Business plan - implications for marketing strategy

Marketing section of the business plan

Content:

The purpose of developing a business plan is planning the company's economic activities for the future. Planning a firm's activities gives a lot, for example:

• forces executives to focus on the firm's prospects.
• allows for clearer coordination of efforts to achieve the set goals.
• sets the firm's performance indicators needed for subsequent monitoring.
• forces leaders to define their goals and how to achieve them more clearly and more specifically.
• makes the firm more prepared for sudden changes in market situations.
• clearly demonstrates the duties and responsibilities of all managers in the company.

The business plan consists of the following sections: 1. Summary 2. Types of goods 3. Sales markets 4. Competition in sales markets 5. Marketing plan 6. Production plan 7. Organizational plan 8. Legal support of activities firms 9. Risk assessment and insurance 10. Financial plan 11. Financing strategy

This paper will consider one of the most important sections of the business plan - MARKETING PLAN. It influences indirectly the rest of the firm's strategy. It builds on the four previous sections.

MARKETING PLAN

This section explains the main elements of your plan in terms of goods, markets, development of various industries. When writing this section, it should be borne in mind that it includes a large number of questions that need to be answered in detail. This section contains information about what marketing strategy is adopted in the company, how the product will be sold - through its own company stores or through wholesale trade organizations; how the prices of goods will be determined and what level of profitability on the investment is expected to be realized; how is it supposed to achieve constant growth in sales - by expanding the sales area or by looking for new forms of attracting buyers; how the service will be organized and how much money will be needed for this; how it is supposed to achieve a good reputation of the goods and the company itself in the eyes of the public. Thus, this section includes such items as: * Marketing goals and strategies * Pricing * Distribution scheme * Sales promotion methods * Organization of after-sales customer service * Advertising * Formation of public opinion about the company and products

All sections of the marketing plan will be considered on the example of the Moscow company "Runa", which is a trade agent of the NPO Computational Mathematics and Informatics, which has developed a number of electronic databases according to the legislation of the Russian Federation.

After determining the overall target strategy of the company, a detailed action plan is determined for each type of product. The main criteria for evaluating the strategy here are assortment, market, competition. The range of goods offered ultimately depends on the need for the quality of the goods from the final consumers. Differences in the types of goods in the assortment must meet the specific requirements of consumers. For example, the legal systems "Consultant Plus" have various modifications to meet the needs of different groups of consumers in need of legislative information. The full version is for lawyers, the shortened version is for medium-sized firms, an accounting release, separate information on the laws of Moscow and St. Petersburg. Possible new types of products should be outlined, adapting to the growing market demands that change with the growth of technology.

Market size is determined by the number of potential customers in each individual product. Therefore, it is possible to estimate the volume of sales, for example, accounting legislation, by counting the number of enterprises located in the coverage area of ​​the company's infrastructure.

What is a Marketing Plan

A marketing plan is a detailing of all actions that are related to the marketing strategy that the company plans to implement in the future. This is part of the overall planning process that must be considered when budgeting a firm. After all, marketing is an integrated part of the entire business, not a separate component. The presence of a marketing plan increases the manageability of the business. In essence, it is the conversion of market information into market action, which helps to more efficiently allocate enterprise resources. The development of this document helps to plan, understand and calculate the following aspects of marketing activities: 1) What part of the company's total budget should be allocated to marketing activities? 2) What products or services will be promoted in the next year? 3) Target market, which the product is focused on, calculation prices. ) Sales and profit forecast.

How does a marketing plan differ from a business plan

The difference between a marketing plan and a business plan is that the second tool is considered the main guide to the overall activities of the entire company, while the first tool is used to direct marketing activities. In large companies, MP makes up about 60-70% of the entire business plan. The rest of the emphasis is on the production and technological parts.

Operational and Strategic Marketing Plan

Typically, the process of marketing activities is planned for one year in advance - this is an operational MP. But they are also developing a strategic marketing plan for the next 5-10 years, which allows you to see in perspective how the economic level of the company changes depending on the increase or decrease of marketing efforts.

Marketing Plan Structure

There is no single mandatory MT format, since each company develops it separately, but there are mandatory elements that should be taken into account.

Situation Analysis

In this part it is necessary to describe the market, the target customer, which requires reliable information on the main factors of the market environment in which the company operates. That is, it is necessary to conduct marketing research. For more effective planning of activities, it is also necessary to analyze: does the company have enough resources to implement the plans, what market situation can facilitate their implementation, and which will hurt? Therefore, it is worth conducting a SWOT analysis to determine your internal strengths, weaknesses, external opportunities and threats. Competitor analysis is another aspect to look out for.

General description of goals

Based on the analysis of the market situation, its production capacity and profitability indicators of past periods, it is possible to forecast sales figures for the future period. By formulating marketing goals, you can more clearly understand the overall financial goals and development plans of the company.

Program budget and financial performance

Business plan marketing section is an integral part of the strategy for the creation and development of any company. Many startups and mature companies neglect these powerful analytical tools and in vain. As the world becomes more competitive and understanding who your target audience is, what drives it (needs, "pains", desires, trends ...) is vital for successful business.

Doing market analysis may seem overly complicated and formal, but should not be neglected. In fact, this is really important and not that difficult.

Business plan marketing section in particular is the process of researching narrow consumer segments:

Market analysis is one of the most important parts of any startup strategy. This can help reduce risk, because if you truly understand your leads and market conditions, you have a better chance of developing a viable product or service.

What does the marketing section of a business plan give:

What a business plan should include a marketing section

Your market analysis should include an overview of your industry, a look at your target market, an analysis of your competition, your own predictions for your business, and any rules you need to follow.

1. Industry Description and Perspectives Here you can describe the current state of your industry as a whole and where it is headed. Relevant industry metrics such as size, trends, life cycle and projected growth should be included here. This will allow banks or investors to understand that you know what you are doing and how much income you and your investors will receive.

2. Target Market Know who your target audience is. For example, if you are a shoe company, you don't target “everyone” just because everyone has legs. Chances are, you are targeting a specific market segment such as “style-oriented people” or “athletes”. This will make it much easier for you to target your marketing and sales efforts and attract the customers who are most likely to buy from you.

This is a good thing; by narrowing it down, you will be able to effectively manage your marketing programs by attracting loyal customers who will spread the word about your business

Target segmentation business plan marketing section: should include the following:

Demographics: what gender and age are your customers

Interests and buying habits, and be able to explain why you will be bought and not from competitors to meet your needs.

A business plan is created taking into account the specifics of the market, individual characteristics of the company, financial resources and other parameters. Later, the document is implemented at different stages of the enterprise's development. The value of a business plan should not be underestimated when determining your marketing strategy. It allows you to correctly assess entrepreneurial initiative and ensure the effective organization of the enterprise.

What is a business plan

The document is the basis of any created enterprise. Only adventurers do not take risks into account and do not take measures to minimize them.

Planning allows aspiring entrepreneurs to quickly cope with problems, avoid unnecessary debts. It is important to soberly assess the pros and cons of a business project. Especially if the document is being developed for an investor.

Why do you need a business plan

Planning is important not only for a bank or investor, but also for individual entrepreneurs. The document serves as a step-by-step guide showing the stages of a project's implementation. A business plan with calculations allows you to correctly assess entrepreneurial initiative and solve the following tasks:

Types of business plans

The type of document depends on the purpose of the entrepreneur. This includes:

• attraction of investments. The business plan should contain a description of the new venture, marketing tools, prospects;
• obtaining a loan for business development. The business plan focuses on describing the company's budget and justifying its size;
• receiving a grant. Particular attention in the business plan is paid to social problems that the company can solve;
• the development of the company. The emphasis in the business plan is placed on the company's development strategy, direction of activity, ways of solving problems.

Things to consider when developing a business plan

Before drawing up a business plan, you need:

• Define the purpose of marketing. It should be as specific and accurate as possible. For example, your business goal is to increase production by 15% in 8 months. Marketing goals - regular supplies of raw materials, increasing the volume of equipment involved, analyzing the demand for the offered goods and services.
• Analyze the target audience. Why is this needed? So the entrepreneur will be able to set the correct price or conduct an advertising campaign that will be aimed at solving the problems of potential customers.
• Work out competitive advantages. Today, there are practically no areas in which one can act as a monopolist. When developing a marketing strategy, you need to prepare answers to such questions: why the consumer should choose your product, what advantages of the products will form the basis of the advertising campaign. This approach will allow the enterprise to take a leading position faster. The main thing is to remain open-minded, based on proven statistical and analytical data.

Content of the business plan