Creating a Successful Marketing Plan for Your Online Business.
Friday, 20 August 2010 13:08
Marketing Plans
6 February 2012 - 6/02/2012
Millions of dollars have been spent by us in building the repute of business but sometimes the sales figures dwindle even we gave in our best efforts. This happens because somewhere we lack in the planning about our selling and promotion strategies. Let’s discuss how we can resolve this problem and develop an effective marketing plan to attract the maximum customers:
Market segmentation, target market focus and market forecast; these factors should be kept in mind while developing a web based marketing plan for your online business. Detailed information about each of these segments must be known. But first you need to answer the following questions about your customers:
- Who are your customers?
- What are they to you?
- What they need from you?
- How the customers make their buying decisions?
- Where do they buy things usually?
- How you will target them with the help of your marketing and sales team?
Gather as much information about these topics as possible no matter what kind of your customers are. The research about the market analysis begins with the statistics about the demographics and other factors like income level of the customers, budget, business size, and type of education, job and others. The other way is to divide them in groups according to psychographics. These are the basic guidelines of strategic marketing- a foundation of your marketing plan.
Make your Assumptions
When you are analyzing the potential market of your business make some wide and basic assumptions. These assumptions are about the price level for the product, relationship with the substitutes and certain economic factors. Assume that the total market is a static entity and is not changing annually; this will help you at the stage of market penetration.
Investigate, Explore and Explain
The second step is that the market analysis should provide maximum information about target customers included in each group. This information is about:
- Segment: it includes basic information about each target segment and their attributes such as no. of potential customers, annual growth rate, spending and market value. The more you know the better it is.
- Needs of the Customers: customer is the god to the salesmen. The best marketing plan always focuses on the customer’s need. What is unique about your product and what makes them buy your product. Don’t push them to buy what you have made, make what they require.
- Distribution networks: what can be the standard channels for the distribution of this specific segment? What kinds of distribution channel have the capability to meet the customer’s need and requirement?
- Competition in Market: know about your competitive forces and what their selling strategies are. Some customers are price sensitive while other focus on quality only. Know what your customer wants and how you can provide it in a better way than your competitor.
- Communication: What kinds of messages are appealed to customers or the most attractive medium of communication between you and your customer? Advertisements, online marketing, newsletters, emails and others are the mediums commonly used by customers.
- Key factors: price, availability, features, updates and customer services are some of the key success factors.
- Market Information: you can access maximum amount of information from net and it is free of cost. Try to explore more about your customer segment and customize your marketing plan for them.
5 Steps towards an Effective Marketing Plan:
- Define your customers.
- Select the target customers.
- Make a budget.
- Prepare your add content
- Track and observe your ads.
6 February 2012 - 6/02/2012
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Comments
this article is going to help new people in web marketing.
i liked it...
this article clears many things about a good marketing plan.
nice article