My Multi-million Business Idea: MARKETING PLAN

MARKETING PLAN

by

M.O Akanji. IFEDS O.A.U

INTRODUCTION

·         Marketing forms the cornerstone for the initiation, growth and subsequent profitability of a business

·         A marketer must be responsible for the whole process of helping create a product that will appeal to the market and transferring that product to the consumers

What is marketing?

·         According to chartered institute of marketing, London, defined marketing as the management activity of identifying, anticipating and satisfying consumers profitably.

·         The basic purpose of marketing is to satisfy the welfare of consumers and thereby making profit. The ways of making profits are

Ø  Providing the products or services they need

Ø  Setting prices that they are willing to pay

Ø  Getting your products or services to them

Ø  Informing and attracting them to buy your products or services

·         When developing an overall market plan, there is a need to look at the business as a whole as well as the individual products and services

·         Marketing therefore encompasses the whole range of business activities that would enable a business to achieve its set objectives which ranges from product design, product pricing, promotion, packaging, selling, distribution and after sale service.

Developing a marketing plan

·         Development of a strategic marketing plan involves the setting of goals and devising strategies to achieve those goals

·         Therefore, a strategic plan based on an analysis of the business’s strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats will help the business and then accomplish its goals.

Marketing Plan: A step by step Approach

Step1: Setting Objectives

a.       The mission statement: the mission statement is compiled to give a clear idea of why the business exists and why it should continue to exist.

b.      Objectives: sets the long term direction of the business

c.       Goals: sets the shortterm direction of the business

       Step2: Market analysis

·         Market research: asking questions, finding out what the consumers want

·         Sources of information for marketing research: sources of information fall into 3 different categories

a.       Secondary source

b.      Primary source

c.       Expert source

Step3: Strategic Analysis: Any planning process in business demand that from time to time the following must be considered.

·         Where are we now?

·         How did we get here?

·         Where are we going?

·         How are we going to get there?

The usual practice is to conduct an analysis of the strength, weakness and the opportunities and threats confronting the business in achieving our goals.

Step4: Identifying Marketing strategies and using the following can help to actualize business objectives

·         Market skimming: Many companies that event products set high prices to skim the market

·         Market penetration: Other companies set a low price on their innovative product hoping to attract  a large number of buyers and win large market share rather than setting a high initial price to skim off small but profitable segments. A typical example is multilinks and visafone.

·         Psychological pricing: This sis fixing the price in such a way that buyers will feel that there is a small reduction in the price of the article and that small reduction induces him to buy the article. This is common with common goods such as soap

·         Market extension: This involves finding new uses for the product or services, or taking it to a new location

·         Diversification: This is development of a new but related product or services for a new market for example Guinness Nig Plc recently diversifies and launched its new products into the Nigerian market.

·         Differentiation:  Create uniqueness that will attract consumers

Step5: Selecting the marketing Mix

Ø  What is the marketing Mix: According to Philip Kotter Marketing mix is the set of tools that the firm uses to pursue its marketing objectives in the target market. The marketing mix is the unique  blend of the element of marketing that we apply in business which are:

·         The product or service

·         The location of the business

·         The distribution method

·         The selling price

·         Advertising and promotion alternative

·         Selling and customer service

Ø  These elements are often summarized as the 4Ps of marketing

·         Product, what you are selling to your customers

·         Price, what price you are going to charge

·         Place, how and where you are going to reach your customer

·         Promotion, how to get customers to know and patronize you

CONCLUSION

To survive, grow and develop in a competitive market requires

Adequate planning of which implementation of our marketing plan becomes paramount.