The Marketing Plan -  Define your business :

• Your product or service
• Your geographic marketing area, neighbourhood, regional or national
• Your competition
• How you differ from the competition
• What makes you unique
• Your price
• The competition’s promotional methods
• Your promotion methods
• Your distribution methods or business location

Target Marketing:

For smaller businesses, the 2 methods used to segment a market usually are:

Geographical segmentation -

This Specialise in serving the needs of customers in a particular geographical location or neighbourhood. E.g. a local convenient store on a housing estate.

Customer segmentation –

This identifies the people who are most likely to buy your goods or service and targeting those groups through the most suitable advertising means available.

Customer analysis:

Who are my customers and my potential customers? (age, male/female, single/married)

* Where do they live? (which cities, counties, countries)

* What kind of people are they? (high earner or pensioner A, B, C1, C2, D, E), athletic, businessman)

* Can they and will they buy?

* How often do they buy my product?

* Am I offering the products they want at the best location, the best time and in the right volumes?

* Do my prices match the customers perception of the product’s value?

* Are my promotional campaigns working?

* What do customers think of the business?

Define your customers habits :

* How your customers learn about your product or service advertising, direct mail, word of mouth, Yellow Pages.

* Patterns or habits your customers and potential customers share where they shop, what they read, watch, listen to

* Qualities your customers value most about your product – e.g. convenience, service, reliability, availability, price, location

* Qualities your customers like least about your product and how can this be rectified?

* Prospective customers who are not aware of your business

Type of Market Segment -  Shared Group Characteristics :

Demographic Segment

Measurable statistics such as age, income, occupation, etc. For Example: Women business owners between 25 and 55 who earn more than £30k form a demographic segment.

Psycho-graphic Segment

Lifestyle preferences such as music fans, people living in a city.

Use-based Segment

Frequency of usage for the product/market e.g travelling, recreational drinking, visiting the cinema etc.

Benefit Segment

Desire for the same benefits e.g. luxury, saving, efficiency, comfort eating, etc. E.g. People who drive compact cars due to their fuel efficiency and environmental benefits form a benefit segment.

Geographic Segment

Location such as home address, business address, etc.

Competitor Analysis :

Business takes place in a highly competitive environment and understanding the competition is crucial:

• Who are the five biggest competitors in the market?

• Who are your five nearest competitors?

• Who are your indirect competitors?

• Is their business growing, stable or declining?

• What can you learn from their operations and their advertising?

• What are their strengths and weaknesses?

• How do they differ from your business?

• Review their promotional materials, sales promotions and pricing strategies.

• How does the business compare with competitors?

• Who, where and what are your competitors?

(yellow pages is a good start, Where are they going wrong? , What stage is the market at? (infantcy,mature,extinct)?

Where are your suppliers?

• Local
• National
• International

The location of your suppliers could have implications regarding shipping costs if they are not local to you, as well as delivery times (you will need to re-order stock earlier if they are not relatively local, since you will have to allow for transportation time).

Overseas suppliers (if they are outside the EU) may also have import customs & duty implications on top of the costs you are already aware of).