Whether you have just opened a business or have owned a business for a long time, every business needs a marketing plan. The good news is that while there is a formal way of creating a marketing plan, there is a basic marketing plan that can be done by anyone just to get the company on the right track. Many authors or marketing gurus refer to this as the "Five Minute Marketing Plan."
Instructions
Create a Marketing Plan
1. Review your product/service. Every company sells either a product or service. Some companies may sell a combination of both products and services. The first step that you need to take in writing a marketing plan is to write down all of your products and/or services. Next to each one, explain how each of the products or services that you offer is different from your competition. After taking a look at this information, push your imagination a little bit further and ask yourself how you could make your existing products and/or services better or what additional products and/services you could add to your menu that customers would have a need for.
2. Think about the price that you charge for your product and/or service along with the costs associated with producing your product or service. Is your pricing competitive? Is there anything that you can do to cut the costs of producing the item? Also, write a list of the ways that you may be able to attract new customers with promotional offers. Add to this list all of the ways that you can encourage repeat customers by offering a special discount, loyalty program or some other incentive.
3. Think about how your product is distributed now. Do you sell online? Do you have a storefront? Think about how you may be able to create a more effective or efficient process to get your product or service into customers' hands. Think of a new distribution plan in terms of reaching new customers and in terms of reaching current customers.
4. Promote your product. You can have the greatest product or service in the world, but if nobody knows about it then you are not going to have any sales. How are you currently spreading the word about your company now? Are there ways that you may be able to add or change the ways that you are reaching potential customers? Are there new ways that you may be able to reach your target audiences? Write down your answers to these questions and start to evaluate the changes that you may need to make in promoting the business.
5. Review and revise your lists. After you have written all of this information out, go back and read what you have written. As you do this, you will think of more items to add or delete others. This is a fine tuning process to help create a marketing guideline for your company to follow for the next six to 12 months, when the plan will need to be revisited.
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