1. MARKETING PLAN FOR
BUSINESS
PRESENTED BY:
ATHIF Abdul Azeez

2. Marketing plan: A marketing plan may be part of an overall business
plan. Solid marketing strategy is the foundation of a
well-written marketing plan. While a marketing plan
contains a list of actions, a marketing plan without a
sound strategic foundation is of little use.
A marketing plan is a comprehensive blueprint which
outlines an organization's overall marketing efforts.

3. Marketing plan to start up a business:
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It’s not just large companies that need marketing plans; your startup
needs one, too. Like a business plan, a marketing plan will help you
focus and decide where and how to spend your resources.
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A marketing plan won’t guarantee success, but what it will do is
give you a guide that details how, when, and why you’ll carry out
certain efforts.
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This is extremely important because it increases your chance for
success. Not only that, the work you put into developing such a
plan will help you better understand your business and industry.

4. The 7 marketing p’s are:
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Price — The amount of money needed to buy products
Product — The actual product
Promotion (advertising)- Getting the product known
Placement — Where the product is sold
People — Represent the business
Physical environment — The ambiance, mood, or tone of
the environment
Process — The Value-added services that differentiate
the product from the competition (e.g. after-sales service,
warranties)

5. One of the things that will help make your business a success is
an effective marketing plan.
The plan needs to include some or all of these elements:
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Getting more customers
Increasing sales revenue
Getting customers to buy from you more often
Customer retention.

6. Ideally, your plan needs to be short and clear.
THE STEPS TO BE FOLLOWED FOR
SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS

7. 1) Define your market.
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You’ll need to consider the following:
Who is your target customer?
Are there any gaps in the market?
Are these gaps sizable enough to make money from?
How much of the market do you need to break even?
Is the market saturated, too many competitors?
Do your competitors have any weak points and can you
exploit them?
Does your target customer really want what you have to
offer?

8. 2) Define your Customer type.
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You will need to know:
Who your customers are – age, gender, etc. who buys?
Their needs. You could do a market research plan and
find out what they want, e.g. older customers may need
different products to younger people.
What will persuade them to buy from you?
Are their emotional or lifestyle factors involved?
Are you selling to individuals or businesses? Individuals
may not be predictable and can have limited budgets.
Businesses usually have a bigger budget and greater
stability. However, in times of economic downturn both
sets can have tighter budgets.

9. 3) Identify your niche?
It’s better to sell a lot to a small audience than a little
to a big audience. So, you’ll end up with less
competition and a greater share of that audience.

10. 4) Define your message?
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Explain what you’re selling and persuade people to buy
it.
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There are two sorts of message. One short and to the
point (usually called “the elevator pitch”), which is
about 30 seconds long.
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The second is a lengthier complete plan, including such
things as your target customer's problem and how you
can solve it, customer testimonials, your pricing and
payment policy and your guarantee.

11. 5) Identify what media you will use to sell your
product?
How will you sell your product? Use the best way for the lowest
cost.
Examples are: social media, TV and radio adverts, trade shows,
leaflets, press articles, e-mail and website links.

12. 6) Decide on your routes to market
How are you going to distribute or get your product to the
buyer? Mail order, e-commerce, sales agents or other
distributors?

13. 7) Set sales targets
They should S.M.A.R.T.
Specific (i.e. setting a target of getting 10 new
customers)
Measurable (you can check to see if your targets been
reached)
Achievable (you need the resources of people and
money) Realistic (targets should motivate and not be so
unattainable that they de-motivate)
Time –defined (i.e. 10 customers in the next year)
They can also be reviewed and adjusted.

14. 8) Decide on a marketing budget.
Define a marketing budget - how much to spend, when and what
on?

15. 9) Carry out Market Research
Look at other companies doing the same thing as
you, how do they operate? Are they making a profit?
What are their costs? This gives you an idea of the
potential market and profitability of your area.
Business and Learning offer a range of market research
tools,
both
printed
and
online, including Keynote and Mintel market research
reports.

16. 10) Carry out a SWOT / PEST analysis.
SWOT is Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. (i.e.:
strengths-people, weaknesses –limited cash flow).
PEST is Political, legal changes (new laws), Economics (i.e.interest rates), Social Factors (i.e.-changing attitudes,
lifestyles), Technology (internet use). All these need to be taken
into consideration.

17. Strengths:
 List your advantages.
 What’s your selling point? What’s the thing you think you do better
than anyone else?
 What resources do you have that give you an edge over your
competition?
 Do you already have a loyal customer base?
Weaknesses:
 Are there things you can improve upon?
 Do you have low customer retention?
 Do you lack financial resources or staff?
Opportunities:
 What trends can you capitalize upon?
 Is there a new market you can tap?
 Do your competitors have weaknesses that you don’t?
Threats:
 Do you lack financial resources?
 Is there new technology that might threaten your business position?
 Do your customers or potential customers have tastes/interests that
continually evolve?

18. 11) Identify your business aims and objectives.
Remind yourself of what your busines s does, your key targets,
your strategy to achieve those targets. Ensure that your
marketing plan fits in with your business strategy as laid down
in your business plan.