Introduction
The main aim of any given business entity is to make profit from its products and services. Profits in a business can only be realized when a ready buyer buys or is served by a business thus the need of marketing plan so as to retain the customers.
Marketing plan involves the layout of how the business is going to penetrate or keep afloat in the competitive market by identifying the target market and laying down the strategies of how to venture into the identified market.
It also enables the business to identify its competitors and to cope with the needs of the customers. A business should consider the following factors when developing a marketing plan.
Target Market
Target market entails segmentation of customers a business has decided to focus on for the purpose of selling goods and services. Identification of the market for a business products results to a business deciding on the method of promotion to use so as to reach the target market.
It also involves pricing and distribution channels of the business products or services so as to reach the targeted customers. Through market analysis the business is able to use more cost effective and easier methods of business promotion.
This can be in a case of home cleaning business whereby the business owner uses newspapers to advertise so as to reach the target market. To be more cost effective the same business can promote its products by directly writing mails to particular residents.
Market segmentation is normally done in order for a business to be successful in target marketing. This can be done in the following ways:
- Geographical location segmentation.
- Demographic segmentation which is determined by measurable statistics like income and age.
- Psychographic segmentation which is based on lifestyle preferences.
A good identification of the target market will always determine how well a business can sell its products and services to its customers.
Marketing/ Sales Strategies
Marketing strategy is a process that allows concentration of limited business resources on greatest opportunities so as to increase the sales and the growth of business.
The business scans internal environment such as performance analysis, marketing mix and also external market environment like target market analysis. It also involves evaluation of elements such as culture, economic and even political environments. A business comes up with all the possible means which it can enforce so as to reach the target market identified.
Competitive Analysis
Competitive analysis is the assessment of the strength and weaknesses of current and potential competitors (Smith, 2005). The analysis provides both the defensive and offensive strategies through which a business can identify its strengths and weaknesses.
The business identifies the challenges in the market by identifying its competitors and their positioning in the market. Through profiling its competitors, the business reveals the weaknesses of these competitors and turns them into its strengths so as to fill the gap left by the competitors.
These weaknesses maybe manifested in form of poor customer relations, poor quality products, unsatisfactory services and so many other things which when improved may add value to attract customers. The proactive stance of a business also enables the business to understand how its rival may react to its planned strategies and so it should be prepared. Competitive analysis also gives a business strategic agility whereby offensive strategies can be implemented so as to maximize on the strengths while defensive strategies can be used to counter the rival.
SWOT Analysis
This is a strategic planning method used to evaluate the strength, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. It looks at the objective of business venture and the factors which are favorable and unfavorable to achieve the business objectives. These include:
- Strength: These are characteristics of a business which makes it to perform better than its rivals by having a competitive advantage over its competitors.
- Weakness: Are characteristics which work to the disadvantage of the business as compared to other competing businesses.
- Opportunities: These are chances which can make a business to venture into the market unexploited opportunities making it to increase its sales.
- Threats: Elements that can work against the business performance.
The strategies considered during evaluation may be limited by the SWOT analysis. Sahaf, (2007), notes that a business which uses SWOT analysis may conclude that it has done a complete job on planning and forget or ignore the business objectives.. Findings from Reynolds and Olson, (2006), have shown that SWOT analysis can harm business performance depending on how it is implemented.
Conclusion
In market planning, a business has to put into consideration all the above areas as they are the driving forces that put a business on the right track towards achieving its success. Marketing and sales strategies have more weight as they are the revenue determinants and the backbone of a business performance.
The business should also concentrate in one area of target marketing so as to fully capture all the customer needs and goes a notch higher to evaluate and identify the latent needs of the customers even before they identify them.
References
Doyle, P. and Stern, P. (2006). Marketing management and strategy. Upper Saddle River: Cengage.
Levinson, J., C. and Levinson A. (2007). Guerrilla marketing: easy and inexpensive strategies for making big profits from your small business. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Reynolds, T., J. and Olson, J., C. (2006). Understanding consumer decision making: the means-end approach to marketing and advertising strategy. New York: Routledge.
Sahaf, A. (2007). Strategic Marketing: Making Decisions for Strategic Advantage. Upper Saddle River: Cengage.
Smith, B., (2005). Making marketing happen: how great companies make strategic marketing planning work for them. New York: Butterworth-Heinemann.