How To Prepare A Marketing Plan For Your Small Business.
The final result of marketing strategy small business planning is an action plan for moving your products and/or services to the final consumers. Elements of the marketing plan for your small business should include the following:
- marketing strategy small business plan - Introduction
Describe the product or service your small business offers, highlighting unique or innovative features. Identify status of patent, trademark, or other legal protection.
- marketing strategy small business plan - Situation Analysis
This is a comprehensive analysis of the environment in which you propose to develop your small business. Sections include:
- marketing strategy small business plan -The Market
Describe the type of consumer your small business is aiming your product or service at, the total number of these consumers in your market area and the number you expect to become customers. Outline the potential growth in the market for your product or service, and your projected growth in the market share. Market share may be based on total Rand sales or on unit sales.
- marketing strategy small business plan - Competitive Environment
Identify and describe your primary and secondary competitors. Primary competitors will sell products or services which may substitute directly for your own small business services. Secondary competitors will market products or services which may displace your small business market share indirectly. For example, Pepsi might include non-carbonated drinks fruit juice, mineral water or milk. Compare your own proposed operation to your competitors’, and describe the relative ease or difficulty in entering the industry.
- marketing strategy small business plan - Technological Environment
Describe the role of technology in your small business and estimate how quickly it might become obsolete. How will technological advancements in other industries affect your small business, and will you be able to adapt to change?
- marketing strategy small business plan - Socio-Political Environment
How responsive will your small business be to emerging trends in legislation and changing consumer attitudes? Describe your small business developmentplan for maintaining awareness of new laws and regulations which will affect your small business.
- Small business planning factors - Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities & Threats (SWOT)
Examine your small business and the environment around you carefully. Identify weaknesses in your small business planning or operation and threats from the environment, and then document your ability to respond to these. Also identify strengths in your small business and opportunities presented to it, and describe how you might exploit these.
- marketing strategy small business plan - Objectives
Set precise, quantifiable and realistic objectives for your small business. Instead of suggesting, for instance, that you will increase market share every year, state an objective. (For example: to capture 5% of the total market by number of units sold in year one, 7% in year two, and 10% in subsequent years.)
- marketing strategy small business plan - Strategy
Take into account the results of the SWOT section, and select a marketing strategy for your small business to achieve your objectives. There are many small business marketing strategies to choose from, such as new market penetration and expanding market share. Ask a regional consultant of ENL for a basic text on marketing to decide which strategy best fits your small business and its goal achievement
- marketing strategy small business plan - Action Plan
The basic four elements of the small business marketing mix are product, price, place and promotion. An action plan describes how you will manipulate each of these areas in implementing your small business marketing strategy. It is best to consult a marketing text for more detail on this process. For example, if your strategy includes increasing market penetration, action items may include lowering price and increasing promotion. The action plan should answer this simple question: What will you do tomorrow to grow your small business.
|
