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Making a marketing plan involves covering all the details, which could influence your business. It has to take into account who your target consumer is, who your competitors are and how you will make new inroads into an already existing market. It is like an initial framework on which your actual business will stand. It is a summary of all the plans, which will help you reach your destination.

DESCRIPTION

The target market needs to be understood thoroughly and the details regarding it form the basis of your marketing plan. An evaluation of the market trends over a period of time and how the trends will affect your profitability should also be included here. The market place already has a host of products and services. In such a scenario it is important to determine the need for your own product or service and how you intend to go about fulfilling it Analyzing trends over the past couple of years as also the predicted trends for the coming years along with certain demographics of the target market such as age and income are also essential parts of the plan.

COMPETITION

The competition in the market place cannot be taken lightly. In order to make a good marketing plan it is important that the competitors be assessed and their strengths and weaknesses understood. Your marketing plan should include a detailed description of your competitors, what they are doing, how they are going about it and whether they have successful techniques to capture the market You need to assess what it is the competition is doing that gives it the competitive edge and what it is that you will do to take away that edge. Focus on what they are not doing which could in turn provide you with a competitive edge.

Make a list of strengths and weaknesses of your competitor vis-à-vis yourself but be sure to have solid proof to back your claims.

SELLING

The customer or rather your target market will ultimately decide how well your business does, so it is imperative that you outline your plans regarding how you intend to reach the customers. Describe how you intend to get them to buy your product or service. Give a detailed account of your advertising strategies as well as the promotional activities you intend to organize. Allocate a budget for all advertising and promotions. You should also have a yardstick to measure the success of your advertising. Outline your customer service policy, terms of payments and also how the product or service will be made available to the customers i.e. whether it will be through retail outlets or wholesalers. Mention the packaging of the product and how it will cater to the tastes of the customers. If you have already done some marketing in the past discuss the methods that you used, which methods were most successful and what were the costs incurred on them..

The pricing structure should come next and here you may discuss the costs that you incur while making the product or service available to the customers. Work out the price at which it will be available to the customer after including a profit margin. Mention how the costs incurred relates to how you price the products what is the lowest price you can sell it at after covering your costs and your profit. The maximum price that a customer is willing to pay, based on the current market trends, for that product or service should also be taken into account.

APPROACH

Summarize your entire marketing strategy, research and analysis here. Describe how you intend to create a niche in the target market and how you plan to satisfy the needs of the customers. Cover all the important parts of your marketing plan in this section. Focus largely on the needs of the target market, how your product will fill the gap and the profitability of the venture. The emphasis should be on what the customer requires rather than your product or the volume of sales.