Marketing Strategy Business Plan Example – The focus of this text is on managing the start-up and operation of small businesses, as opposed to startups. As a result, marketing strategy considerations are twofold: (1) changing or adapting existing marketing efforts, and (2) adding products or services as the business grows. In some cases, it may be appropriate and desirable for a small business to establish its marketing activities within the framework of an overall marketing strategy.
The marketing strategy process consists of several components (Figure 7.1 “Marketing Strategy Process”). Each component must be thought out and designed carefully: the company’s vision, the company’s mission, the marketing objectives and the marketing strategy itself.
Marketing Strategy Business Plan Example
Knowing what your business is and isn’t is very important. Jay Eben, “Developing Working Vision and Mission Statements,” Inc., February 1, 2005, accessed December 1, 2011, www.inc.com/resources/startup /articles/20050201/missionstatement.html.
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Vision statement A document that describes the long-term goal and ideal vision of what the business wants to be. efforts to define the long-term goal and ideal vision of what the business hopes to be. (Where do we see the business going?) It should align with the goals of the business founder, and describe what the business ultimately sees. Jay Ebbon, “Developing Working Vision and Mission Statements,” Inc., February 1, 2005, accessed December 1, 2011, www.inc.com/resources/startup/articles/20050201/missionstatement.html. Mission statement A document that describes the basic nature of a business. It should address what industry the company is in, the company’s potential customers, and how customer value will be provided. it appears to explain the very essence of the business (ie why the business exists). It must be developed from the customer’s perspective, align with the vision, and answer three questions: What are we doing? How do you do it? And who are we doing it for?
Both the vision statement and the mission statement must be developed carefully because they “provide direction for a new or small firm without which it is difficult to develop a coherent strategy. In turn, this allows the company to perform activities that move the organization forward and avoid devoting resources to activities that do not. ” Jay Eben, “Developing Working Vision and Mission Statements,” Inc., February 1, 2005, accessed December 1, 2011, www.inc.com/resources/startup/articles/20050201/missionstatement.html. Although input may be sought from others, the ultimate responsibility for the company’s vision and mission statements rests with the small business owner. The following are examples of both statements:
Marketing objectives are what the company wants to achieve through its marketing. They lay the foundation for developing a marketing plan. Although defined in different ways, fulfilling them should lead to sales. Creating marketing objectives is one of the most important steps a business will take. A company must know exactly how much it wants to receive before allocating any resources to marketing efforts.
Marketing goals should be SMART: specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time-based (ie have a time frame for success). It is recommended that small businesses limit the number of objectives to three or four. If you have less than two goals, you are not growing your business as you need to be in tune with the market. Having more than four goals will divide your focus, and this can lead to poor performance on each goal and a lack of great success. “How to Choose Marketing Plan Objectives,” retrieved January 24, 2012, www.hellomarketing.biz/planning-strategy/marketing-plan-objectives.php. If a small business has multiple marketing goals, they will need to be evaluated to ensure they do not conflict with each other. The company must also ensure that it has the necessary resources to achieve all of its goals. Adapted from “Marketing Plan: Marketing Objectives and Strategy,” Small Business Notes, accessed December 1, 2011, www.smallbusinessnotes.com/starting-a-business /marketing-plan-marketing-objectives-and-strategies.html .
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For small businesses that already have or intend to have a web presence and sell their products or services online, e-marketing Information technology is used in traditional marketing. objectives should be integrated with all other marketing objectives. Electronic marketing is defined as “the result of information technology applied to traditional marketing.” Judy Strauss and Raymond Frost, Electronic Marketing (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2009), 6. Concerns and focus will be the same as traditional marketing goals. The difference is location (ie online vs. location). Examples of internet marketing purposes are as follows: to establish a direct source of income from orders or the marketplace; improve marketing by building the image of the company’s product, brand and/or company; lower operating costs; Bobette Kyle, “Marketing Objectives for Your Website,” WebSiteMarketingPlan.com, December 10, 2010, accessed December 1, 2011, www.websitemarketingplan.com/marketing_management/marketingobjectivesarticle.htm. providing a highly positive customer experience; and contribute to brand loyalty. The main goal, however, will be the “comprehensive integration of e-marketing and traditional advertising to create seamless strategies and tactics.” Judy Strauss and Raymond Frost, E-Marketing (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2009), 5.
Because it focuses on the achievement of marketing objectives, marketing strategy involves segmenting the market and selecting an objective or objectives, making segmentation and positioning decisions, and designing the marketing mix. Product design (one of the four Ps) will include the design of the company’s website. Differentiation refers to a company’s efforts to differentiate a product or service from the competition, and branding is positioning a brand (whether a store, product, or service) in the mind of the customer in relation to other competing products based on product features and benefits Dana-Nicoleta Lascu and Kenneth E. Clough, Essentials of Marketing (Mason , OH: Atomic Dog Publishing, 2007), 179. These steps are discussed in Section 7.3, “Segment and Target Market,” through Section 7.8, “Marketing and Promotion Strategy.” . It has been said that “in some cases, strategy just happens because marketing and production come together and grow organically. However, small businesses that understand the power of a comprehensive marketing strategy, refined and incorporated into each strategic process, will enjoy greater success. 1, 2011, www.ducttapemarketing. com/blog/2010/03/29/the-cycle-of-strategy. Are you looking to create a marketing plan? Here are 38 examples of marketing strategies from real brands and companies that think to help you define your goals, plans and success.
The following sample marketing plans break down these plans. The goal here is to help you choose the components and elements that will make the most sense in your marketing plan when you find their real use in these examples. Enjoy!
Visit Baton Rouge created this marketing plan to increase awareness and visits to the Greater Baton Rouge area.
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The Naperville Park District’s marketing strategy spans multiple departments—from advertising to PR—to promote a consistent brand image and increase revenue.
The Wisconsin Public Library publishes a template for libraries to use to plan, implement and monitor their marketing activities.
This marketing plan explains what goes into a successful marketing plan and walks students through the steps, using a hypothetical brand as an example.
The University of Illinois Marketing Plan provides a high-level overview of key strategies to increase student interest and enrollment.
The Marketing Strategy Process
The Massachusetts Small Business Development Center has developed a marketing plan to help small businesses map out and organize their efforts.
This downloadable template from Business.com allows business owners to fill in their information to create a marketing plan.
The template includes a practical guide that walks businesses through the steps needed to create a successful marketing plan.
Evernote’s marketing plan template allows business owners to jot down their marketing ideas and store them in one central location.
Business Plan Templates: How To Write & Examples
Buffer’s marketing template doubles as a guide that businesses can use to make sure they’re implementing all the right tactics.
The Dream Team Marketing Plan guides businesses through the steps of planning and executing a book marketing plan.
Contently’s template directly addresses content marketing with its waterfall approach and highlights important questions brands should ask themselves.
AddThis gives business owners access to a Google Doc that they can duplicate and edit to include their information.
Apartment Marketing Plan
Palo Alto automatically creates a default business plan for companies that use its software. Owners can drag and drop their own information and comments into the document.
Houghton Mifflin’s Marketing Plan walks business owners through a hypothetical company’s marketing plan to see how they can achieve key segments.
The Smartsheet template is a comprehensive document that business owners can work on while having fun with useful tips and fields to fill.
This unofficial Uber marketing plan shows how the ride-sharing brand may reveal its marketing plans for the coming year.
Free Microsoft Word Marketing Plan Templates To Download
Dell’s unofficial Mixx marketing strategy describes how the company can increase market share and maintain positive sales growth.
Serena Capital’s marketing template aims to help SaaS founders build their marketing plan with a step-by-step explanation.
Smart Insights offers a structured download plan where business owners can work from highlighting their goals and setting action points.
NerdyMind has put together a sample marketing plan that outlines what business owners should focus on each month.
Day Social Media Plan [template]
This animated video shows how Coca-Cola changed from an advertising strategy to a content marketing strategy.