The marketing Plan

Your marketing plan should be built on the results of your market research and the specific value proposition of your product or service. The key factors you should consider about the market and your competitors are summarized in Chapter 6. Armed with the research, you can then devise a plan to reach that market and deliver a targeted message to your key prospects.First you must position your product or service. A clear understanding of how your product or service is positioned will help keep all your messages strategically focused on your unique value proposition.
 
There are many marketing vehicles that you can use, ranging from simple product brochures to complex broadcast media advertising to get your message across. The choice of marketing vehicles must be consistent with your image and must be effective in reaching your targets. Choosing the right marketing vehicles and the appropriate mix will help you stay within an affordable budget. Marketing vehicles include:

•  Descriptive product or service brochures
•  Advertising in print, broadcast or electronic media
•  Direct mail
•  Premiums and advertising specialties
   (e.g., items imprinted with your company name and/or message)
• Sampling programs
•  Public relations

Advertising:The most costly marketing vehicle is often advertising. It is the primary means used by companies to create a public image for themselves in the marketplace. For most growing companies, promotion is a challenge and an opportunity. It is a challenge because the traditional means of promotion are expensive. Advertising, in particular, is quite costly,especially when growing companies are competing with major corporations with multimillion dollar ad budgets.Certain products and services, such as automobiles, must be advertised. If yours is one of these, the business plan should explain your advertising approach. The advertising philosophy and program should reflect your positioning in the market. If you are aiming at the high end of the market with an expensive, high-quality product, this should be clearly expressed in your advertising.

Your advertising plan should also take into account the availability of your product. Some companies make the mistake of advertising their products long before they become available.Customers may then become disappointed when they cannot get the product right away.Premature advertising also serves to notify your competitors of your intentions and gives them more time to react to your entry into the market.

Public Relations: Many companies overlook the value of public and press relations (“PR”) in spreading news about their products. The attractive part of PR is that it can often be obtained at little or no out-of-pocket cost. Editors and news directors are always looking for stories about new companies and innovative products. If you explain your idea and describe your product in ways that are likely to be interesting to your readers, they may decie to publish stories about your company. Depending on your product or service, this “free advertising” can produce more sales than paid advertising. What appears in the press can be very valuable in positioning your company, your product, and your service.Consideration should be given to getting assistance from advertising and public relations agencies. Keep in mind that the press exposure that a public relations agency gains for your company will be fairly expensive. The agencies should be carefully selected. Look for those that have done work for other companies in your industry and have a solid reputation.

Other Marketing Vehicles: Effective marketing vehicles differ from industry to industry. If your product or service needs to be replaced or can be expanded from add-on or follow-on products or services, your plan should address customer-based marketing strategies Licensing or cooperative advertising may be critically important in your industry. There may be key trade shows that you will need to include in your marketing plan to cost effectively reach your target audience. You should not overlook these other types of marketing.