Marketing Plan in Entrepreneurship: Components and Steps

What is the Marketing Plan?

A marketing plan is a crucial document for a new business that outlines its goals, strategies, and actions for marketing. It will be similar to a roadmap for how the business will compete and operate in the market. A marketing plan answers three important questions: Where has the business been? Where will the business go? and How does the business get there? This part discusses the specific marketing strategy; when it will be carried out, and who will be responsible for monitoring it. It’s important to update the marketing plan annually to adapt to changes in the business environment.

Key Takeaways:

• A marketing plan serves as a roadmap for new firms, outlining its goals, strategies, and actions for marketing.
• Key components of the marketing plan include analyzing the marketplace history, detecting strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, setting clear objectives and goals, defining specific marketing strategies, and implementing an annual planning process.
• The marketing plan includes components such as products and services offered, pricing policies, promotional strategies, logistics for distribution, and channels of distribution.
• Preparing the marketing plan involves conducting a business situation analysis, identifying the target market, performing a SWOT analysis, establishing goals, defining marketing strategies, and implementing and monitoring the plan for effectiveness and adaptability.

Basic Questions that a Marketing Plan Answers

1. Where have we been?

Understanding the journey of the venture so far is pivotal for predicting its future course. This segment delves into various aspects:

• Marketplace History: Examining the historical context of the marketplace provides valuable insights into trends, challenges, and opportunities. By understanding past dynamics, the venture can better navigate future strategies.
• Marketing Strengths and Weaknesses: Assessing the strengths and weaknesses of the venture’s marketing efforts offers a candid view of its competitive position. Detecting areas of excellence and areas needing improvement will result in strategic decisions.
• Market Opportunities and Threats: Recognizing opportunities and threats within the market landscape is crucial for proactive planning. By anticipating potential challenges and capitalizing on emerging trends, the venture can stay ahead of the curve.

2. Where do we want to go?

Setting clear objectives and goals is mandatory for directing the venture’s efforts in the short term. This section primarily focuses on defining marketing objectives and goals for the enterprise over the next 12 months:

• Marketing Objectives: Establishing specific and measurable marketing objectives provides a roadmap for success. Whether it’s increasing market share, launching new products, or expanding into new territories, these objectives guide strategic initiatives.
• Goals: Defining tangible goals aligns the team’s efforts and ensures accountability. Whether it’s achieving revenue targets, boosting brand awareness, or enhancing customer engagement, clear goals provide direction and motivation.

3. How do we get there?

Implementing effective strategies is key to realizing the venture’s objectives and goals. This question explores the practical steps needed to attain success:

• Specific Marketing Strategy: Outlining a detailed marketing strategy will clarify the actions required to reach the desired outcomes. From product positioning to promotional campaigns, each element of the strategy contributes to overall success.
• Timeline: Establishing a timeline for strategy implementation ensures timely execution. By setting milestones and deadlines, the venture can track progress and make necessary adjustments along the way.
• Responsibilities: Assigning roles and responsibilities ensures accountability and teamwork. Clearly defining who is responsible for each aspect of the marketing plan streamlines execution and minimizes confusion.

Annual Marketing Planning

Adapting to the ever-changing business environment requires annual marketing planning. By revisiting and refining the marketing plan each year, the venture can stay agile and responsive to market dynamics. This iterative approach ensures alignment with evolving business goals and market trends, fostering sustained growth and success.

Components of Marketing Plan

1. Products and Services Offered: The firm’s products and services will remain to be the foundation for its success. This component will focus on what exactly the business offers, highlights their special features and benefits, and why customers should choose them. This section also identifies who the target customers are and what specific needs the products and services aim to fulfill. It will cover how the business plans to keep its offerings fresh and attractive, including strategies for development, innovation, and standing out from competitors. Additionally, it will explore how the business plans to manage its products throughout their lifecycle, from introduction to potential expansion or diversification.

2. Pricing Policies: Pricing is a crucial aspect of any business, and here, a business should break down how it plans to set its prices. It should explain the strategies behind pricing decisions, whether they’re based on costs, perceived value, or competition. This section also touches on key factors considered when determining prices, like production costs, market demand, and profit margins. Furthermore, it also include any tactics the business plans to use to sweeten the deal for customers, such as discounts or bundling, and the flexibility of pricing strategy to adapt to market changes.

3. Promotional Strategies: Getting the word out about the business is pivotal for attracting customers; and promotional strategies play a big role in that. In this section, a business can outline the various ways it plans to promote itself, from advertising to sales promotions. The business can explore different advertising channels it intends to use, such as digital or traditional media, and how it plans to incentivize purchases through promotions like discounts or loyalty programs. Additionally, it can discuss efforts to build brand reputation through public relations and content marketing, as well as engagement strategies on social media platforms.

4. Logistics for Distribution: Once the products are ready to go, it’s pivotal to have a solid plan for getting them into customers’ hands efficiently. This section will identify the most effective distribution channels for the business, whether it’s through direct sales, retail partnerships, or e-commerce platforms. A business can also outline strategies for managing inventory, fulfilling orders, and ensuring timely delivery. Additionally, it should address considerations for transportation, warehousing, and handling returns or exchanges, all while ensuring the distribution network remains flexible and adaptable to changing market conditions.

5. Channels of Distribution: Lastly, this component will explore the various channels the business plans to use to distribute its products. This includes direct channels, where the business sells directly to customers through its website or physical stores, as well as indirect channels involving intermediaries like retailers or distributors. A business can discuss the benefits and drawbacks of each distribution channel and how it plans to integrate them into an omnichannel approach for a seamless customer experience. This evaluation will consider factors such as the business’s goals, target market, and available resources.

Steps in Preparing the Marketing Plan

1. Business Situation Analysis: Before diving into the future, it is pivotal to understand where the business stands currently. For new ventures, this involves profiling the entrepreneur, emphasizing product development, identifying the target market, and any previous entrepreneurial experiences. Market segmentation is also considered at this stage.

2. Identify the Target Market: Defining the target market is a pivotal step for a new venture. It entails thorough market research to understand consumer characteristics, buying behaviors, and preferences. Segmentation based on demographics, geography, and psychographics helps in selecting the most viable target segments.

3. Conduct a SWOT Analysis: Analyzing the venture’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats is vital for devising a robust marketing plan. Understanding these factors helps in capitalizing on strengths, mitigating weaknesses, leveraging opportunities, and mitigating potential threats.

4. Establish Goals: Setting clear and measurable goals will be essential to steering the venture in the right direction. These goals should be realistic, quantifiable, and aligned with the venture’s overall objectives. Defining qualitative standards will ensure clarity and facilitate effective monitoring and control.

5. Define Marketing Strategy: The heart of the marketing plan lies in its strategy. Answering the question, “How do we get there?” will involve outlining specific activities related to the 4 P’s of marketing, which include Product, Price, Promotion, and Place. This section will include details on how the venture will position its offerings, set pricing strategies, devise promotional tactics, and manage distribution channels.

6. Implementation and Monitoring of the Plan: Creating a marketing plan is more than a mere formality; it’s a commitment to a strategic roadmap. Flexibility is crucial, and the entrepreneur must be prepared to make adjustments as needed. Regular monitoring of key performance indicators will permit timely interventions and ensure the plan remains aligned with the venture’s goals and market dynamics.

Conclusion

The marketing plan will serve as a comprehensive roadmap for a new business, detailing its objectives, strategies, and actions for marketing success. It addresses critical questions about the business’s journey so far, its future direction, and the practical steps needed to achieve its goals. It outlines components like product offerings, pricing, promotion, distribution, and target markets. Through annual updates and monitoring, it ensures adaptability to market changes, fostering sustained growth and success.