Your marketing plan should include both market and customer analysis.
A company's marketing plan usually starts with an overall objective. For example, a company may want to increase sales and profits by five percent in the current year. Another objective may be to add five new products to the company's product line. Once objectives are set, the marketing plan should outline ways in which the company plans to meet those objectives. There are several key elements to most basic marketing plans.
Market Analysis
Market analysis should be part of every company's marketing plan. Plan to study key competitors in your industry. Determine what share of the market each competitor holds. Market share pertains to the percent of unit and dollar sales that each competitor earns from total sales in the industry. Compare each company's market share with your own market share. Decide what marketing strategies you will implement to increase your market share, such as adding more sales reps. Study market conditions that may affect your business. For example, the tobacco industry often faces tax increases. Government intervention or regulation is another factor that can affect your business. You can obtain market and competitive information from secondary research companies such as Nielsen and Forrester Research.
Customer Analysis
Your basic marketing plan outline should also cover customer analysis. Write down which customers you currently target. For example, if you sell high-end women's clothing, you may target 35- to 54-year-old women with annual incomes over $75,000. Write down other customers you may consider targeting. For example, you may want to sell dresses in the mid-price range to younger professional women. Plan to do some primary marketing research in the coming year. It is important to garner feedback from customers as to their wants and needs. Primary marketing research includes phone or Internet surveys, which can also help you measure customer satisfaction.
Promotional Strategy
Include the advertising and in-store sales promotions you plan to run in your promotional strategy. Your promotional strategy should also cover the advertising media you will use, according to QuickMBA, an online marketing reference site. Advertising media can include magazines, direct mail, radio, TV or Internet search engines. Social media sites such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter are also growing in importance. Determine the percentage of dollars you will allot to certain media. For example, you may decide to invest 50 percent of your promotional dollars in direct mail, 10 percent in display ads, 10 percent in radio advertising, and the rest in social media.
Distribution
Distribution should also be part of your basic marketing plan outline. Distribution pertains to all the places where your product will be available. Consumer products companies sell their wares at major grocery and mass merchandising chains. Decide how you will distribute your products in the coming year. For example, your small wholesale company may currently sell only to retailers. However, you may also decide to also offer products to individuals on the Internet. Determine how much more you will spend to reach those additional customers online.
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