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plan is something only big, fancy corporations need to do, think again.  You need one, too!  It’ll
help you better understand your business, your customers and your strategy for success..

Most people fall into the trap of thinking that “marketing” just means advertising, PR or
promotion.  But marketing and a marketing plan is so much more than that, and includes
everything from understanding the market to which you’ll sell your products and services, to
choosing specific tactics you’ll use to reach that marketSmall Business Research Services
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(which is actually where things like advertising come into play - they’re tactics!).

Here’s the marketing plan sections you’ll be writing:

 Overview or Summary – no longer than one page, the summary should briefly describe
your business and the major points of your plan (so write it last)
 Situation analysis – a detailed and brutally honest assessment of your market, your
competitors, and the opportunities and challenges for your business
 Marketing strategy – your specific business revenue goals, as well as a strategy for
tackling the market opportunities you identified in the situation analysisBusiness
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 Marketing tactics – your action plan for executing on the strategy you outlined in the
previous section
 Marketing budget and timeline – the projected costs and timeline related to your
marketing tactics

Situation analysis
Simply put, your situation analysis is the foundation of your marketing plan, and gives a clear
“lay of the land” for your market and business.  Remember all of that market research and
competitive analysis you did for your business plan?  The good news is, you get to use it again! 
For your situation analysis, clearly define:

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 Your potential customers, including current market size and projected growth
 Your competitors, including current and projected market share, and product or market
segment focus
 Your realistic assessment of your own business, including both strengths and weaknesses,
with a summary of your plan to overcome the weaknesses

Marketing strategy
When you decided to start your business, you undoubtedly found an unmet or underserved need
in your target market, and felt that you could address that need.  The marketing strategy section
is where you actually spell out how your business is going to do just that, by setting goals and
high-level strategies. 

Start by setting the goals for your business, typically for at least one year.  Make them realistic,
achievable and measurable.  No sense in setting yourself up for failure right out of the gate. 
State them in simple, straightforward terms - for example, “ABC Widgets will achieve $100,000
in sales of Widget A by the end of this year.”

Wrap up the strategy section of your marketing planBusiness Plan Software Palo Alto Software
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by outlining the particulars of your business offering - in marketing parlance, you'll be defining

what are known as the "four Ps" for your business:

 Product – description of your product or service, including features and benefits

 Price – initial pricing strategy
 Place – distribution channel for your product or service, i.e. where you’ll sell
 Promotion – the methods and channels used to reach customers and let them know about
your product or service

Marketing tactics
To take your marketing plan to yet another level of detail, you’ll dream up some tactics to
actually meet the goals you set in the previous section.  Common marketing tactics include
advertising (print, online, radio, etc.), trade show or event attendance/participation, public
relations, grassroots and viral marketing campaigns and email marketing.

As you choose your tactics, summarize what it is, why you should use it, what you expect to get
out of it, and how much it’s going to cost.   Finally, set a timeline for each tactic and pick a team
member to champion getting it done.

Marketing budget and timeline

Wrap up your entire marketing plan with a bow by summarizing your costs and timelines from
the previous section.  And then measure, measure, measure.  Check your marketing budget at
least monthly, and determine whether you’re getting the return you expected from each tactic. 
It’s never too late to make some changes to your marketing plan.

Your marketing timeline can help you understand if your tactics are driving any sales.  Compare
sales during timeframes when you’ve done some marketing activities and check for any growth
to see if there was an impact.

Writing a marketing plan should become at least a yearly ritual for your business.  Not to
mention that it’s probably a good idea to revamp your marketing plan when you are releasing
new or significantly changed products or services.  Just remember that writing a marketing plan
is time well spent for any sized business, because it’s the process for thinking honestly and
thoroughly through how you’re going to connect with your customers.

For the business startup, marketing is a core activity. It's something that you need to be doing from the
word go and much of your marketing you will do naturally as part of everyday business. At the same
time, it needs to be planned and carefully worked out to be both effective and economical. Here are
some shortcuts to help you get a good return on your efforts.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Get the strategy right.

You will hear it said that marketing is about the four 'P's: Product , Place, Price and Promotion. This is
true, but an over simplification. You also need to answer the What, the Why, the When, the How and
the Who questions.

I recommend: That you take a logical approach to considering your marketing strategy. It need not be
complicated, but make sure you cover the bases. Not just once; go back over time and re-consider your
strategy in the light of how things turn out. One good place to start organizing your thinking is the Savvy
Marketing Strategy Grid.

Describe your customers right.

You know your business, but you need to describe who your customers are - very carefully. If you take
an analytical approach to the task, you are likely to surprise and delight yourself by coming up with
tighter definitions and customer groups you had not thought of.

I recommend: That while you are certainly going to ask who your customers are, you need to be very
precise about it. Do you know what needs, wants and indeed cravings, they have? What is their age
group and where do they buy? If you are going to make an accurate definition, I suggest that you do
some Customer Profiling.

Do the right promotion.

Consider the old joke: "half one's advertising is effective, but the trouble is knowing which half. " It is
also true about all kinds of promotion. A startup business has very limited funds for promotion and loan
or investment money is seldom available for it. So it must be very cost-effective.

I recommend: That you allow your intuition to guide you, but take a step back and look at the pluses
and minuses of each promotion medium you are considering. Not just from the budgetary point of view,
but also think about the amount of time that you are going to commit. Remember too, that many
promotional tools are available for free or next to free (except for your own effort). The Savvy
Promotion Media Grid will give you a very handy way to look at all the options you are considering and
reach a conclusion about how cost-effective they really are.

Be sure that your marketing is going right.

You may have heard of CRM (customer relationship management). CRM is where the rubber meets the
road - where all that marketing is funelled into sales. Startups often do CRM on the 'fly'. The
entrepreneur keeps a mental note of where all the prospects are, where they came from and what the
next steps are to turn them into sales. But pretty soon, if you start being successful, this becomes too
complex a task and has to be managed. this is where a formal CRM comes in. Big companies spend a
fortune on it, but happily you can 'buy into' very good software without spending a penny.

I recommend: That you do take a formal approach to CRM as soon as you get on the road selling. Not
only will it help you understand the effectiveness of your marketing, but it will also ensure that sales
campaigns are efficiently run and that sales people (yourself included) can make the best use of their
time. Take a look at Zoho CRM, an elegant but simple on-demand Web-based CRM solution that is free
for up to 3 users. You might also want to look at salesforce.com, the world leader in the business; their
Personal Edition is free too.

Check that the right message is getting through.

I am not one to suggest that you do extensive market research before your startup, unless the project is
very large. You can collect a great deal of data to form the basis of you marketing decisions from
published sources. But without some kind of research, you cannot have an accurate idea of whether
your marketing messages are getting through to their targeted audiences.

I recommend: That you follow up on your promotional activities. You will naturally log inquiries and
sales, but your messages will be received by many people whom you do not hear from. Find a way to get
feedback. You can use a forum on your website, satisfaction questionnaires, customer follow-ups - and
you can use market research and polls. Thanks to the Internet, you can do both online. Try Zoomerang,
or find other options for yourself via an Internet search.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

 Make your marketing your own - avoid copying others, unless you see a good idea that you can
adapt to your circumstances.
 Be sure that your promotion fits your image. Special offers are probably not appropriate for
professional services, where discount coupons can work well for retailers.
 Do communicate your business values; people want to know what kind of company they are
dealing with.
 Do not forget that you are marketing through all your business activities.
 Empower all your colleagues as marketers. They have their own networks, too.
 Develop your network as the business moves on. Log all your contacts.