Marketing Plan Breakthrough_S6PEC Framework

Marketing
Strategic Marketing Plan
How to Develop and Use
for Small Business Owners and Entrepreneurs

http://marketingplanbook.wordpress.com 1

The truth is……
To create and develop a strategic marketing plan is not difficult, the implementation is the most difficult.
Simply because you need only one main thing to make it work i.e. Money.

The fact that many people tell you to create a Marketing Plan you need a lot of $$$ is because they are
defending their own so called, “Intellectual Property” or IP which is the rice or potato bowl (slang for
primary income source).

So what I just did is to democratize the tool so it becomes available to anyone especially to small
businesses and entrepreneurs. So you can save a lot of $$$ and put it into your business. After all a
marketing plan is useless if you don’t have an idea that time has come!!
Welcome to Marketing Plan e-Book and let’s start taking on the world.

Future, here I come! 
http://entreprenovator.wordpress.com
http://marketingplanbook.wordpress.com


Before You Start…Just Try This…

Search keyword “Entreprenovator”,
try and see what happens!!

See next page on all major Search Engines..


Table of Contents
1. On SME and Entrepreneur Business
2. Benefits of Marketing Plan e-Book
3. What is Marketing
4. Misconception about Marketing
5. Elements of Marketing
a. Market Segment
b. Product
c. Place/Distribution
d. Promotion/Advertising
e. Price
f. People
g. Process
h. Environment
i. Communication
6. S6PEC In One-Page
a. The Simplified Marketing Plan


E1

On SME and Entrepreneur Business
1. Small scale business is on the rise.
2. Early-stage entrepreneurial business increases.
3. Significant increase of entrepreneurial business in post crisis.
4. Almost 10% of entrepreneurs engaged in self learning and observing.
5. Many entrepreneurs focus on market expansion activity.
6. Education to be better entrepreneur still lacking but growing fast.
7. Perceive perceptions of entrepreneurship doesn’t mean anything.
8. In growing economies, entrepreneurship is a desirable career choice.
9. Entrepreneurs are engine of growth and contribute to higher GDP.
10. Most entrepreneurs were pulled because of opportunity recognition.
11. About 55% discontinued business because of financial problems.
12. The 25-34 years old age group is the highest to take up entrepreneurship.
13. Innovation is very important in entrepreneurial business.
14. And a lot more….you need to do research to know more… 

Source: Author interpretation of GEM Report 2008

E1 What we can see from the above is that entrepreneurship and small business owners are on the rise. It is never too late to be one and join the
bandwagon. What is crucial for most small business owners and entrepreneurs are access to knowledge. Have you heard of the “mis-informed
case”? Hear how it goes..

Apparently in one of the wars during the old days, a man in Country A heard that the army troops are coming and going to invade his town. He
ran home to tell everybody about it but no one seems to believe him. What he did next was he went home and killed everyone of his family
members and later killed himself. The truth was, what he heard was just a rumor.

The learning from this simple story, we do not want to make decision that are not sure about. We don’t want to be mis-informed because it
can be fatal; just like what we hear from the story.

The whole idea of Marketing Plan e-Book is to facilitate this need; to educate more entrepreneurs and small business owners and provide
simplified knowledge on how to grow their ideas and business. With limited funds, we need to be very careful with what we need to do. A
simple e-Book like this will help you at least write down and cover enough bases to start or grow your business.
Entreprenovator, 17/1/2010

Entrepreneurial Process and Definition

The entrepreneurial process starts before the firm is operational. Someone who is just starting a
venture and trying to survive in a very competitive market is an entrepreneur in spite of not having
high-growth aspirations.

On the other hand, a person may be an established business owner who has been in business for quite
a number of years and still be innovative, competitive, and growth minded. This person is also an
entrepreneur.

Source: GEM Report 2008

Benefits of Marketing Plan e-Book
1. It is SIMPLIFIED!
2. Portable format that you can print, read in laptop and even compose your own slides for
presentation to your partners, bosses, directors etc..
3. Cover all the bases you need in a marketing plan.
4. Affordable source of knowledge! Very cheap!
5. Information provided based on real case studies, happened before, practical approach and
honest.
6. One time download, shareable slides for all your business units and staffs.
7. Extra resources on the blog http://marketingplanbook.wordpress.com
8. Another resource blog http://entreprenovator.wordpress.com
9. Written not by academia or journalist but by practitioners!
10. Combined marketing knowledge from all around the world.
11. Nicely presented with diagrams, colors and highlights.
12. Save lots of $$$ for a marketing consultant or anyone so called consultant!
13. Save lots of $$$ on marketing software, licensing and applications!!
14. Step by step approach.
15. Post worldwide-crisis marketing approach which focus on what-works and profit centric!
16. You can make an income from this book by joining the affiliate program! 

http://marketingplanbook.wordpress.com For any further inquiry, please do not hesitate to contact us at entreprenovators@gmail.com
8

Future, here I come!
“Let’s make a real difference from now on. You don’t
have to dream anymore. What you wish is already
here. Let’s make sure you can start your business real
soon. You will save $$$ for writing your own Strategic
Marketing Plan. Let’s begin.”


Marketing

“Nothing beats powerful communication in marketing implementation.” -
Anonymous


What Is Marketing

It’s a process of thinking and observing, gathering
information, process information, slice and dice
with few analysis, map it to your business goals,
churn out some strategies to get attention from
your targeted customers (segments). The end
results of marketing are profits creation and
business survival.


E2

What Is Marketing
Many struggle and sometimes fail to see that
Think our businesses are all about the customers .
& Observe

Gather
Implement
Information

PROFITS

IT’S THE SURVIVAL
CUSTOMER,
STUPID!!
Create Process
Strategies Information

If your business does not give sizable profits for
you to survive, obviously you need to do
Map to something about it including cutting your losses
Business Analyze
Goals
i.e. close shop.


E2 People are so confused about marketing plan. There are too many versions of it (including mine!) but let me tell you what I am trying to do
here. Am going to give you the most simplified, picture-based and gist of how to develop and use your marketing plan. Even during one
session that I had with some MBA students, they get freaked out when they hear marketing plan and another set of group who aim to be the
consultant started to profess all the jargons and theories of marketing. I chewed both of them! Let’s get to work and be real I said.

Oft times business owners get the consultant to do it and only realizes that it is not implementable because the consultant is not a business
owner.
A real business owner, if you ever met them are super real people. They are realistic to the extent they don’t need almost anything. But that
was traditional type of business owners. Today’s world demand us to work and leverage with other people or knowledge so we can become
better and achieve faster results.

The above show a simple marketing processes. This process varies depending on your business specific, but generally it touches all of the
above aspects. If you can see, the focus is always on the customer. If you don’t do it for the customer, you are not doing the right thing. Even
an NGO has to focus to its customer.

Peter Drucker once said, “An NGO business is more difficult to manage because they don’t have bottom line or profit target!”. Lucky we are not
in the business!! If you are, I think you should start setting some goals (numerical) and watch the results manifold.

What Is Marketing

Marketing planning is a repetitive process. It changes
because the customers change. It’s the customer, stupid! It
is supremely important to understand really well that
marketing must surround the customers, not the products.

Nonetheless the ability to produce what the customer
wants is also very important but that will come after we
truly understand what the customers want.

Marketing is like a rubber band that binds everything in
your company. From finance, human resource, production,
administration, sales etc...


E3
Marketing is a Business

CORPORATE ALL these, needs to be
COMMUNICATION managed and fall under
VENDORS
marketing concerns, if not
TECHNICAL job. It is marketing
IT SUPPORT SUPPORT
responsibility.

WEBSITE/BLOG HUMAN RESOURCE
OTHERS
DELIVERY SERVICE
SALES MANUFACTURING

PRODUCT CUSTOMER
BUSINESS PROCESS PACKAGING SERVICE

FINANCE MANAGEMENT

BRANDING COMPANY POLICY

SPOKEPERSON


E3 Marketing is about every facet of your business. Failing to recognize that make your business imbalance. But of course you don’t have to focus
on all thing in the name of marketing. I tried that before and I failed miserably!!! Now that I have just told you about it, you just save $50,
000! Yes, it cost me that much.

I recently attended a business brainstorming. The idea owner wanted to start something and as usual it gets wild and wilder until he suddenly
owns a few big businesses. I stopped him and asked “why don’t you focus on your core thing first?”. And grow it for few years and then add
on other stuffs that he dreamed about.

His answer was, “I don’t know how to write a marketing plan!”. Because of this consistencies that I always get, I came up with this Marketing
Plan e-Book. I guess it’s the universe calling for me! J


New Marketing Realities
1. Network information  information age and mass production,
mass consumption
2. Globalization  technological advances in transportation,
shipping and communication.
3. Privatization  convert state-owned company to private to
increase efficiency.
4. Industry convergence  multi industry converge and create
new products / services.
5. Deregulation  many countries deregulated to create more
opportunities
6. Retail transformation  entrepreneurial retailers /
businessman are on the rise (Entreprenovator!!)
7. Disintermediation  direct to customers such as online
business
8. Heightened competition  rising cost, shrinking profits and
powerful competitors.

E4
Product Launch People?

I want to HIRE PRODUCT LAUNCH PEOPLE..
I want to hire PEOPLE THAT HAVE EXPERIENCED IN
ADVERTISING..
I want people that HAVE BRAND EXPERIENCE..
I want someone that works in PUBLIC RELATION

Marketing Man needs to have business sense. If you hire
showbiz marketing man, you surely will get the show but at
loss! You end up promoting your marketing manager/director
more than the products!


E4 Firstly you need a Marketing man, not Advertising, PR or product people, not to mention showbiz man! Marketing needs someone who can
understand, chew, work and convince the management about how to approach marketing. The marketing manager/director needs to see the
business in totality; not just his own territory.

The above a real case when at one time I was applying a Marketing Manager job. They told me I don’t have product experience and I don’t
come from brand agency. The good news was, I am glad I wasn’t in that part of business thought it would have increased my potential to
getting the job. I am not a showbiz guy, I am a boring guy with an interesting approach to my work because I love my work. I can make
business sense out of every business and understand the gist of it. I am not a subject matter expert either. By the end of that interview, one
thing I am glad they picked up was, “ I think you are more marketing strategist than product launch person.” I am really glad they exactly
grasped what I am trying to tell them. Obviously they should refine the job title as “Product Launcher or Product Manager”. :P

Misconception of
Marketing

“If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” - Anonymous


Misconception of Marketing
The funny thing is, it is common to observe misconceptions of
marketing. There are ubiquitous. While many actually aware that
the new customers are demanding and very different (because
we wear customer hat too!), but when it comes to their own
organization, many business chiefs have no clue where to start.
Many also still holding on old mantras from old eras and watch
their sales dwindled. What they normally say is, ‘Increase
marketing!!”.

What they mean by increase marketing is usually increase sales
people, increase advertising, increase commission, launch new
product, expand territory, cut down training, slash cost, cut
salary, work longer hours, use manual processes and many more.
I am sure many of you also fall into this trap. One big thing they
forget, “it’s the customer stupid!”. The new age customers are
unpredictable and everywhere!! Do you agree?


Many of us forget to come back to our customers (which the very reason
we are in business) and ask them what exactly they want from us. From
my observation, more than 50% of companies don’t track their
customer’s purchases. Because of that they can’t track the purchasing
patterns. And because of that when there is new product launch, they are
struggling to find people to buy and try. The biggest sin of all is not to ask
to our current customers why they buy from us. Let’s don’t make the
same mistake. Track your customer’s purchase please.

Another misconception on marketing is “it’s a department that deals with
buntings, brochures, printing and press conferences.”. If you suddenly say
that this is what your marketing department does, don’t tell me you are
in the marketing department. By the way, if you are in that kind of
marketing department, you definitely just made a breakthrough by
purchasing this material.  Congratulations!! If you are about to start
your business, don’t repeat the same mistake.

While this is true in the 1950’s era, today’s marketing is a business
function. There was a consulting company that claim to their clients to be
specializing in e-business, but fail to have their own website equipped
with e-business functionalities and tools. The worst is when the website
always jammed because the hosting it uses is the lousiest in town. So
what kind of credibility is that? And how to market “e-business specialist”
when you can’t even fix your own house?

Let’s take a look on how their marketing department works. The
department consists of 4 personnel. The manager deals with endless
press conferences and social events. Wherever the GM will be, there will
be some news about her. Whenever there is launch of new product, the
GM will be there and officiate and the next thing you know that news will
be distributed to few countries where the company has businesses.
Good? Yes, until you ask the actual customers who buy their product.

The most common complaint was “late and underperform”. The
staffs are complainer lots because their bosses “over promise and
under deliver” the customers. As a result they are not motivated to
work and always criticized by the customers. When things go awry,
the GM will interfere and diplomatically swept the problems under
carpet. And this has been going on for long time and the marketing
has nothing to do with it (that’s what they said). Are you familiar
with this kind of approach? They need to be rejuvenated.

Another personnel in the marketing department deals with graphic
design. He will design 1001 things squeezing his creative juice but
only to find out that the bosses only like certain type of designs. So
to make his job easier, he only follow what his boss wants instead of
the customers.

And there is another personnel is to check on daily basis any news featured
about to them. This is a good intelligence work but what they do after that
with all those paper cuts? Collectibles and get dusted. The funny part was
are not about competitive updates. There is no new product specifications
by other competition, new players in the market, new technology adopted
and R&D items. There are all PR works. And worse of they forget to cut
about their clients.

All these “phonies” you can observe mostly in a mammoth, once-succeed
company and high growth industry. In fact in some multinational
corporations (MNCs), it is so centralized that only the few top executives
make decision for the entire strategies for the companies. This also includes
marketing strategy. How can the few top executives that mostly in the high
office can know about their customers? Do they have a comprehensive
marketing information system (MIS)? Not really. Sometimes we don’t know
what we don’t know. Hey, don’t make the same mistakes.

The rests in the company are just the order takers. It is believed
that time will come when the small business (like your’s and mine)
are the big business because of their ability to change and agility to
move forward. I think we are experiencing it already. This thought
can be observed from Jacques Barzun on what is lacking:

“I grieve to see the most advanced physical and social organization
of the last century go down in shabby disgrace for lack of the same
comprehensive imagination that built it up. What is lacking is the
will of the companies to survive and to satisfy the public
inventiveness and skill.” (marketing myopia- Theodore levitt)


Marketing is Strategy
“Nothing in this world is so powerful as an idea whose time has come.” – Victor
Hugo


Marketing as Strategist

Marketing today needs a PARADIGM SHIFT. Someone has to
shout PARADIGM SHIFT loudly.

CEO

CEO’s Office

Sales & After
Finance Manufacturing Marketing Human Resource
Sales

Traditional structure


E5


Someone has to shout PARADIGM SHIFT. Marketing is ABOUT US.

CEO

CEO’s Office Marketing

Sales & After
Finance Manufacturing Marketing Human Resource
Sales

Marketing as strategist


E5 Marketing is not buntings design, pamphlets making or event organizer. I think its very timely (post crisis) that we restructure our approach
and thinking. Marketing is “d” thing and you need to make it on top.

Unless you are the boss, you should make your marketing your number 2 important person. The key thing about marketing is to always ask
the 5W 1H questions. It needs to so accustomed until you ask almost everything. But don’t get too obsessed, it can kill your brain!

If you are a small business or one-man show company, the
marketing is your job. Marketing is not about fancy stuffs and fancy
looking. Its also not arty ads. It is about simple thing, small items
and baby steps that make big impact for your business.
You need to start thinking that way.
The essence is as long whatever you do to satisfy your customer
and you make normal profit, you are doing ok. But as your business
grow, especially for one-man show you need to expand your
thinking. You can’t just think about how to make more money, you
need to look how to make more profit. This is where other
marketing comes in practice. For example pricing, distribution,
branding etc..because these are YOUR TOOLS to make more profits.
How is that possible? From repeat purchase and encouraging new
take ups (new customers). Therefore your one-man show marketing
style has to go and replaced by the expanded version. Got it? 27
http://marketingplanbook.wordpress.com


By profession, they are economist
with financial backgrounds and
work with policies at U.S. Treasury.

But they are called “Three
Marketeers” because they are
strategist and work together saving
the world from economic
meltdown.

Marketeer is a strategist and he
needs to have cross industry
knowledge so he refines his
strategizing skill.

If your marketing manager only
know how to launch product or PR
work or advertising or branding, be
suspicious!

Strategy

“To achieve greater heights you need to learn how to jump, just expect to fall in
your first few jumps” – Khairul Anwar


E6

What is Strategy

Strategy is about “how-to”.
That’s all. As long you answer
the “how-to” is consider as
strategy.
Too many people argue about what strategy is. It’s a big but simple word that gets
too many confused to work on. It’s the How To pal. Yes it is the How To bit.


E6 Again, don’t get too jammed up with strategy, scorecard etc…make sure what you do make sense and make sense with you are trying to do.
Sometimes too much idea are not so good, try to work around where “less is more!”.

What is Strategy

VISION – what you want to
BE
MISSION – what you are
GOING TO DO
STRATEGY – how you want
S4 TO GET THERE

Business
S3
Goals

S2

S1

If the proof of the pudding is in the eating, the proof of Vision, Mission, Strategy and Business Goals
are in the DOING!! Start DOING NOW.

E7

Strategy Comes First and Greater Coverage

More solid and
Board grounded Strategy
Strategic Formulation activities
Orientation

Strategic
Top Mgmt
Orientation
CHANGE

Tactical
Middle Mgmt
Orientation

Tactical
Orientation
Operations

More participation from Operational
teams during Strategy Formulation
http://marketingplanbook.wordpress.com because they are closer to our customers 32

E7 If you are running an organization or business units that have more than 3 people, you really to call all of them or involve at least 70% of
them involve in the marketing planning. You don’t want to miss their inputs. They are valuable and uniquely for your business. Tap their
creativity and eagerness to share.

If they don’t talk in group, talk to them personally. If they talk too much individually, get them to be the leader of the group. If he shows
enough leadership, check his capability. If he fits all the criteria, make him your champion! Easy? It is. Do what makes sense to your business.
Deal with the present.

How to Develop a Strategy Statement
1. Understand the industry landscape, what is it all about and who are the competitors.

2. Understand the customer’s needs, segment the customer (Refer to Segmentation for information) and find
ways to add value with what you want to serve. You can refer to Product Planning section on how to value
add your products. Over analyse makes you paralyse, so don’t over do it.

3. Understand what you need (capability) in order to serve that product and value added services to your
customer. In terms of money, people, system and other resources. You don’t want to over do it and kill
yourself.

4. Be objective and be ambitious a little bit. Come out with 3 – 5 strategies. You can separate them into 2
phases, 1st phase for launching strategies (the 1st 6 months of your business) and 2nd phase is for post
launching (6th months onwards).

5. Always check back your strategies with your business goals and offerings. Focus on the primary services
first, the extension or extra value added services can come much later. Too much value added service can
kill you and your business. Know what you can and cannot do.

6. Don’t worry if someone says you’ve got wrong strategies, you just need to ask them why. It is up to you
whether you want to take heed or not. But never ignore them because sometimes we spend too long in the
strategies, it can make us blind. They can be your customer too, so open up.

7. Final one, don’t forget that you need to write all your strategies in a piece of paper. If it only lingers in the
head, you risk of losing them. Type it into your laptop is much better just in case the paper gets wet when it
rains, you always have a back up. It helps bad handwriting too!!

Marketing Objectives

“When you feel the world is falling apart and going against you, get a nice cup
of coffee.” – Alex Tan A.C.


What is Marketing Objectives

Marketing objectives are the “purpose” you need to do your
marketing. Marketing objectives must be consistent with your
business goals. For example: “to increase sales of premium items”. The
more specific marketing objective is “to increase 20% sales of
premium items in 6 months”. Make it quantifiable is a lot better so you
instantaneously checking your capability.

Marketing objectives need to be specific, measurable and time
bounded. Nevertheless, the objective need to be realistic and
attainable. Let’s don’t make it pompous to show you are ambitious.
Remember the main thing is “the doing” not the planning. We don’t
want our plan just end up as “a nice plan” but don’t produce results.
Only result and profits count.


Marketing Strategy

“Want to make God laugh? Have a plan!” – Arthur Burns


What is Marketing Strategy

Since strategy is about “how-to” therefore your marketing strategy is about how to achieve your
marketing objectives. (Refer to Marketing Objectives slides).

Marketing strategy is a “how to do” statement. What you need to do in order to achieve the goals. It is a
verb and it must be synchronized to your business goals. Examples of marketing strategy is:

1.To be the market leader in the children clothing line
2.To create new product line extension
3.To develop mass marketing or targeted marketing
4.To introduce direct sales or channel sales
5.To start a web designing business

Remember, your marketing strategy needs focus on the customers. It is strategic so that your
organization will focus on the effort towards that. You can also develop the strategy into all
the marketing elements (S6PEC) and combine them together. This approach is a lot easier
for small-medium business because it will make you see clearer what is your strategy.

Remember that the most important thing is in the doing, not just planning. It is perfectly ok
if your plan is imperfect because we want to get things moving and progressing. Nonetheless you still
need to do some thinking, don’t just leave it blank! Some mistakes people make is to do once-a-year
marketing plan and fail to revisit. We should always revisit our marketing plan and make necessary
correction when necessary.

E8

Best Practices on Strategy

Competitive Analysis & Strategic Planning


E8 This method is very simple. You just need to answer all those questions and fit them into main themes. Such as operation, sales, finance, hr
etc..The main focus is the customer. Remember that always!

E9

Best Practices on Strategy

Dynamic Competitive Strategy


E9 This method is good when you already run your business and would like to do some assessment.

E10

Elements of Marketing
“Bite off more than you can chew, then chew it!” – Roger Babson


E10 By standard theory by Philip Kotler (the Father of Modern Marketing – some called him King), there are 4 Marketing Elements i.e. the infamous
4P.
There are Product, Place, Promotion and Price. (4P) I think to cover just 4P in today’s business is not enough.
Later some scholars and practitioners come up with 6P with additional of People and Process. Still after the worldwide crisis in 2008/2009, and
after I read Philip Kotler book, Chaotics, I realized it is still not enough.
I came up with S6PEC (pronounce as Six Pack!)– the need to add à Segment, Environment and Communication
Most of the time these three additional Elements are left out in just few lines of marketing plan especially the Segment and Communication.
So, here I present to you the more holistic marketing plan coverage, the S6PEC (Six Pack)

E11

Elements of Marketing – S6PEC
NOW, there are at least 9 crucial elements of a
successful marketing execution.
We call it S6PEC (pronounced six pack)

Segment/ Product Place/ Promotion/
Market Distribution Advertising

Communication

Price People Process Environment

Yes, you got that right. Marketing today has is more complex than ever. But getting it right pays off!

E11 As you can see, the Communication is “the knob” or “the key” of making sure the rest interact and producing the results that we wanted in our
marketing plan. I have seen many marketing plans that fail to live up to what it promises to do because of lack of communication and
miscommunication.
The joke is, most of the lack and miscommunication is with the internal stakeholders instead of the customers. So, the marketing plan that am
going to share with you is the need to look both inside and outside of your organization. Most of the time we see what others have to do and
fail to see what we need and we can do to achieve our business goals.

Segment/ Product P lace/ Promotion/

Communication


Segment and Market

“A marketeer is like a chef in the kitchen, a mixer of ingredients.” – Frederick
Bartels


E12

Segment and Market
Many people talk about segmenting the marketing, finding
your niche, key differentiation factor, unique selling
proposition and many more. They mean the same thing. Its
about your customers. To make it simpler, you just need to
be and do better from your customer’s eyes. This is KEY.

It’s about the customer you want to serve or the gap you
see in the market and you think your product can fill the
gap. As someone once said, “Customer sees your product as
utility to them. Something that fulfill their need and they
will keep using until that need has been satisfied.”

To add on that, customer also is on constant search for new
product to satisfy the same need because human need is
unlimited.

E12 Market segmentation has become a little more complex these days. Customer needs are varies, some products just need a little additional
features and it will be appealing to other type of segment.
Take this for example, “"Some fake iPhones in China, for example, can take two SIM cards, and thus handle two different numbers through the
same handset." – from The Economist, Counterfeit handsets proliferate in China: Talk is cheap, November 2009
Therefore as small business and entrepreneurs, we need to make sure we know what we want to serve and what we are capable of..lets don’t
overpromise but under deliver.


E13

Segment and Market

Say you have identified that gap and roughly know what you
want to provide (product), how do you want to know
whether this segment/market is sizable enough for you to
care about?

Remember, every business needs enough and sizable
number of customers to justify it’s existence. IBM’s James
Watson predicted if they can sell few mainframes, they
should be happy (that was in 1960). Wait a minute, how
many computers sold around the world these days? By the
billions!! And they weren’t mainframes, its laptops and PC.


E13 Remember, market research is a must but don’t get bog down and over analyze with the data. You can get crazy and don’t know what to do
next.
In this marketing plan e-book we will focus on how to make what you have in mind, business and external environment work for you. We will
see how these dynamics can be your advantage than otherwise.

E14

What is a Business Gap

1. Is a space left by accident or intentionally in any
product because of many reasons. Reasons for
business gap is only one, CHANGE.
1. Sudden need arises
2. Change of demographic
3. Change of technology
4. Change of knowledge/thinking model
5. Change of politics
6. Change of psychology
2. Now they call it “Innovation”. A gap is a business
opportunity in disguise. You need to open and
explore it.

E14 Business gap is very important to small business owners and entrepreneurs, because this is where we can fit in. the vacuum in the market is
our space and if it is big enough that is better so we can grow.
For example, have you heard Part Time Maid Service? It used to be, when you need a maid/cleaner you need to hire them from the agency
and it has to be on permanent/long contract basis. Some of the problems in standard maid/cleaner @ home is pilferage, theft, home-wrecker
and other things. But someone came up with timed-basis maid/cleaner service where the maid/cleaner will clean the house for 4hrs-8hrs per
session and paid accordingly.
In other words, the monthly service now breakdown into by the hours, of course for a smaller fees. Now this service is booming in Malaysia
especially in Kuala Lumpur. An for a family and stay in urban place like Kuala Lumpur, this kind of service is very welcoming. And the business
becomes so viable that some companies provide both part time and full time maid/cleaner service. This is what I called, business gap. It may
be small to start with but enough space to grow larger and become an industry; real soon.

E15

What is Business Gap
Existing Product Possible Future Product/Innovation

GAP

GAP

GAP


E15 This is trying to show that nowadays product can be bundled, break and tear to anywhere we like. We can also collaborate with anyone to give
our product the X factor to serve our customers. There are always gaps in the market and in our customers needs. Remember, customers need
are unlimited! Find ways. Think Think Think!

How to Segment

“Online customers are changing, they don’t just talk back but they shout back
too and can break brands!” - Anonymous


E16

What is Market Segment
MARKET

A clear market segment:
1. Homogenous
2. Sizable
3. Distinctive
4. Niche
5. Clustered
6. Proven


E16 As mentioned just now, market segment is where the customer is attracted to your offering and that little gap is where they sit in. The
moment their needs shift and become significant, a new segment is created.
So it is very tricky, and most of the times there will be few strong criterias that are relevant in few segment. Therefore these “threshold” will
become the main segment followed by few sub-segments that represent additional segments. Sub-segments require similar features but with
added needs such as a hand phone with and without camera.
The camera feature is added thing and a sub segment is created within the hand phone market.

How to Segment Your Market

Your customers actually are in front of you. You just need to pay
a little more attention to them. You need to find out what they
like, why they buy, when they use, who they buy it for, where
they go and how they get the money to purchase. After all, you
want some sales to justify your own existence. One more thing,
your customer is not you. So obviously they are not going to
behave, think and consume like you. Don’t believe? Do you share
the same fashion or mind with your brother/sister? Well, that’s
an enough proof to show we are all have different flavors, and so
does your customer. 

But how do you find out about them? Research. How to do
research, next page please.

What Do You Need When Doing Research?

Firstly,Pen and Paper
Secondly, Lots of Questions
Thirdly, Find the Answers


Researching Your Target Market and Customers
You must have seen something that others don’t see. It came like a lightning bolt
and eureka you said you have found something. We call that a business idea. You are
very lucky because not everyone can easily get that from anywhere. Now you feel
you can start a business and be rich. Buy whatever you like. Wrong thinking.

I once thought the same and I quit my job because I think I want to give 110% for
that business idea. What was my business idea? A healthy restaurant, the tagline
shouts “tastier, healthier!”. Sounds good? Wrong. Tagline doesn’t make any sales.

I did very minimal research and straight jumped in. I burned USD 100, 000 within a
year. What did I learn? The power of knowing your customer needs way before you
start your business. Some may say, its ok if you have good products, people will
come to you. Bullshit!!

By the way, the rest of this e-book also what I picked up along the way. Its
worthwhile to share to you and more people. 


Researching Your Target Market/Customers

What I realize after that was, the auntie who has customers from
various locations has been in business for the last 30 years and,
only in the last 2-3 years she is making “that” tonnes of profits.
Do I have to keep investing until 30 years? Hey, cut your losses if
you don’t make enough to cover your monthly maintenance.
That’s why researching your target market is bloody important.

I will now take you to how to do your research. Don’t scratch
your head because I am going to show a simpler way of research
approach and what you need to know only. While it is simple, I
won’t give a “ballpark” method. It’s a real method inspired by
best practice and my own personal experience. By the way, never
make decision on your business using “ballpark”. It ain’t right and
sure way to lose. http://marketingplanbook.wordpress.com 52

Research Methodology

“Successful marketeers listen and learn. They stay hungry, stay foolish and keep
improving the odds by improving themselves.” – Mike Entreprenovator


E17

1. What is your business idea? What is it and who is your target
group. Do this in point form so you can see it clearer. You don’t
have to be right, just let the creative juice flowing. The more the
better, but not more than 5 pages. Scribble is fine too!

1. Find it difficult to write? Try to answer this question.
1. What is the nature of your business (fashion design, car dealership,
consulting, restaurant, flower shop, videography etc..)
2. What is it that you want to offer (cuter design, cheaper price, more
selections, premium selection etc..)
3. What is the gap in the market that make you think your offering is
worthwhile (this will reflect your observation about your target group
projected behavior)
4. Why do you think people should buy from you? (this will further enhance
what make your offering very special)
5. Who is offering the same/similar products right now? (this is checking you
competition)

E17 Trust me, if you feel the word methodology is bombastic, I feel the same too. But for the sake of this book and standard definition (so you can
google more about it for more understanding!), I used Methodology.
In essence, Methodology means what kind method do you use to get the findings. That’s all.

E18

PLANNING RESEARCH DESIGN

Research Research
Research Purpose Research Tactics
Objective Approach
-problems/opportunities -exploratory,descriptive,causal
-business ideas/gaps -data collection method
-research questions -measurement
-hypotheses -sampling plan
-limitations/assumptions -construct question

This is best practice steps for your info only. Don’t
have to follow this, modify it for your personal
usage. It’s in the doing!
ACTION PLAN IMPLEMENTATON

Data Collection & Conclusion &
Business Plan Marketing Plan
Analysis Recommendation

-strategy
-data processing
-processes
-data analysis
-operationalization
-interpretation
-limitation


E18 This is adapted from Marketing Research reference book. You need to see this to give you ideas how it look like in the bigger business. If you
find it complicated, you should use my suggestions with questions just now. The reason why it is complicated simply because bigger business
has bigger risk, more stakeholders, and more responsibility. Therefore they need to be very careful and prudent especially the public
companies.

E19
Market Segmentation Strategies
Segment Focus
Segment Criteria Single Segment
Concentration
Measurable

Geographic Demographic Selective
Substantial Segmentation Segmentation Specialization

Accessible Product
Specialization

Differentiable Psychographic Behavioral
Segmentation Segmentation Market Specialization

Actionable
Full Market Coverage

MARKETING PLAN BUSINESS PLAN


E19 This is also to give some ideas areas of segmentation. For small business owners and entrepreneurs, when you do your segmentation please
be focus. When I say focus it means::
Be specific with your location. Remember, while your product is superior in quality, the news will only spread to another district or state or
country when someone brings it there. Therefore don’t segment too far other than your main location. This apply to online business as well.
While it is online, your main location are your primary target. Segment them there.
Be focus on your offering. Focus on the core offering first, what is the first thing your product can do. Let go the product extension first. For
example: Do you know WD 40 (rust protector), is a rust protector. But now it is used for more than 2000 things!! But it first in the market, it is
positioned as rust protector. So be focus on your offering.
If you are not starting a new business, means you already have existing business. If you have product extension, list it down only what people
are using it for. Don’t invent what you think, you need to see how people use you product and you expand it. From there you can have
testimonial, proof of claim and real usage and benefit of the customer using your product.
As a small business owner, we need to do one thing at a time. At least for the 1st few months. Focus on managing the business first, do slowly
on the advertising because sometimes advertising kills you! How? Let say you just opened a restaurant and you quickly advertise because you
think everything is ready. You bet! That’s what I did! Of course I received full house for two rounds in a lunch session, but I had service
breakdown. Food was late, beverage was late and finish, waiter was panicking, cashier was not ready and a lot of other things..So this is a bad
advertising, and it kills!!
Let your business stabilize first. Be patience…

E20
Behavioral Segmentation

Target Market

Unaware Aware

Not Tried Tried

Negative Favorable Not Yet
Neutral Rejector Repeated Repeated
Opinion Opinion

Loyal to Other
Switcher Loyal to Brand
Brand

Light User Regular User Heavy User


E20 This is for reference especially for small business owners and entrepreneurs that may not know another type of segmentation.
I always believe in knowledge for us to make a real difference. I will share everything I know and I can get in this e Book so you can always
refer to it anytime.
This is quite typical for Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) company. This may not be useful to you now, but it will the moment your
business get bigger and your customer wants something new. It will assist you in your thinking.

E21

Buyer Readiness Stage

143 85% 82% 85% 65% 70%
121 99 84 54 37

Aware Ever Tried Recent Trial Occasional Regular User Most Often
User Used

This tool is very useful if you already have an established product. You want to know where your
products are positioned in the Buyer Stage. You can also use this tool if your new product is common
and you want to know at which stage you want to target. Therefore your marketing effort will more
focus on that weak link.

For example if a cookies manufacturer realized very high percentage of the sampling Ever Tried his
cookies but 70% of the Regular User converted into Most Often Used. So he needs to focus his
marketing effort to “let as many people to try his cookies” so he will increase the number of Regular
User and subsequently becoming his loyal customers.


E21 This is another tool.
Same purpose: to let you see that actually there is such processes for you to manage your business.

E22

Where are you in the Market?

Hypothetical Market Structure

25% 30% 35% 10%

Market Leader Market Challenger Market Follower Market
Nicher

The above can give you a general idea where you are in the market and where you want to be. While
it is hypothetical, the depiction of real market is somewhat similar. Whereby there will be a lot of
Market Followers and Market Challengers. It is never easy to be the Market Leader and it takes time.

It is also wise to remember that a Market Leader doesn’t guarantee profitability and Market Nicher
doesn’t mean you are not making money. Therefore you need to decide at which level you want to
enter. Please also note that at each level, the cost of doing business are different too. If you think you
are a Market Leader, you need to invest a lot to always be the leader and as a Market Nicher, you are
very specialized and exclusive to your customers. At the end, its your call. 


E22 Same purpose.
To let you see and get you thinking.


Communication


Product

“Nothing comes easy. Work hard doing what you love. Find out what gives you
energy and improve on it.” – Betty Coster


Product
Product in essence is just medium to satisfy customer’s needs.
Because the customer’s needs change overtime, product offerings
also evolve parallelly with time.
Product is “a utility”. It is in the “usage and benefits” derived from
something. Customer doesn’t differentiate whether its hard solid
printer or web-based printer. If it can deliver the printed copies
they requested for and within the time specified, hey you already
have a product.
Product here means, your offerings. It can be a touchable-solid
things (normally referred PRODUCT) or untouchable-tangible
services (normally referred as SERVICE). In this book, we’ll use
PRODUCT to refer to both items.
So how to develop a PRODUCT? What comes with it so it becomes
powerful, sellable and profitable? How to do it?

Product is a Utility


E23


E23 It is important to imagine and to conceptualize how your product should look like. I suggest you to take a piece of paper and start writing how
your product should look like.
Did you just went blank? (especially for new business owners!) à it is perfectly ok. That’s why I want you to take that piece of paper and write.
If you cant imagine how it should look like, what make you think the customer will figure it out?
If you already have a business, write down your current offering on a piece of paper. Write down additional features, customer complaints and
feedbacks about your current products. It is also good if you can ask your staff about it because most of the time they directly watching how
your product is performing and interact with the customers. Some of them might not have the guts to tell you, so it is good for you to ask. I
am sure they are more than willing to help you.


Product Development



Product Development
Designing a product is a very tricky business. A total emotional
detachment is required especially when your product is so rare and
new in the market. Because it is rare, there is little demand for it.
More so when your company is also a start up. The cost to sell the
idea of the product is expensive. So, I suggest to think carefully.

There is a saying, “Why change if it works?”. This is to explain if the
sales of a particular product is huge and a lot of customers buy it,
why need to innovate? The safest bet is to just follow and slowly
and incrementally modify subsequently innovate existing product.

However this shouldn’t deter you for going into your business idea.
You should stick to it, if you believe it is going to work. But before
jumping into it, I rather you creep and morph using few tools. This
way you will save money and efforts. And you also will find out your
business idea make financial sense or not.

Product Development
Product development is the single most important element in a
business. Failing of which the business is ceased to exist. To be a
successful entrepreneur and business we need to constantly
searching for new product. There 2 common ways to get new
product. Acquisition and New Product Development.

Acquisition means you buy other company, buy patterns or buy
license or franchise.

New Product Development means you develop in house or you
contract out to a lab to do it for you.


E24
Five Levels of Product (that you need to know)

Servicizing Product
Core Benefit – the utility that
the customer really buying.
Augmented Product
Basic Product – the
Expected Product complementary product around it
to support core benefit.
Basic Product
Expected Product – attributes
and conditions that customer
expects when buying.
CoreCore
Benefit
Benefit
Augmented Product –
Exceeding customer expectations
elements.

Servicizing Product – all other
possible augmentations and
transformation to serve the
customer.


E24 These levels will help you dissecting or slicing your product into smaller components.
By slicing it, you will be able to see what is your core, basic, expected etc..based on your customer requirements and with what you can offer.
Remember to always come back to this mantra, “check what the customer wants and with what you can offer.”
This exercise also will let you decide your pricing with more precision. Some of us provide Augmented product but price it wrongly until
actually at lose.


E25

Simple Questions to Develop Product

Who is your What did you get What is your
segment/market? from research? business gap?

What is your What do you need
Can you deliver?
offerings look like? to deliver?

What is your Is it better than
Is it achievable?
investment? competition?


E25 These questions are for you to use to ask yourself or your staff when you see them.
Bear in mind that each question will pose different answer to different people. So you need to write it down and rate them. Then you make
your decision.
The more you ask and the more answers you will get the greater it is! Take a short break and do some mental exercise by asking some of
these questions.

E26

SIX Categories of Product
1. New to the world product  entirely new product and new market

2. New product lines  new product with existing market but the company enter it for
the first time

3. Additions to existing product lines  new product that supplements established
product of the company

4. Improvement in/revisions to existing products  provide an improved feature and
performance of existing product

5. Repositioning  existing product that’s targeted to different group/segment

6. Cost reduction  new product that provide similar benefits but at lower costs

WHICH CATEGORY YOUR PRODUCT FALLS INTO?

E26 My experience with new product is, it takes a lot of effort and energy to start and market it. First I need to be able to explain what is it that I
am offering, secondly I need to convince them to consider listening, thirdly I need to convince them to try, fourthly I need to do convince for
them to pay for it, fifthly and so on……..it takes a lot of advertising efforts and money.
If you have the money, I suggest you to pursue it, no doubt about it.
Many actually that successful to enter the market, is product category that is existing but with new or better features. Some bring in back the
old product with zest and new touch. This is to re-live the product for sentimental attached customer. For example mini car, cassette player
with CD functionality and especially authentic food.


E27
How Your Product Interact in the Market

Alliances Company Extensions Ingredients

Other Product

Country of
Employees
Origin

Your
People Places
Product/
Brand
Endorsers Channels

Things Basically our products are
going places! Do good you
get more $ and do poorly
Third Party you get fired from the
Events Causes market!
Endorsements


E27 This is to show you that our product will travel and bound to move almost everywhere. In this boundariless world, it can go almost anywhere.
The difference is in the intensity and volume. But this world is interesting, if you do bad things i.e. your product fails to perform, the news
travel the fastest! Yeah it sounds unfair, but we do the same thing too to other product. For example when we buy a car then the door slacked
peppered with de-motivated sales staff that entertained you, we are likely to make a report to the big bosses or worse, the medias!
So, my suggestion is to make sure the product performs. Especially if your product is mechanically driven, please make sure it is safe for usage
and consumption.
But this so called travelling news is useful when your product performing well. While it may a little bit slower, but it is solid and gradually
increases. Imagine, if the person that is using your product is the media person, after long enough you are potentially going to have some
strories brought by him. He is your walking billboard.
I always my clients and friends, to always make sure your product performing all the time. Because sometimes you don’t have 2nd chance and
you only left with one option; do your level best just for one time!!!

E28

Commercialization – What Do You Need?

To-Whom
(Target
market)
Where
How (Market
(Geographical
Strategy)
strategy)

What When
COMMERCIALIZATION
(Product OF YOUR PRODUCT (Timing
Strategy) Strategy)

Always do this when you are about to launch new product. Write on a piece of
paper to remind you and observe anything that escape your attention.

E28 This is additional notes for product.
Let say now you want to skip the rest of the note and in the middle of launching a new product or promotion. I include this so you can observe
and take some notes to plan for it.
Have fun using it!


E29

Post Product Launching
This activity is usually skipped by the business owners or marketing
managers simply because they are busy being entertained by their
sky rocketing sales figure or vice versa. Nonetheless we recommend
you to perform Post Product Survey. No matter how the sales look
like, do Post Product Survey after the launch and monitor usage.

A simple survey to engage your customer’s perception and
satisfaction. If you are a new business, you have great advantage
simply because people will tolerate with you more compare with the
existing businesses.

Besides, as a new business there are many customers would like to
try your new product. But this is still depending on your Awareness
program so the customer remember your brand and subsequently
buy your product. Let’s hope the use it often. 

E29 Must do!
Do a post mortem, ask back some questions that you ask before the launch. Do you achieve what you target, does your product gives what it
is supposed to give etc…
You will find out that you have a lot of information to improve your offerings.

E30

Post Product Survey

How do you like the product?

What features do you like in the new product?

What features do you thing we should add?

How much would you pay for that improved product?

Would you recommend us to your friends/contacts?

Would you come again to our shop for the same product?


E30 These are the questions for the post launching survey.
Ask your customer and customize it if you want.

E31

Customer Adoption Process – AIETA

After you launch your product it doesn’t mean you are going to make your 1st million over night. Some
products, we need to accept that it can be an over night success. Examples are like Playstation and iPhone.
Naturally there are FIVE stages of Adoption Process.
It also depending on how many and how effective your sales channels are. Monitor the channels too.

Awareness Interest Evaluation Trial Adoption
- customer is - customer
- customer - customer - customer tries
aware but lack decides to make
stimulated to considers and at small scale
of info full and regular
seek info positive to trial and gauge value
use of product


E31 This diagram is to give you some ideas about typical customer adoption process.
We need to understand that while usually customer don’t really follow this, after long observation you will realize this is how the customer
make purchase decision. It is done unconsciously and sometimes not chronological.
Because the dynamic is so high, I suggest you spend time to identify in each box, how you plan to tackle and do some programs in between.


Communication


Place/Distribution
Channel



E32

Place/Distribution

Place will address where and how your product will be
distributed. It cares a lot about your channel. For
example, let say you are an entrepreneur selling cookies,
your distribution probably your distributor, agent, shop
and online (from your website).

Another example if you are a plumber that provides
plumbing service your channel yourself and your existing
customer. Therefore because your place channel is very
narrowed and specialized, you can leverage on your
customers as your channel (through WOM advertising)
provided you did a good job.
WOM=Words of Mouth

E32 Just don’t get bogged down with terminologies. I used standard terminologies so you can refer to other additional materials from other books.
Key things here are:
The more distribution channel the better your chances to sell, but managing distribution is not an easy task
Relying on only one channel is risky business, similar to putting all eggs in one basket. For example, I have a friend who runs four restaurants
and all his ingredients, sauces and raw materials are prepared in a rented house (a central kitchen) He is overly dependent on that house;
which he supposed to have a proper factory, one day the house was in flood (very bad flood) and the whole thing in the house vanished in
split seconds.
What happened to his business? Vanished too. He needs to buy all new equipments and build back the restaurants. But now he is renting a
proper factory and dishing out everything still from the same central kitchen. The good thing about central kitchen concept is, it helps the
quality control .
So, when it comes to distribution channel, my restaurant friend has four restaurants to distribute. Which all of them are physical shops. Later
he introduces “Delivery service” which is considered as the seconda distribution channel. He also recently created a website and promote
event-based functions and have a total web-based customer service there, that’s the 3rd distribution channel.
How to differentiate a distribution channel or not? Usually each distribution channel requires a different approach because each is serving a
different types of customer. It requires different marketing approach and provide different kind of profitability.
And let say that particular distribution channel grows larger, you can start to create it as an independent business unit. For example, I have a
friend who sells children scarf online and dedicate a specific business plan and someone to manage online business. Check this website
www.refanes.net , refanes.wordpress.com this is my friend from bandung, Indonesia.


Place/Distribution
Nonetheless, to not let ourselves confuse Place and Advertising channels,
we will stick to primary channels only. Therefore if you a plumber, your
place is from where your office/house.

The greater amount of channels, the better your sales potentials are. It is
like probability game where the higher the chance people to find you, the
higher the chance you will get customer. It expands your reach too to
non-customer to become your customer. Especially in times of crisis like
now, credibility plays a lot more than mere simple offerings.

This is how MLM works so well, because the power of place/channels.
Imagine if an MLM company boasted about having 5000 distributors
nationwide, that gives a lot of impact. But the question we need to ask,
are all these distributors Active? In IT business they called it Resellers.
Most of the time (best case scenario) only 10% are Active. Therefore
there a lot of loss of productivity.

E33

Place/Distribution
The good news because of acceleration in technology, we now have
Internet as another powerful and strong distribution channel.
Internet is no longer just a channel, but it is a STRATEGY for your
business to grow. It used to be weakened by security issue but now
with greater processes in place, doing business using Internet is
mushrooming.

Internet gives you the cheaper ways to market your product. It
gives you also the access to worldwide market that is unthinkable.
Nonetheless, internet also comes with a price if you want to deliver
to foreign market. That’s where your delivery/shipping needs to
beef up. No need to worry, we now have FedEx and UPS to the
delivery, you just need to pay for it (or get your client to pay for it!)


E33 I highly recommend any business to go online especially if you are in small business and entrepreneurs based businesses. Why?
Simply because large companies have a lot of policies and stakeholders. They cannot move much and therefore decision making is very
difficult.
Besides, small business product is more simple and easily duplicated. The cost of reproduction is very low and sometimes almost zero cost and
easily managed.
But the trick is, “do it over time”. Meaning, you don’t have to rush into it and spend tonnes of money just because you want to be online.
Gradual movement is fine and consistency is key.
For example, before I publish this ebook I created pages on facebook for 6 months (Facebook/Mike Entreprenovator) then I created blog
(entreprenovator.wordpress.com & marketingplanbook.wordpress.com). Recently I created a website and later I plan to have ecommerce cart
for my customers to purchase online.
I will come up with more ebooks, cheaper price and more varieties. My goal is to make more knowledge become more accessible to more SME
business man and entrepreneurs.

E34

Distribution Channels

Internet Resellers

Agents/
Shoplots
Distributors

Distribution
Your house Channels Salesman

Customers Customers Customers Customers Customers


E34 When it comes to distribution, please focus on your best distribution and make it the best before moving into another channel.
The moment you have effective channel, you need to make it efficient. Only after that you select and increase the channel. Otherwise you will
become confused and might cause breakdown. This is common when you have too many distribution channel but too little resources to
manage it.
Distribution channels need to be managed to reap sustainable profits. It is important for you to have a brief summary of distribution plan (i.e.
a simpler business plan) of each distribution channels and how all these channels interact with each other.

E35
Ten Tips to Manage Distribution Channel
1. Choose your best distribution channel and make the best out of it.
2. Create a simple distribution channel plan for each channel and engage the members of the
channel effectively and efficiently (be effective first, efficient later)
3. Deploy adequate resources to each distribution channel and prepare to expand when required.
4. Know your primary channels and secondary channels. How to decide? Based in on sales
revenue/profit and return on investment of the channels.
5. When making decision on channels, look at facts. Potentials can be misleading because economic
environment constantly changing.
6. Be prepared to cut channels when it doesn’t prove to be effective, reliable and profitable.
7. Monitor your channels performance and ask members of channel to give feedbacks. They know
the channels best especially on loopholes.
8. Keep your channels greatest secret to only few key trusted people and be prepare on plan B or
plan C in case they hijack your channels when they leave the company. I’ve seen it often and pity
the founders.
9. Don’t‘ over react when your competitors venture into new channels. Think with facts at hand and
your capacity. Under deliver is something you need to avoid because it gives reason for your
customer to switch to your competitor.
10. Document your tricks and channel secret in soft copy/computer and hard copy. You never know,
some people do the extreme to keep you out of business. Dirty!


E35 I highly recommend any business to go online especially if you are in small business and entrepreneurs based businesses. Why?
Simply because large companies have a lot of policies and stakeholders. They cannot move much and therefore decision making is very
difficult.
Besides, small business product is more simple and easily duplicated. The cost of reproduction is very low and sometimes almost zero cost and
easily managed.
But the trick is, “do it over time”. Meaning, you don’t have to rush into it and spend tonnes of money just because you want to be online.
Gradual movement is fine and consistency is key.
For example, before I publish this ebook I created pages on facebook for 6 months (Facebook/Mike Entreprenovator) then I created blog
(entreprenovator.wordpress.com & marketingplanbook.wordpress.com). Recently I created a website and later I plan to have ecommerce cart
for my customers to purchase online.
I will come up with more ebooks, cheaper price and more varieties. My goal is to make more knowledge become more accessible to more SME
business man and entrepreneurs.


Communication


Promotion/Advertising

“The most significant growth in the last few years are search marketing, hey you
better be visible to your target groups!” - Anonymous


Promotion/Advertising

Why Do You
Advertise?

E36

15 Reasons Why You Advertise
1. To make your brand known in the market
2. To explain the reasons and benefits of your product
3. To do overview or pre-sell your product before actual launching
4. To sell your product
5. To build confidence in your product
6. To tell your competitor that you are ahead
7. To get the resellers and distributors attracted to your product
8. To share testimonials of your current customers
9. To convince your customer to enter the contest
10.To drive traffic to your website
11.To engage in survey and research about your product
12.To become part of the community
13.To heighten your brand awareness
14.To make your stakeholders happy and proud
15.To shout your product is superior than your competitor’s

E36 There are many other reasons we advertise, but there is only one problem; the limitation of advertising or advertisement. In any advertising
space, you cannot put too many messages. Your audience will get confused. At most, only 2 messages are sufficient. Some say one, but I
think one is too small for $$$ you spend. This is where creativity comes in, how to deliver 2 messages successfully? Trust me, I need to have
another e-Book just to handle this part! J
You can advertise to sell and at the same time build confidence. You can heighthen brand awareness and at the same time has a coupons for
new product trial. You can invite community to join you and you can also direct all that traffic to your website. So it is better to have combo,
but limited to 2 messages only.
In advertising, message is very important. But again, it has to be to your customer. Some ads agency will make nice “tagline” but the
customers cant relate to it. That’s horrendous and detrimental to your business, especially if it’s a big billboard. I am allergic with a big
billboard with small font size and placed in low traffic road. If it is placed at a jam packed all the time road is ok, at least drivers can kill the
time by reading that billboard. But low traffic, we will just speed and nothing else. Your $$$ gone down the drain.

E37

Advertising Approach

High

Outdoor
Mobile
LOCATION DEPENDENCE
Billboards

TV
Radio Online/Web-
Print Based

Low
INTERACTIVITY
Low High


Marketing Plan Breakthrough_S6PEC Framework

Marketing Plan Breakthrough_S6PEC Framework

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