Planning Your Marketing

5. Your Marketing Strategy

Successful strategies take a deliberate step-by-step approach, focusing on a limited set of well-defined objectives.

5.1 Which market segments, and which individual customers, will you target?

• Aim to consolidate your position in your existing market segments before you try to enter a new one.

5.2 What adjustments will you make to your product range, to increase sales and profitability?

• Almost all products (and services) have a product life cycle.Many products need to be constantly updated, to maintain their market position.
• Re-packaging, re-sizing, and discovering new uses and new users is all part of this innovative process of renewal.Extending the life cycle of an existing product is preferable to regularly developing and launching new ones.

5.3 How will you price each product?

5.4 How will you distribute each product?

5.5 How will you promote each product?

• Personal recommendation is often a key source of new customers. Consider ways to increase the number of introductions, starting with thanking each person who recommends your business.
• Consider all the options (eg direct mail, e-marketing, PR, advertising and so on).

5.6 How will you sell each product?

• Include a review of terms and conditions (eg credit terms) for each customer.

5.7 How can you improve customer service?

• This can have a major impact on customer retention and sales, at minimal cost.

5.8 How will you fulfil the orders?

• This might require new production capacity, or new skills.

5.9 How will you measure the effectiveness of each marketing activity? (See 8.)

• When considering any marketing strategy, start by testing to see what works on a small scale.