First, describe Your Product or Service
Describe in detail the products you will selling. For each product, include the following information:
- A general description of each product
- Pricing structure of this product and whether you will have different prices for various markets.
- Whether you will produce this product or purchase from a wholesaler to resell to your customers.
If you are providing services, describe these services in detail, including:
- A general description of each type of service and how it will be performed.
- Pricing for the various services you will be providing.
Describe Your Target Market
Create a description of your Target Market. This description should include:
- A description of your "ideal" customer in terms of this person or company's characteristics, attitudes, and buying behaviors. This description should be as complete as possible.
- A discussion of the information about the "population" to whom you will be selling, in terms of numbers and demographics (characteristics), like age, sex, education level, income level, and other important information.
- A description of the buying behaviors of your Target Market.
Include an Analysis of Your Competition
Create a description of the competition for your products or services within your Target Market,including:
- Numbers of competitors, both direct and indirect
- Characteristics of your top 3 competitors
- Unique points of difference between you and your competitors
- The ways in which you will emphasize the difference between your products/services and those of your competitors, in terms of delivery, customer service, product differentiation, or other characteristics.
Create a First Year Marketing and Promotion Plan
When you have created a description of your products/services and your target market, the next step is creating a strategy for marketing and promoting your company's products and/or services to this market. Many marketing plans create a first-year plan and extend that plan to future years. Here are some items this Marketing and Promotion Plan should include:
- The top 3 ways in which you will initially inform your Target Market about the existence of your products/services.
- The types of paid advertising you will use to promote your products/services.
- The ways in which you will use publicity to promote your products/services.
- The personal selling methods you will use to promote your products/services.
- The types of materials (brochures, fliers, web site) you will use to promote your new products/services.
Along with your marketing and promotion strategies, you will need to create a budget for all of these activities, for the first three years of your business.
