Marketing Plan
MGT-465: Small Business Operations and Entrepreneurial Planning Instructor: Scott Cohen
Marketing Plan Checklist
Questions about your customers
Who are the new venture’s customers? Describe in detail the “typical” customer. Example: male/female; white, Hispanic, etc.; median income; et al.
How does your customer make decisions about buying products or services in your market, segment, or niche? Example: Customer goes to auto show to buy vintage car that they have seen on road, had when they were growing up, seen on TV, etc.
To what degree is the product or service a compelling purchase for the customer? That is, how necessary to living, how much product is a “requirement” to the consumer, and/or how price/costs affect the customers purchasing habits. Example: Going to Wal-Mart’s® garden center, Ms. Jill wants to buy some fertilizer for her garden. How important is the fertilizer to Jill? If she has a choice of 3 price-quality products, how will she make her decision?
How much does it cost in time and resources to acquire and support a customer? That is, how much does it cost to “get” a customer in the first place? Then, once you have them, how much does it cost to “keep” that customer? What will you have to do to keep that customer?
How long does it take to acquire a customer? How long before the consumer sends the business a check?
Questions about your product
How will the product or service be priced? Will the product or service lend itself to multiple price-quality points? That is, will you have a “high-end” product for those customers with more dollars than sense, a second tier for the “family” buyers, and a third for the “bargain” hunters? If so, describe in as much detail the product or service as a function of price versus quality.
How much does it cost to produce & deliver the product or service? What channels, such as distribution, wholesale, etc. will you be selling your product or service?
For your product or service to be sold, does your company need to form strategic alliances, partnerships, and/or inter-relationships with one or more partners within your value chain? That is, do you have to “get in bed” with a distributor, a supplier, or with a complimentary business? For example, airlines frequently “pair-up” with ski resorts during the winter months to capitalize on cross-marketing opportunities. This is called forming strategic alliances. If you can benefit from a strategic alliance or partnership, describe the type of partner or alliance, the form of the alliance, & the benefits (in market share, dollars, etc.) that the alliance or partnership will have to generate in order to break even (become profitable, etc.)
Questions about your advertising
What segments are your customers from? How will the venture reach all the identified segments and customers in those segments? In other words, are your customers yuppies from the “big city,” or they cowboys from the “sticks.” Describe in detail from where you will “get” your customers.
Have you identified all the segments and/or customers that you could sell your products or services to? Example: American Tourister luggage has identified 3 main segments from which their customers come from:
The business person: who needs heavy-duty, long lasting & highest quality product?
The family: getting away for the family vacation, they need reasonable quality without a lot of “bells & whistles;” and,
The occasional: someone who wants to get away for a weekend, but doesn’t do it very often; doesn’t require a lot of quality, but is price conscious.
What type of media will you be advertising in order to reach your primary, secondary, & tertiary customers and/or segments? Describe in detail the media mix at the beginning phase of your business, the growth phase of your business, and then 3-5 years “down the line.”
How much does it cost per unit of media to “grow” and/or sustain a customer? That is, how much will it cost you to get 1 customer who has never heard of you before, and then keep them out to the end of the 5 year cycle?
Will you have to continue to purchase your media mix at the desired level for each stage of the branding life cycle? If not, what could impact your media purchase? That is, what could cause you to raise or lower each type of media bought within your media mix? Example: After 9-11-2001, Nascar® could not, at any level of purchase of media mix during the 2002 racing season, get consumer levels back to what it was during the second half of the Nascar® season, prior to 9-11-2001. It was not until the first half of 2004 did consumer levels approach the pre-9-11 consumer levels. Until then, Nascar® did not change its media buy policy.
Marketing Plan for Business Plan Page 2 of 3 University of Phoenix
