Developing Strategic Marketing Plans

Understand your Target Audience

Most people think of marketing as advertising and promotion. Letting people know about your product or service is an important part of marketing, but here are a few things to consider first

• It sounds obvious, but make sure that the market actually wants the product or service that you offer at the price that you ask them to pay.

• Identify who your prospective customers actually are – ideally by name and address, but at least by industry group or type

• Look to see if you can divide your customers into groups or segments who have similar needs or characteristics that identify them.

• Always view the relevance of the features and benefits of your product from your customers’ perspective, not your own.

• Think about whether or not your product benefits vary in importance between segments and present your message to them accordingly. For instance, speed of delivery may be critical if you are providing a component in a breakdown situation. It is probably not as important if you are delivering the same component for original equipment assembly. This defines what is known as your value proposition.

• Make sure that your promotion messages are consistent with the value proposition and follow a structured program. Ad hoc and unconnected advertisements and promotions are unlikely to be successful.

• Determine the best way to make contact with the buying decision makers. In a business-to-business environment it is likely to be either direct personal selling or selling through a distributor.

• Implement a structured program to make contact with your prospective customers to turn them into clients. This may take time – most business people do business with people who they know and trust.

• Make sure that your order entry and invoicing systems to make it easy for people to deal with you.

The reality is that if you want to grow your sales or expand your customer base, you will need to apply resources to the task in manpower and money. If you approach it in a methodical manner that has been planned ahead in detail, you are far more likely to be successful.