In this section, the first thing you want to do is define
your marketing strategy. There is no single way to approach a marketing
strategy; your strategy should be part of an ongoing business-evaluation
process and unique to your company. However, there are common steps you can
follow which will help you think through the direction and tactics you would like
to use to drive sales and sustain customer loyalty.”

Source: https://www.sba.gov/writing-business-plan
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MARKETING OVERVIEW (CONT.)
An overall marketing strategy should include four different strategies:

“A market penetration strategy.

A growth strategy. This strategy for building your business might include: an
internal strategy such as how to increase your human resources, an acquisition
strategy such as buying another business, a franchise strategy for branching
out, a horizontal strategy where you would provide the same type of products to
different users, or a vertical strategy where you would continue providing the
same products but would offer them at different levels of the distribution chain.”

Source: https://www.sba.gov/writing-business-plan
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MARKETING OVERVIEW (CONT.)
An overall marketing strategy should include four different strategies:

“Channels of distribution strategy. Choices for distribution channels could

include original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), an internal sales force,
distributors, or retailers.

Communication strategy. How are you going to reach your customers?

Usually a combination of the following tactics works the best: promotions,
advertising, public relations, personal selling, and printed materials such as
brochures, catalogs, flyers, etc.”

Source: https://www.sba.gov/writing-business-plan
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MARKETING OVERVIEW (CONT.)
Every entrepreneur must be well-versed in marketing principles as the
development of marketing strategies is critical to the success of a new business
venture.

“The marketing concept of building an organization around the profitable

satisfaction of customer needs has helped firms to achieve success in high-
growth, moderately competitive markets. However, to be successful in markets
in which economic growth has leveled and in which there exist many
competitors who follow the marketing concept, a well-developed marketing
strategy is required. Such a strategy considers a portfolio of products and takes
into account the anticipated moves of competitors in the market.”

Source: http://www.quickmba.com/MarketingStrat.shtml
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THE 7 PS OF MARKETING
To continue a review of marketing principles, it is helpful to understand not just
the usual 4 Ps of marketing but to expand upon that concept and include other
important concepts. Over the new few slides you will be introduced to the 7 Ps
of marketing:
“These seven are: product, price, promotion, place, packaging, positioning and
people. As products, markets, customers and needs change rapidly, you must
continually revisit these seven Ps to make sure you're on track and achieving the
maximum results possible for you in today's marketplace.”

Source: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/70824
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THE 7 PS OF MARKETING
#1. Product

Now you have to think of your product from the perspective of how you will
market it. The product (or service) you offer must be aligned with the needs and
interests of your customers.

“Compared to your competitors, is your product or service superior in some

significant way to anything else available? If so, what is it? If not, could you
develop an area of superiority? Should you be offering this product or service at
all in the current marketplace?”

Source: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/70824
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THE 7 PS OF MARKETING

#2. Price

Now the entrepreneur needs to consider not just the price of product or service,
but the price that the target market consumer or customer is willing to pay. The
pricing strategy could be aimed at a niche market and a higher price, or a
broader market with a lower price.

“Many companies have found that the profitability of certain products or services
doesn't justify the amount of effort and resources that go into producing them.
By raising their prices, they may lose a percentage of their customers, but the
remaining percentage generates a profit on every sale. Could this be appropriate
for you?”

Source: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/70824
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THE 7 PS OF MARKETING
“How you price your product is important because it will have a direct effect on
the success of your business. Though pricing strategy and computations can be
complex, the basic rules of pricing are straightforward:

• All prices must cover costs.

• The best and most effective way of lowering your sales prices is to lower
costs.
• Your prices must reflect the dynamics of cost, demand, changes in the market
and response to your competition.
• Prices must be established to assure sales. Don't price against a competitive
operation alone. Rather, price to sell.
• Product utility, longevity, maintenance and end use must be judged
continually, and target prices adjusted accordingly.
• Prices must be set to preserve order in the marketplace.”

Source: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/383
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THE 7 PS OF MARKETING
#3. Promotion

The next step is to consider how to reach the target market and that is done
through promotion. Promoting a product includes marketing, advertising, and
promotion through avenues such as social media.

“Large and small companies in every industry continually experiment with

different ways of advertising, promoting, and selling their products and services.
And here is the rule: Whatever method of marketing and sales you're using
today will, sooner or later, stop working.”

Source: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/70824
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THE 7 PS OF MARKETING
Developing a Promotion Plan

What follows are suggestions that an entrepreneur can follow to develop a plan
to promote the products or services offered.

· “Advertising. Includes the advertising budget, creative message(s), and at

least the first quarter's media schedule.
· Packaging. Provides a description of the packaging strategy. If available,
mockups of any labels, trademarks or service marks should be included.
· Public relations. A complete account of the publicity strategy including a list of
media that will be approached as well as a schedule of planned events.”

Source: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/38308
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THE 7 PS OF MARKETING

Developing a Promotion Plan

· “Sales promotions. Establishes the strategies used to support the sales

message. This includes a description of collateral marketing material as well as a
schedule of planned promotional activities such as special sales, coupons,
contests and premium awards.
· Personal sales. An outline of the sales strategy including pricing procedures,
returns and adjustment rules, sales presentation methods, lead generation,
customer service policies, salesperson compensation, and salesperson market
responsibilities.”

Source: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/38308
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THE 7 PS OF MARKETING

#4. Place

The word “Place” is used to indicate where the product or service will be offered
or sold. Some entrepreneurs may choose to invest in a physical location and
others may develop an e-commerce based business, mail order, or through
telemarketing.

“In each case, the entrepreneur must make the right choice about the very best
location or place for the customer to receive essential buying information on the
product or service needed to make a buying decision.”

Source: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/70824
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THE 7 PS OF MARKETING
#5. Packaging

Another consideration is how the product will be packaged. It must appeal to the
target market and if there are many competitors in the marketplace it must
stand out in a way that potential customers will choose it over existing options.
Even a service can be packaged. It is offered in some form, whether online or
described in print.

“Remember, people form their first impression about you within the first 30
seconds of seeing you or some element of your company. Small improvements
in the packaging or external appearance of your product or service can often
lead to completely different reactions from your customers.”
Source: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/70824
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THE 7 PS OF MARKETING

#6. Positioning

Position refers to how a product is positioned in the mind of the target market
customers. Products that have been in existence for a long time and are
considered to be best sellers are going to have a prominent position. A new
product or service is going to have to establish itself in a manner that customers
will respond in a favorable way as there is no prior buying history with that
product or service.

“Develop the habit of thinking about how you could improve your positioning.
Begin by determining the position you'd like to have. If you could create the
ideal impression in the hearts and minds of your customers, what would it be?”
Source: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/70824
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POSITIONING YOUR BUSINESS
Next let’s look further at position and development of a positioning strategy as
this is an important consideration for an entrepreneur.

“A company's positioning strategy is affected by a number of variables that are

closely tied to the motivations and requirements of target customers within as
well as the actions of primary competitors.”

Source: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/38308
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POSITIONING YOUR BUSINESS
“Before a product can be positioned, you need to answer several strategic
questions such as:
How are your competitors positioning themselves?
What specific attributes does your product have that your competitors' don't?
What customer needs does your product fulfill?

Once you've answered your strategic questions based on research of the market,
you can then begin to develop your positioning strategy and illustrate that in
your business plan. A positioning statement for a business plan doesn't have to
be long or elaborate. It should merely point out exactly how you want your
product perceived by both customers and the competition.”

Source: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/38308
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THE 7 PS OF MARKETING
#7. People

This final aspect is not about the potential customers, rather it is focused on
the people within the business who will perform all of the needed activities,
including marketing, advertising, and sales.

“To be successful in business, you must develop the habit of thinking in terms
of exactly who is going to carry out each task and responsibility. In many
cases, it's not possible to move forward until you can attract and put the right
person into the right position. Many of the best business plans ever developed
sit on shelves today because the [people who created them] could not find the
key people who could execute those plans.”

Source: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/70824
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SALES STRATEGY
The development of a marketing strategy then allows an entrepreneur to
develop a sales strategy. This will provide a brief overview of what a sales
strategy involves.

“After you have developed a comprehensive marketing strategy, you can then
define your sales strategy. This covers how you plan to actually sell your
product.”

Source: https://www.sba.gov/writing-business-plan
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SALES STRATEGY
“Your overall sales strategy should include two primary elements:
A sales force strategy. If you are going to have a sales force, do you plan to
use internal or independent representatives? How many salespeople will you
recruit for your sales force? What type of recruitment strategies will you use?
How will you train your sales force? What about compensation for your sales
force?
Your sales activities. When you are defining your sales strategy, it is
important that you break it down into activities. For instance, you need to
identify your prospects. Once you have made a list of your prospects, you need
to prioritize the contacts, selecting the leads with the highest potential to buy
first. Next, identify the number of sales calls you will make over a certain period
of time. From there, you need to determine the average number of sales calls
you will need to make per sale, the average dollar size per sale, and the
average dollar size per vendor.”

Source: https://www.sba.gov/writing-business-plan
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SUMMARY
This module discussed how to reach your
previously identified target market through
a variety of factors that make up your
marketing mix and overall marketing
strategy, taking into consideration
competitive advantage and analysis.
The components of a marketing strategy
were presented, along with the 7 Ps of
marketing and the elements that make up a
sales strategy. A marketing strategy is essential for the launch of a new
business that is offering products or services the targeted market has never
seen before.
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RESOURCES
Elements of a Business Plan
https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/38308
Marketing Strategy
http://www.quickmba.com/MarketingStrat.shtml
The 7 Ps of Marketing
https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/70824
Writing a Business Plan
https://www.sba.gov/writing-business-plan
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You have completed Module 5.
Once you close out of this Module you will see your assignment for
Module 5.

Module 5 Assignment:
• Conduct research on existing companies and identify one business
whose marketing strategy appears to be successful to you.
WHAT IS • Explain in 2-3 paragraphs what makes the marketing strategy
appealing, identifying who the target market is for that business, what
message it portrays, what need is being met, and what methods are
NEXT? included in their marketing mix, as well as how effective they were.
Consider what you might have done differently if there were any
identified weaknesses in their marketing strategy.
• This will be included in the Marketing and Sales section of your
Business Plan Template.
• Submit your template as a Word document and upload it for the
Module 5 Assignment.
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Module 5 Quiz:

WHAT IS After you complete the assignment for Module 5, close out of the
assignment section and you will see the Module 5 Quiz. After you
complete your quiz, please review it thoroughly and press SUBMIT.
NEXT? If you do not press SAVE, you may lose everything. You must complete
the Module 5 quiz before you can move on to Module 6.
 Next is Module 6:
WHAT IS • Pricing and Economics of One Unit of Sale

NEXT? You’ll begin by reviewing the presentation for Module 6.