You can develop a Simple Marketing Plan in four easy steps.

1. Work out the seasonality for your sales by deducing when certain products and services are sold.  In each of the months, write what products sell and to whom (you may have different types of customers) and the Gross profit for each sale.  Each different type of customer could be written in a different colour to make them stand out.
2. For the month previous for each particular product, deduce how you could let those customers know that the product is available, ie. How do your customers find out about the product?  Are there other ways that your customers could find out about the product?  Use your business partners, relatives or staff to help brainstorm ways to let your customers know about that product.  Are there certain places that specific types of customers would go to, to find out about your product/service?
3. Did you devise any new strategies to advertise those products?  If so, delegate that task, using the Task Manager worksheet, to ensure that those tasks are followed up by a determined date at least two months before selling that product or service to the market.

Once you have completed these tasks, you should have a list of:

• Whom buys what products and services at certain times of the year.
• Strategies for letting each different type of customer know about certain products and services.
• Whom is responsible for the each of the tasks to implement the marketing plan.

This information will serve as a basis for writing your marketing plan.  To be more concise, why not write your marketing plan in bullet points, like I have done in the previous paragraph.  There is no need to bulk up your Marketing Plan with irrelevant information, just be concise.

Once you have completed the Marketing Plan, ensure that all key staff have a copy of it, and keep a copy in your office to follow up with from time to time.  Follow up the tasks from the Task Manager in regular staff meetings to ensure that the marketing plan is put in place.

 

My Easy Marketing Plan for __________________________________ for 20____

Month	Product/Service
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December

 

In order to find out what your customers want, you may decide to develop a questionnaire to find out what is important to them.  While developing a questionnaire, you may want to ask yourself the following:

1. What is the purpose of your questionnaire?  What would you like to find out about your customers?
2. What will be the reward or prize to be drawn for completing the questionnaire?  You may like to offer a discount on certain products or services or offer a prize to be drawn.
3. Set a time line for writing the questionnaire, sending it to your customers, accepting the filled in questionnaire, collaborating the results and reporting the findings.
4. What types of questions should you ask?  Tips for asking questions include:

• Keep your questions simple, requiring only answers for the purpose of the questionnaire
• Limit the questionnaire to a maximum of 10 questions
• Make sure there is plenty of room for the answers
• Do not ask questions that will give a simple yes or no response as this information is not very informative
• Give your customers a choice of responses, for example:  “How many times do you come into the store/office per year?”
• Ask a question with a ratings scale, for example: “On a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest, how do you rate our customer service?”
• Ask the client a question with a list of responses, indicating that they may choose more than 1, for example: “What did you come to my shop to purchase?”
• Ask open ended questions if you would like more detail, but beware, these answers are hard to collate!  For example, “Why do you keep coming back to my store/office?
• Write down a maximum of 10 questions that you would like to ask your customers.

So, get cracking, keeping in mind the purpose of your questionnaire, what you would like to ask, and the format of the questions you would like to ask.

Market Segments are different types of customers that purchase your products and/or services.  Each has a different reason for buying your product.  In order for marketing to work, you need to know why your customers purchases from you.

1. List your different market segments, for example, students, executives etc.

Segment                      Products & Services                                                                        Profitability

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. For each of these segments, write next to it what products or services they purchase, and the profitability on each product and service.

 

1. For each of your market segments, answer the following questions:

Segment Name
Increasing or decreasing?
Threats
Opportunities
Size
Profitability

 

Segment Name
Increasing or decreasing?
Threats
Opportunities
Size
Profitability

 

Segment Name
Increasing or decreasing?
Threats
Opportunities
Size
Profitability

 

Now that you have defined your market segments (different groups of customers), your next step is to identify the needs of each of those groups.  List each of your segments below and write down their needs in order of importance.

 

Segment Name:

1.

2.

3.

4.

 

Segment Name:

1.

2.

3.

4.

 

Segment Name:

1.

2.

3.

4.

 

WHAT IS AN ELEVATOR PITCH?

An "Elevator Pitch" is a concise, carefully planned, and well-practiced description about your company that anyone should be able to understand in the time it would take to ride up an elevator (30 seconds).  It is a marketing tool that you can create for yourself.

WHY HAVE AN ELEVATOR PITCH?

You only have 30-60 seconds to make a powerful first impression.  The attention span of the average person is just 30 seconds before their mind starts wandering.  The other reason is people have less time today.  You need to grab them quickly or lose them forever.

ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS OF A POWERFUL ELEVATOR PITCH

• Concise – Your pitch should take no longer than 30-60 seconds.
• Clear – Use language that everyone understands.  Don't use fancy words thinking it will make you sound smarter.  Your listener won't understand you and you'll have lost your opportunity to hook them.
• Powerful – Use words that are powerful and strong.  Grab their attention!
• Visual – Use words that create a visual image in your listeners mind. This will make your message memorable.
• Has a Hook. This is the element that literally snags your listener's interest and makes them want to know more.  This is the phrase or words that strike a chord in your listener.

STEPS TO CREATE A KILLER ELEVATOR PITCH:

1. Figure out what is unique about what you do: The whole idea behind a great elevator pitch is to intrigue someone.  It's an ice-breaker and a marketing pitch — all rolled into one.   For example - "I own a flower shop downtown" doesn't hold a candle to "I'm a specialty florist who deals in rare, Australian flowers that bloom in the winter."
2. Make it exciting: A superior elevator pitch increases your heart rate.  It speaks to who you really are and what excites you about your business.  It has integrity.  What is it about your business that really motivates you?  Incorporate that.
3. Keep it simple: A good elevator pitch doesn't try and be all things to all people. Rather, it conveys a clear idea in a short amount of time.  It might be a few sentences, but no more than a paragraph or so.  Keep it under 60 seconds.
4. Write it down: Use the guidelines above and take a stab at it.  Write down your pitch, say it out loud, re-write it, and then re-write it again.  Writing is re-writing!
5. Practice, and the practice some more: The first few times you try out your elevator pitch may be a bit uncomfortable, but it gets easier.  After a while, it will become second nature to you, and when it does, you will be glad you practice

So, have a go at creating your own elevator pitch and see if you can create your own marketing tool.