Business Owner's Manual

The Marketing Plan

In the start-up phase of a business, the marketing plan is often incorporated into the business plan, which could be defined as the "road map" of your enterprise outlining the "who, what, when, where, why, and how" of your business.

 

Structuring the Plan

As your company grows, however, the marketing plan often becomes a separate strategic tool in the implementation of new products or services. In this sense, the business plan deals with the entire business while the marketing plan covers a specific products or services.  

The structure of your marketing plan will differ according to the characteristics of your business, products, or services you intend to sell, etc. Whether it is simply a part of the business plan or used as a separate strategic tool, your marketing plan should at least cover the "four P's of marketing" mentioned in the previous section. Basically, the plan describes how you intend to achieve your goals, with measurable objectives. For a description of the essential components of a marketing plan, refer to the market analysis and marketing strategy sections in Writing a business plan. The basis for this information will be drawn from your market research process.

 

Media Strategies

Identify the media habits of your target consumers:

• MediaMark Research and Simmons Study of Media will help you select the best channels to reach your customers in the most effective way. Both publications provide information on the media habits of your target consumers, such as what radio stations and what type of music they listen to, what magazines they read, etc. You can find out the demographic characteristics of readers, listeners, and viewers as well as their exposure patterns to various media.

Find the best media channels for your products:

• Use Standard Rate and Data Service (SRDS) to locate possible media channels for your products. SRDS provides information on advertising rates and production specification for every possible type of media in the U.S., such as newspapers, magazines, community publications, television and radio stations, online media, etc.
  
  
• The Gale Directory of Publications and Broadcast Media provides advertising rates, circulation statistics, local programming, and names of key personnel for nearly 37,000 newspapers, magazines, and journals. Personnel at radio, television, and cable stations are also included.
  
  
• If you are looking for an advertising agency, try the Standard Directory of Advertising Agencies, which describes advertising agencies across the country and ranks the largest firms by gross billings.