Contributed by: Arya KumarChief ED & IPR UNIT

BITS, Pilani

A marketing plan outlines the specific actions you intend to carry out to interest potential customers and clients in your product and/or service and persuade them to buy the product and/or services you offer.

For successful business marketing, you need to develop a proper business marketing plan, and then gauge its performance for your business growth. There are many things that your business marketing plan needs to address and these points may include some of the following:

• -What are your business marketing goals ?

• -What is your target audience ?

• -Deciding business marketing system

SWOT AnalysisA basic marketing plan begins with SWOT

analysis about your company and the SWOT should be :

A summary of the key elements in your business Brief, concise and interesting, without being too

abbreviated Focused on the real issues facing your company Action-oriented, so that positive proposals can be

envisaged

Strengths- You can bank upon these.

Weaknesses- Definitely need to be corrected

Opportunities- Help you in setting the target where you want to reach.

Threats- Make necessary contingency plan to combat threats which would automatically become a part of the marketing plan.

Scope of Marketing ResearchIdentifying Target MarketIdentifying Market CharacteristicsMeasurement of Marketing PotentialCompetitors AnalysisSales AnalysisIdentify and forecast Business TrendsSales ForecastingNew Product/Service Acceptance and PotentialLong Range Forecasting of Marketing Mix VariablesPricing Strategies and Studies

Market ResearchHow to collect certain information about your

customers, market and competitors. This information tells you about your potential market, prices, trends, competition, target customer, its preferences, income, habits, accessibility, convenient time and plans. This information should be accurate, and reliable to help you make the right business decision.

Market Research Step One : Defining the Purpose or

Objectives Ask people what they think of the product or service

and collect some background demographics & attitudes of these individuals.

How much potential customers would be willing to pay for the product or service.

Where potential customers would prefer to purchase the product or service.

Where the customer would expect to hear about or learn about such a product or service.

Market ResearchStep Two: Gathering Data from Secondary

SourcesData that already exists i.e information from

Trade magazines Libraries Government Agencies Universities Internet

The entrepreneur should exhaust all possible secondary data sources, observation, and networking before beginning any more costly primary data research.

Market ResearchStep Three: Gathering Information from

Primary SourcesInformation that is new is Primary data and

involves data collection procedures like Observation Networking Interviewing Focus Groups Experimentation

Data collection is done with the help of Data Instruments like Questionnaire.

FOCUS Groups: They are more informal method of gathering in-depth information. A focus group is a sample of 10-12 potential customers who are invited to participate in a discussion relating to the Entrepreneurs’ research objectives.

Step Four: Analyzing & Interpreting the results

The results should be evaluated and interpreted in response to the research objectives. The data can then be cross tabulated to give better insights and interpretations regarding the segmentation of the market.

CULTURALBELIEFS & VALUES, LIFE STYLES

SOCIOLOGICALSOCIAL CLASS,STRUCTUREFAMILY/GROUP INFLUENCE,LIFECYCLE, OPINION LEADERSHIP

ECONOMICPRICE, DELIVERY,PAYMENT TERMS,SALES SERVICE

INDIVIDUAL PSYCHOL-OGICALFACTORSCOGNITION, LEARNING PROCESSES,INTERPERSONAL RESPONSE, ATTITUDESMOTIVATION, PERSONALITY THEORIES

BUYING PROPOSITION PRODUCT OR SERVICE

Understanding Consumer CharacteristicsCHARACTERISTICS Innovators

2-3%

Early Adopters

12-15%

Early Majority

33%

Late Majority

34%

Laggards

12-15%

PERSONAL

Social,

Income, Occupation,

Education,

Housing,

Family Influence,

Time orientation

PSYCHOLOGICAL

Nature of needs, Perceptions,

Self-concept, Aspiration Groups, Reference Groups

Changing PrioritiesStage Priorities Major Purchases

Fledging : Teens & early 20s Self,Socialising, Education Appearance Products, Clothing, Automobiles, Recreation, Hobbies, Travel

Courting :20s Self & Other, Pair bonding,Career

Furniture & Furnishing, Entertainment, Savings

Nest Building:20s &early 30s Babies & Career Home, Garden,,Baby Care products, insurnce

Full Nest 30-50s Children, Career, Midlife crisis

Children Food, clothing, education, transportation, life counseling

Empty Nest 50-70 Self & others, relaxation Furniture, Entertainment, Travel, Hobbies, Luxury Automobiles, Investments

Sole survivor 70-90 Self, health,loneliness Health care , Diet, Security, Comfort, TV, Books, Long distance telephone services

OCCUPANTS WHOSERVICES WHATOCCASION WHEN

ORGANISATION WHO IS INVOLVEDOBJECTIVES WHYOPERATIO HOW

Marketing Strategy to be Based on WHO MAKES THE BUYING DECISIONSDECIDERINFLUENCERBUYERUSERGATE KEEPER

Characteristics of a Marketing PlanShould provide a strategy for

accomplishing company goals and missionsShould be based on facts and valid

assumptionsShould provide for continuity so that future

plans can be built on it for long-term goalsShould be simple and shortShould be flexible i.e. should provide scope

for inclusion of “what if” scenariosShould specify performance criteria that

will be monitored and controlled

Marketing Plan- The Algorithm Defining the Business Situation –

Describe the past and present business achievements of the new venture.

Defining the Target market – Market Segmentation- Dividing a market

into definable and measurable groups for the purpose of targeting market strategy.

Market Segmentation- The process of segmenting & targeting the market should process in the following way

Decide what general market or industry you wish to pursue

Divide the market into smaller groups based on

Characteristics of the customer Geographic Demographic Psychographic

Buying situation Desired benefits (e.g. Product features) Usage (e.g. frequency of usage) Buying conditions (e.g. time available & product

purpose) Awareness of buying intention (e.g. familiarity of

product & willingness to buy)

Select segment or segments to Target Develop a marketing plan integrating

product, price, distribution & promotion (together called THE MARKETING MIX)

Marketing Plan- The Algorithm Contd….Considering the Strengths and

Weaknesses – The SWOT analysis which was discussed earlier.

Establishing Goals & Objectives – Asking oneself “Where do we want to go?” in terms of Market share, profits, sales, market penetration, new products launching etc. All such goals n objectives should be quantifiable and could be measured for control purposes.

Marketing Plan- The Algorithm Contd…. Defining Marketing Strategy – Outline

all the activities needed to meet the venture’s business plan goals & objectives.

The 5-P’s In the marketing plan, you should endeavor

to follow best practice to maximize your competitive advantage in each of the following key areas:

Product – packaging, the brand name, warranty, image, service, delivery time,

features, style etc.

Price – Pricing of a product or service has to be done very carefully considering numerous things like quality, prospective demand, margins, competitor’s prices, discounts, market segmentation etc..

Promotion – The promotion plan itself a mini-marketing plan. Advertising is an effective as well as an expensive way & has to be taken care of. The procedure to be followed includes :

• Set specific campaign objectives (building sales, market share)• Decide your strategy (budget, media choice, geographical

profile)• Target the Audience (market segment, demographic profile)

• Decide the advertising content (specific product/service benefits to highlight)

• Decide the execution and style

Place (Distribution Plan)- The distribution plan must match the other elements of the Marketing MIX to maintain the differentiation and focus of the Company. If your product is of highest quality, with price & promotion to match, it must be available in the major quality stores. The choice of distribution channel, therefore can make an important contribution to both your company differentiation & to reaching your target group of customers.

People – The final ingredient in the marketing plan jigsaw must be quality salespeople who can consistently maintain your marketing differentiation.

A well remunerated & motivated staff will act as enthusiastic sales promoters and act as eyes and ears of the company in the competitive market place.

Marketing Plan- The Algorithm Contd….Coordination of the planning process

Designating responsibility for implementation

Budgeting the Marketing Strategy

Implementation of the Market Plan

Monitoring Progress of Market Actions

Why some Plans fail ?Lack of a real plan (particularly regarding goals

& objectives)Inadequate situational analysis – There is no

point in deciding where you want to go if you do not know “where you are?” and “where you have been?”

Lack of Goal Clarity and Unrealistic Goals – This generally happens due to lack of understanding of the situation.

Unexpected competitive moves, product deficiencies, Delay in Getting Finance, and acts of God.