Marketing

Marketing
Developing a marketing plan is one of the most important things you can do to ensure that your business will make a profit. This guide is intended to provide an overview of the importance of market research and analysis, product development, pricing, advertising, promotions, publicity, sales and customer service.

Contents:
Market Research Developing a Marketing Plan Mission Statement Identify products and/or services The market Competition Pricing Promotion mix Advertising Advertising Budget and Schedule Location, location, location Sales Forecasting Action Plan Production Sample Marketing Plan Outline

© 2010 Curators of the University of Missouri http://www.missouribusiness.net/

January 2010

Marketing 2

Introduction
Marketing touches every aspect of your business’s operation. It is a series of activities designed to identify customer needs and wants, and satisfy these while making a reasonable profit on a quality product or service. These activities include market research and analysis, product development, pricing, advertising, promotions, publicity, sales and customer service. Developing a marketing plan is one of the most important things you can do to ensure that your business will make a profit. There are six basic reasons for developing a marketing plan: g g g g g g It forces you to identify your target market. It forces you to think about both short and long-term marketing strategies. It looks at your business as a whole and ties together market objectives. It allocates limited resources to create the greatest return. It provides a guide to measure progress and outcome. It gives clarity to who does what, when, with what marketing tools.

Market Research
Marketing research is defined as a series of activities designed to identify customer needs and wants, and satisfy these while making a reasonable profit on a quality product or service. These activities include market research and analysis. Most entrepreneurs believe that