The Core of Success - How to Write Your Own Marketing Plan for a Micro or Small Business
When you start your own small business, it is essential that you create a basic marketing plan which sets out your business objectives and exactly how long it will take to achieve them.
Your business' marketing plan is not only a document that you may require when setting out your business objectives, but may also be the focus of any meeting you may have with your bank to secure funding. It may be that any serious investor into your business may want to digest your marketing plan and analyse the plans you have set out to make your product or service a saleable item.
But many small businesses struggle to put together a concise and detailed marketing plan and is generally overlooked when, micro businesses in particular, set up.
So what should the contents of a marketing plan be and what exactly is it? In general, a marketing plan is a written policy of a market strategy and how long it is going to take to implement and complete. Your marketing plan should be the reference document you use as a basis to execute your marketing strategy.
You marketing plan should contain the following:
1) The Executive Summary
This gives a quick overview of your marketing plan and although this appears at the beginning of the document, you should actually write this last! It may contain a vision of your business or brand and detail just the key facts of the entire marketing plan.
It really depends on the size of your business as to how detailed you write your executive summary, or indeed all elements of the marketing plan.
TOP TIPS:
- Focus on making this section a summary. Do not be tempted to go into detail on any of the key facts.
- Read your executive summary out loud and do not be afraid to read it to others and get their opinion on it.
- Make it positive. If you are going to present your marketing plan to your bank manager or any investors, the executive summary will set the tone for the rest of the document.
2) The Business Strategy
It is good practice to run through your overall business strategy whilst stating out your key business objectives. This helps to ensure that your marketing plan, your marketing strategy and your overall business strategy all work together.
This is again a summary of your overall business plan and business objectives. This section is simply a reminder of your overall business strategy.
3) External and Internal Analysis
The environment in which your business works in is vital to understand and this is usually set out in this section of the marketing plan. This is done as a PEST Analysis.
- PEST Analysis is a widely-used tool that helps you understand the big picture of your Political, Economic, Socio-Cultural and Technological environment.
- Remember not to get a PEST Analysis confused with a SWOT Analysis. A PEST analysis most commonly measures a market; a SWOT analysis measures a business unit, a proposition or idea. For more concise information on PEST Analysis, please click here.
- SWOT Analysis, is a commonly-used planning tool which is designed to evaluate the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats involved in your business venture. It involves specifying the objective of the business venture and identifying the internal and external factors that are favorable and unfavorable to achieving that objective.
4) Marketing Objectives & Strategy
Remember that your marketing plan is about putting your marketing strategy into practice. But your business may have an overall objective for, say, the end of the financial year.
Do you intend to increase sales by 50%? Do you intend to increase new customers by 100%? Whatever your overall marketing objectives, it needs to be stated here and based on the understanding of your SWOT Analysis, your marketing objectives should be SMART.
- SMART Objectives are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-bound.
- Specific: Be precise about what you are going to achieve.
- Measurable: How are you going to measure and quantify your objective?
- Achievable: Is what you are attempting achievable?
- Resources: Do you have sufficient resources to make your objectives happen?
- Timed: What are the timeframes of your objectives?
All marketing objectives for your business should be SMART and should cover the basic four P's of the marketing mix – Product, Price, Promotion and Place. This forms the strategic element of this section of the marketing plan.
- Marketing Strategy - Product
Talk about the strength and weaknesses of your product or service. Perhaps this part of the document will explain product life cycle management and new product development. This part of the marketing also explains the brand name, brand image, packaging and/or brand equity.
- Marketing Strategy - Price
What are your pricing objectives and pricing methods? Does your product or services have any discounts and allowances. In this area of the marketing plan it is ideal to detail price elasticity and customer sensitivity, price zoning and your business' break even analysis.
- Marketing Strategy - Promotion
How do you plan to promote your product and services? What is your promotional mix?
In this part of the document you detail how you think it is best to promote your product.
This may include any of the following methods:
- Advertising & PR
- Direct Marketing
- Sales Support Collateral (e.g. flyers, brochures, business stationery etc)
- Events, Seminars & Exhibitions
- Word of Mouth Marketing
The 'Promotion' section of the marketing plan is arguably one of the most important features and usually incurs a vast majority of your spend.
- Marketing Strategy – Place (or distribution)
Where are you selling your product or service? Is it placed on the internet or do you have a physical shop? In this part of the document you detail your planned distribution channels, logistics and the geographical distribution.
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- You may want to extend these four P's to seven:
- Marketing Strategy – People
Think specifically about the people within your own organisation? Are they correctly trained and prepared for the delivery of your marketing plan?
- Marketing Strategy – Processes
The right processes will ensure that you offer a consistent service that suits your customers. Ensure that your marketing plan details how to intend to ensure processes are quality.
- Marketing Strategy – Physical Evidence
This details everything from the physical appearance of your employees, to the appearance of your business stationery.
TOP TIPS:
- Make sure you set clear objectives.
- Always include deadlines for each objective.
- It may be a good idea to specify who (or you have more than one employee) is responsible for achieving each target.
- Link your objectives to the strategy to for a professional mid-section to your marketing plan.
- What are the personnel requirements of your business and how much do they cost?
- What would their responsibilities be?
- What training do you have planned for yourself and/or your employees?
- What are the financial requirements of your marketing strategy?
- What are the management information system requirements?
- Do you have a month-by-month agenda or a critical path analysis of your marketing objectives?
- Do you have any contingency plans? What if your business fails?
5) Implementation of The Marketing Plan
Your marketing plan has so far detailed objectives and strategy. Now, in this part of the marketing plan, you need to detail exactly how you are going to deliver it.
If you are presenting your marketing plan to your bank manager or investors, they may ask the following questions, all of which should be detailed in this section:
A professional marketing plan will detail a comprehensive schedule of the and also details control.
6) A Financial Summary
In your marketing plan, you need to set out a budget for all your anticipated marketing costs.
You may also want to include a contribution margin analysis and a breakeven analysis.
