How Can a Marketing Plan Help Your Business?

No matter what your business is – marketing is usually a vital part of gaining, satisfying, and keeping customers. Despite this, however, a large number of small businesses still have no marketing plans or targets.

A standard business plan is not the same as a marketing plan, although they overlap in some areas. A marketing plan looks at the strengths and weaknesses of your business, the market(s) you are in, and your competitors, whereas a businesses plan usually looks only at your business in any significant detail.

The following article is a look at the key areas of a good marketing plan, as well as some ideas on how to put one together:

(i) Being Prepared
A marketing plan helps to keep your business prepared for unexpected events or promotions by your competition. A well written plan allows you to spot possible threats to your business, and prepare for ways to minimise or capitalise on them.
If you are starting a new business, a marketing plan will help you stay within budget, whilst maximising the effectiveness of your marketing.


(ii) Planning + Finance
A well written marketing plan demonstrates that your business is planned fully and effectively, as well as helping to show that you understand the market you are/will be operating in.
Although a marketing plan is more of an internal guide, it can also be used as evidence of good planning in the business when trying to obtain finance. It is very difficult for even the most profitable business to gain finance without a solid business plan to show that the business is prepared; a marketing plan provides even further proof that the business is thoroughly planned.


(iii) Objectives and Focus
A marketing plan should set objectives for the marketing and promotion of your business. (e.g. Our mail shot should reach at least 40% of our target market in 6 months.) This can significantly help focus your business on achieving the goals you believe are most important to marketing and business success.

Part of your objective setting should look at the possible costs of any objectives, as well as the time and effort needed for it to succeed.

By helping you to set objectives that are sensible and relevant, a marketing plan helps you to create accurate and realistic targets.

To know more contact our consultants via e-mail freebizadvise@yahoo.com

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The marketing mix is probably the most famous marketing term. Its elements are the basic, tactical components of a marketing plan. Also known as the Four P's, the marketing mix elements are price, place, product, and promotion. Read on for more details on the marketing mix.

The concept is simple. Think about another common mix - a cake mix. All cakes contain eggs, milk, flour, and sugar. However, you can alter the final cake by altering the amounts of mix elements contained in it. So for a sweet cake add more sugar!

Product refers to the actual, physical item that a company is trying to sell to the consumer. Marketers usually do not focus on product development as much as product presentation. Therefore, the marketing mix in this stage should consist of the name of the product, its packaging and how it will be differentiated from similar products in the store.

Price is how much the company will charge consumers for the product. Typically, a lot of thought goes into pricing because setting a price too high can result in few sales. There are also dangers in setting a price too low, since such a price may make potential customers think the product lacks quality. Marketers use this knowledge to help determine price so that profit is made from the product. The marketing mix may also include special pricing incentives, like coupons.

Promotion is how the company spreads the word about a product. It involves working with stores to distribute samples, holding public relations events, and buying advertising — in the print media, the broadcast media or both. The role promotion plays in the marketing mix depends on how much the company wants to publicize the product and how much money it has set aside to do so. Today, the Internet is also a market for product promotion, and online campaigns can be fairly inexpensive yet effective.

Placement is the art of putting the product in the right place at the right time. Proper placement is important, so that the consumer will see the product and want to have it. This is part of the marketing mix because marketers must attract retailers and get high-profile space in those stores, if they want their products to sell well. Placement can also involve determining, and reaching, a specific target audience. For example, a company that sells paint may set up a sales booth at a home improvement show in order to reach people wishing to learn about and buy paint.

The marketing mix is unique to each product or company. It often depends on the goals the organization would like to accomplish. This can range from selling as much product as possible to cultivating a reputation for making high-quality products.

For more info please contact us via e-mail freebizadvise@yahoo.com

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Step by Step in Developing Marketing Plan

The Marketing Plan Framework

Executive Summary
Situation & Environmental Analysis
SWOT analysis
Marketing Goals & Objective
Marketing Strategies
Marketing Implementation

It looks simple however if you start to develop this plan you will discover a lot of hidden information that you might not even thought of it also.

The full formula is with us, so call 012-25 7879 or e-mail freebizadvise@yahoo.com to make an appointment.

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Regards;
www.freebizadvise.blogspot.com

Marketing Plan to develop business – (Beginner Level)

Do you wish to increase sales of your business?
Wish to see some improvement in business?
Wish to know your actual fact about your current marketing strategy?


Why Marketing Plan is important?

1. Marketing plan helps us to identify needs and wants of consumers
2. Determines demand for product
3. Help to identify competitors
4. Help to analyze company’s or business competitive advantage

Now we have a offer, only RM 25 for beginner level. This workshop will
cover the following

1. what are the tools to be used for analysis?
2. how to use the tools?
3. some sample of actual business marketing plan developed by our
FreeBizAdvise team
4. what will be the best tools to be used?

RM 10 for the 1st FIVE pax only. All entry fees to be paid before the workshop only.

The schedule of this workshop is as below:-

Date : 07/03/2010
Time : 5.30 p.m – 7.30 p.m
Venue : No. 42, Jalan Pelangi 1, Taman Pelangi, 48000, Rawang,
Selangor


Interested participants please e-mail freebizadvise@yahoo.com us your

name :
contact no. :
working/own business :
please state nature of work / business :

For more information please e-mail freebizadvise@yahoo.com Please e-
mail now to book your seats since seats are limited. We only accept 8
– 10 pax in a session to give the best output. Book now!!!!!


Note: This course is for beginners in business only. Not for giant or
big companies. We are here only to assist on how to use the available
tools.


Regards;
FreeBizAdvise
e-mail : freebizadvise@yahoo.com
www.freebizadvise.blogspot.com

Major Problems in Developing Marketing Plan

Below are the major problems in developing marketing plans

1. Company isn't market oriented.
2. Plans not taken seriously.
3. Hard to make forecasts
4. Not enough time to prepare.
5. Hard to get consensus/cooperation.

The above are from our research papers done for the purpose of study. This are the main few reasons in Malaysia.

If anyone wish to comment or add. Please do so.

Thanks

Regards;
Free Biz Advise
www.freebizadvise.blogspot.com

Organizational Mission vs Organizational Vission

To adequately address the role of the organizational mission in strategic planning, we must first understand the subtle differences between the organizations mission and its vision. An organizational mission or mission statement seeks to answer the question
1. what business we are in ?
2. what do we want to become?
If you ask many business people “ what is your reason for being ? their response is likely to be ‘ to make money” . Although that may be what they are trying to accomplish , it is not their raison d’etre. Profit has a role in this process, of course, but it is a goal or a objective of the firm , not its mission or vision.

A well devised mission statement for any organization, unit within an organization, or single – owner business should answer the same 5 basic questions .
1. Who are we?
2. Who are our customers?
3. What is our operating philosophy (basic beliefs, values, ethics, etc)?
4. What are our core competencies or competitive advantages?
5. What are our concerns and interests related to our employees, our community, social issues, and our environment?

Mission statement can change from one year to another year after its achievement.

To be continued…………

The Marketing Strategic Planning Process

This process begins wwith an analysis of the firm's internal (organizational), customer, and external environments. This situation analysis plays a key role in strategic marketing management. As well as sitation analysis requires a comprehensive approach toward collecting and analyzing relevant data and information.
Further, the evaluation of internal strengths and weaknesses and external opportunities and threats (SWOT analysis) is an excellent framework that is often used to structure the output of the situation analysis. Our consultant will help you to explore SWOT analysis via e-mail freebizadvise@yahoo.com
While our focus is on marketing planning and strategy; we cannot emphasize enough that marketing decisions must be made within the boundaries of the organization's overall mission, goals, and objectives. The sequencing of decisions stages outlined in this section begins the Organizational Missions.

Will be continue in the next blog......