marketing plan
8 Elements of a Marketing Plan
Executive Summary
Situation Analysis
Goals
Strategy
Tactics
Implementation
Performance Evaluation
Supporting Documents
Goals
Based upon the Situation Analysis research, create a set of assumptions about your organization’s capabilities, your market, and your target customer.
How many can you deliver, how many could buy, etc. Relate your organization’s need for sales (what is the budgeted sales target, occupancy target, market share, etc.) with your core market assumptions.
If they are compatible, you are ready for goal setting
If they are not compatible, internal discourse is needed
Goals
The marketing goals should be very straight-forward:
Selling which product or service
To which market
At what rate/frequency
Goals are SMART:
Specific
Measurable
Achievable
Realistic
Time-Bound
Examples:
“To maintain a Part A average daily census of 11 in FY16.”
“To increase private-pay home care visits 150% by FY17.”
8 Elements of a Marketing Plan
Executive Summary
Situation Analysis
Goals
Strategy
Tactics
Implementation
Performance Evaluation
Supporting Documents
Strategy
Define your target customer
A supported description of target customers including segment descriptions, needs, value profile and buying behaviors
Describe your value proposition
Benefit vs. Price related to target customer values and buying behaviors
Create a positioning model and statement
Model: Your fundamental strategy for engaging your market
Statement: A single sentence that relates the service to the customer at a positive value
Describing Your Target Customer
Target Customer: a profile describing the key aspects of the prototypical customer. This is the person you design your marketing efforts towards.
This becomes a fictitious “persona” that is in the very center of your target market segment.
Target Customer Profile
Age range
Gender
Geographic location
Level of education
Occupation (current or former)
Income Level
Family Structure
Lifestyle & Hobbies
Value Structure
Pain Points
Financial Habits
Service-Specific Need
Use this information to define your “Ideal Customer”
Sample Ideal Customer Profile
Mary Lou: Woman 75-80 years old in Good Health
Mary Lou is in her very early seventies, and lives in the suburbs. Her husband passed away of a heart condition a few years ago, and she lives in their house where they raised their children.
Mary Lou walks with friends and does other types of physical activity a couple of days a week, but is not likely to do activities that help her increase her muscle strength. She enjoys some physical activity, but doesn’t necessarily enjoy exercising. She also has arthritis, so needs to be careful in the activity that she does. Still, she feels good about herself when she is active, and that her kids are pleased, too.
Mary Lou is slightly overweight, and does want to lose some of her excess weight. She is still concerned about her appearance, and tries to eat a healthy diet. She wants to live a long life, and wants to do everything she can to stay healthy.
When it comes to health information, Mary Lou relies on her doctor for information, and thinks that her doctor does provide her with practical health information. She sometimes will even bring up something she read or heard in the news that she thinks is relevant to her personally. She’s interested in learning about her health, and makes a point to read and watch stories about health.
There are 9,500 Mary Lou’s in the Greater Minneapolis/St. Paul area.
Value Proposition
The unmet need
Deduced from your market analysis
The USP/Benefit of your service/product
Articulated from your product description
The price vs. benefit description
The best fit for connecting your product with the market’s need at a price that generates sales
Positioning Model
This is both creative and cognitive work – mashing it all together and making art!
Product
Is your product right for your market? If not, then what?
Price
How can you price it? High (skimming), Low (penetrating), Very low (disrupting)
Promotion
Advertising
Special offers/pricing/incentive
Sales force structure
Brand/PR support
Positioning Statement
Wrapping it all up into a single statement:
Ace Ambu-Cab Service provides seniors in the Riverside Metro area safe, reliable, non-emergency transportation to and from area hospitals and care facilities at a 60% cost savings over traditional ambulance services currently providing this service.
To family-oriented adult car owners concerned with safety, Michelin tires are the premium tires that can provide greater peace of mind.
Harley Davidson is the only motorcycle manufacturer that makes big, loud motorcycles for macho guys (and “macho wannabes”) in the US who want to join a gang of cowboys in an era of decreasing personal freedom.
More on Strategy
Consider what life phase your service is in:
Start up
Early Growth
Rapid Growth
Maturity
Saturation
Decline
This changes your strategy for either building a brand and customer base, capitalizing on your existing brand and customer base, or rejuvenating your brand and customer base
8 Elements of a Marketing Plan
Executive Summary
Situation Analysis
Goals
Strategy
Tactics
Implementation
Performance Evaluation
Supporting Documents
Tactics
Tactics describe how you will create:
Identity of the offering and its unique selling point
Value beyond the service characteristics
Offering’s price point within the market segment
Incentives to stimulate sales and new customers
Communications to engage with market
Delivery methods and/or locations of service
Tactics
Tactics apply the strategy to the actual work of marketing:
Advertising (Print, TV, Radio, Internet)
Social Media
Direct Mail/Email
Outdoor Advertising (Signage, Billboard, Buses…)
Website/eCommerce
Co-Branding
And much more..!
Tactics
It also applies to the structure and approach of your sales team:
Sales System (FUD, USP, etc.) and Sales Approach (Consultative, Collaborative, etc.)
And to your communications framework
Articulate your brand (images, word choices, typeface, “Voice”, etc.)
Outline Customer Relationship Management methods
Determine short-term pricing tactics (sales, discounts, sign-up incentives, etc.)
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8 Elements of a Marketing Plan
Executive Summary
Situation Analysis
Goals
Strategy
Tactics
Implementation
Performance Evaluation
Supporting Documents
Implementation
Financial Plan (budget) for executing the strategy and tactics
Direct staff
Creative & Consulting
Media Placement
Printing/Mail
Web Development & Hosting
Work Plan for Sales & Marketing Team
By month or quarter
8 Elements of a Marketing Plan
Executive Summary
Situation Analysis
Goals
Strategy
Tactics
Implementation
Performance Evaluation
Supporting Documents
Performance Evaluation
Review Metrics & Review Schedule
What will you measure and when will you review it?
As stated previously, marketing is alchemy – part science, part art, part magic.
Fundamentally, it is a group of humans doing something they think is awesome and trying to get other humans to give them money for it.
What could possibly go wrong?!
EVERYTHING!!
Performance Evaluation
So, how do you know if you are on a good path or a deadly path?
You observe, measure, review, and adapt… REGULARLY
Examples of what to measure:
Sales velocity: How long does it take to get a new customer to buy?
Lead generation: How many new potential customers are we connecting with?
Closing ratio: How many leads are becoming paying customers?
External metrics as well: CPI, Home Prices, Interest Rates
8 Elements of a Marketing Plan
Executive Summary
Situation Analysis
Goals
Strategy
Tactics
Implementation
Performance Evaluation
Supporting Documents
Supporting Documents
Examples of documents that you may want to include as appendices to your Plan:
Market research data
Analysis of prior strategy effectiveness
Strategic Plan
SWOT analysis
SWOT Anaylsis
Strengths vs Weaknesses
Opportunities vs. Threats
Added notes
Neatness and professionalism counts
Lots of examples in the chernev handbook and on various web sites
If you quote something or someone, properly note it, either at the bottom of the page or as an added bibliography
Remember to put your name on the title page!
One more time
The most important part of the plan is the planning, Why?
Your Product
Core Product: Primary benefit
Tangible Product: Features
Augmented Product: Enhances purchase exp.
Communicated Product: Branding
Communicated
Augmented
Tangible
Core Product
Pricing
How much can you charge?
Will your products be bundled?
Will you be offering discounts, incentives
Avoid competing on price—it’s about the experience
Placement: Getting It to the Customer
Direct to your customer
Online
Own physical location
Indirect to your customer
Through retailers
Through wholesalers
Promotion: Getting Their Attention
Common Tools
Advertising (print, broadcast, online)
Direct mail
Email/website
Social networking
Turn cold calling into keeping in touch
Tours
Public relations – Professional referrals
Choosing Your Marketing Mix
Factors to consider
Choose media your target segments use most.
Take into account how complex your sale is (big ticket, new technology, multiple decision makers).
Use media appropriate for your product.
Target your message so that your customer receives it when they’re most receptive.
Use an assortment of tactics to send a unified message.
Be focused.
What Happens When Customers Raise Their Hands?
What systems do I need in place to handle customer inquiries and process orders?
Fulfillment
Shipping
Brochures/Sales literature
Website
Partners
Seek out partners for all phases of the Go-To-Market Strategy.
Collaborate with potential “competitors”.
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