Marketing
Marketing Plan
Each properly completed marketing plan will contain the following:
1. Executive Summary
A one-page summary to introduce your plan. Who, what, where, when why?
2. Situational analysis
Market Summary
This is a current summary of the "market" - the potential customers where you plan to do business.
Market Demographics
Market Needs
Market Trends
Market Growth
SWOT Analysis
This is an analysis of the predicted strengths and weaknesses of your company along with the opportunities and threats of the environment in which you will operate.
Competition
Who are the direct and in-direct competitors in your competitive environment?
Services
What services are common in this business/product category?
Keys to Success
When you look at successful businesses in your category, what has been key to their success?
Critical Issues
Are there any critical issues? licenses, laws, zoning requirements, etc.
3. Marketing Strategy
Based on the material in the situational analysis (above) this is your strategy.
Mission
Why are you going into business? What's the purpose?
Marketing Objectives
What do you hope to accomplish through marketing in the first year?
Financial Objectives
In very general terms, what are your financial objectives in the first year?
Target Markets
Specifically, who are you targeting? Whose needs and wants are you addressing?
Positioning
How do you want consumers to view your product as compared to your competitors?
Goods & Services Mix
This is your product. What combination of goods and/or services will you offer. Discuss in terms of strategy.
Price
What is your pricing strategy?
Promotion
What is your promotional strategy?
Place (distribution)
What is your planned distribution strategy to best reach your target market?
Package
What will you use as your "package"? Your image?
Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
How will your encourage customer loyalty? How will you collect customer data?
Market Research Needs
When you have completed this plan, what do you need to know before moving forward? What information or data is missing?
4. Financials (projections)
You should be able to demonstrate that you understand how many people you will have to serve or how many "widgets" you will have to sell
in order to break even (generate enough revenue to cover your basic expenses). This can be VERY basic and general.
Break Even Analysis
Revenue forecast
• Each marketing plan will be for a proposed (currently non-existent) business or a small business that has not had the benefit of a marketing plan.
• Each marketing plan will be prepared in written presentation format, worthy of presentation to a financial institution or Board of Directors.
• Each marketing plan must be submitted no later than the midnight on December 11th.
No projects will be accepted late.