How to Build an Effective Marketing Plan

Amongst all the company’s functions, marketing is closest to the customer. It is not just about advertising and business promotion, is about identifying and understanding the customer, giving them what they want and meeting their expectations.?

Effective Marketing is a result of examining every aspect of your business and how it affects the consumer’s end experience. It covers everything you need to do to deliver your products and services to the consumer including research, planning, pricing, packaging, promotion, selling, and distribution.?

The Marketing Plan?

The marketing plan is a product of market research (a collection of information that provides an insight into a customer's mind so that you understand what they want). All your strategies, tactics, and processes are included within this plan to create a strong customer base. It also highlights how you will cope with recession, competition and increased trends in customer needs and requirements.?

The ultimate aim of a marketing plan is to set the direction for a business in promoting its products and services, to build a customer base, and to determine its market positioning. Your best bet is to make sure your marketing plan evolves with your business.

An effective marketing plan has the following key points professionally articulated within:

1. Purpose

What should the marketing plan help in achieving?

2. Benefits

How will your products and/or services benefit the customer and exactly how will they satisfy their needs and requirements?

3. Customers

Find your target customer market and devise a system or strategy about how you will build long-term relationships with them. Try to think like a customer. Think from their perspective to see whether those decisions are appropriate.

4. Company Profile

To position yourself in the market, you must carefully analyse how your customers will see your company. Therefore, be sure that your company has a terrific profile to set out with.

5. Niche

What is the niche that your company has defined and is willing to serve?

6. Competition

Know your competitors. Make sure that the competition you recognize is relevant to your company.

7. Tactics

There are many tactics that you can use to reach out to your customers. In this plan, list out your preferred method or tactic that you will use to attract more customers.

8. Budget

This is one crucial step in preparing. You must have a budget allocated specifically for marketing purposes. Remember, you can spend a large amount of money doing your marketing or perhaps a dime for just the same purpose.

To formulate an effective marketing plan that facilitates growth the '7Ps Marketing Mix' can be used as a foundation:

Product - This covers the combination of goods and services that your business offers. This forms the main aspect of marketing. Fulfilling a market opportunity with a prompt product that meets customers’ needs will help boost sales.

Price - The price of the product agrees with the item on sale. Ensure that the product matches its value. It is important to realize that the price influences customers’ demand. An effective pricing strategy ensures that customers are willing to buy the product, generating sales for the company.

Place - The place of business is crucial because it must be accessible and easily exposed to its clientele. Whether a store, website, or app, proper placement of products creates sales opportunities.

Promotion - This is how you communicate what you do and/or sell to your customers. It includes a whole range of activities, from branding through social media activity and advertising to sales management and special offers.?It is designed to show customers why they should buy your product or service, and should therefore focus on benefits, and not just features. It is beneficial to engage in promotion strategy as a means of attracting customers especially for new products in the market.

People - People are the individuals involved in the marketing process on both sides of an exchange. Employees such as salespeople and customer service representatives influence how customers view a business or product, and customers provide feedback to improve the product. This interaction between internal and external people helps determine success.

Processes - Processes was originally added for service industries, but there is increasing recognition that processes also affect the customer experience in product companies. What is more, it is noticeably clear that customer experience shapes customer satisfaction. The experience starts from the first point of contact and goes on until after the sale, including after-sales service. The process of handling customers at first contact, during sales and beyond, is therefore crucial to overall customer satisfaction

Physical Evidence - Physical evidence refers to what the customer ‘sees’ of your product. It shows them what it would be like to own or use it. It, therefore, includes your website, or your business premises or shop, models wearing your clothes, or photos of them doing so. It also includes customer testimonials, especially if they are on an independent reviewing site, and not under your control. Like price,?the physical evidence sends an important signal to your customer about your product, so it is important that, for example, your website sends the right impression of your product or service.