Competition in the market today is very tough, and all business leaders must pay great attention to the development of their business. Managers must determine in which direction to move, how to reduce costs, how and where to attract customers, and, finally, how to increase revenue.

In this regard, it is very important to develop a marketing plan - a document that allows you to clearly understand how to solve the above and other tasks.

From this article you will learn:

1. Main stages of development
2. 5 shortcomings in already developed plans

What is the purpose of developing a marketing plan

A marketing plan is an integral part of the company’s development system for the year ahead (as are financial, production and other plans). When developing a marketing plan, the organization reflects its goals in this document and offers options for achieving them.

The annual plan prescribes general tasks (market, financial, production, innovation, management), and determines ways and methods for solving them.

The development of any company plan is carried out according to the following scheme:

Since there is quite a lot of competition in the market, companies should focus on marketing events. In this regard, developing a marketing plan is a top priority for businesses. Accordingly, this document is the most important compared to others for a number of reasons:

In addition, the main function of any enterprise is to connect the wishes of the buyer and business opportunities, for which marketing is responsible. Therefore, defining the company's mission, performing a SWOT analysis, setting overall goals and developing a development strategy also turns into a marketing task.

Of course, before you begin developing a marketing plan, you want to determine exactly how the document will benefit your business.

It is appropriate to compare a marketing plan with a map - thanks to it, you can understand where the company is now, where it is going, and how it plans to achieve its goals.

To clearly define the need for a marketing plan, we will briefly describe the difficulties that arise in a company where this document is not available. Here we will look at the results that a company receives after forming a marketing plan.

That is, the marketing plan:

• connects together and communicates to all employees of the company ideas that only the manager had in his head before the development of this document;
• promotes clear goal setting and control over their achievement;
• is a document organizing the activities of the entire company;
• helps to avoid unnecessary actions that cannot lead to the desired results;
• stimulates the company's personnel to work more productively.

Let’s summarize all of the above and consider all the pros and cons of developing a marketing plan for a company.

What kind of plan do you need to develop?

Marketing plans come in different types. They are classified into the following categories:

• Validity. Developing a strategic marketing plan is an important procedure for an enterprise. This type of plan covers a period of more than three years. Also distinguished tactical plan, the validity period of which is less than three years, as well as operational – up to one month.
• Extent of coverage. There are turnover plans, sales plans, advertising plans, market research, and an integrated (comprehensive) plan.
• Depth of development. The plan can be detailed or general.
• Field of activity. Identify marketing plans for goals, pricing, product policy, marketing communications, control and audit, finance, warehousing, order formation, supplies (logistics), etc.

What sections does a marketing plan consist of?

The marketing plan consists of a number of sections.

1. Management resume(or introduction for management). This is an introductory section in the contents marketing plan, which briefly lists the goals, objectives, key problems, and describes the mission of the enterprise. This is also where you explain the terms used in the document.
2. Analysis of the market situation and assessment of the company's position. In the section you:

• describe the segments and needs of your target audience;
• analyze the market (legislation, suppliers, trends and forecasts, industry features);
• present the results of marketing research carried out within the company (describe the identified gaps in activity that prevent the business from successfully developing and increasing sales volumes);
• indicate the results of your SWOT analysis (describe positive and negative factors that can affect the sales of the enterprise and its further development);
• provide expected advantages over competitors (which can be used as selling points in the promotion process).

1. Analysis of the work of competing companies. Here you should describe in accordance with what strategies your competitors operate, how they set prices, in what direction they are moving, what marketing activities they carry out, and how they work with clients.

Also here it is necessary to analyze their assortment, present your conclusions and suggestions based on the results of the research using the “mystery shopper” method, etc.

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1. Company strategy for product promotion. In this section, you describe the results obtained from the analysis of the enterprise’s product portfolio, assessment of sales, market needs, recommendations for expanding/narrowing the product range, optimizing production technologies (if required) and setting prices.
2. Marketing strategy. Here you present the main points of your marketing strategy to solve the problems described in the summary of the marketing plan. More precisely, you reveal how the company plans to position its brand, expand into new markets, work with the target audience, and what scheme to use to sell goods.

You also indicate proposals for channels and tools for promoting the enterprise, activities for interaction with the partner’s network, describe how the company can strengthen and consolidate its position in the market, how it should serve customers and conduct internal marketing activities.

1. Analytics. Here it would not be amiss to indicate what analytical data you need for work and current monitoring of the internal situation in the company and the external situation in the market, both on an ongoing and occasional basis.

Here we can talk, for example, about activities to collect commercial information, prepare analytical materials, analyze the most promising market segments, and monitor competitors.

1. Action plan. This chapter of the marketing plan reflects all active actions and activities carried out to solve the assigned tasks and eliminate existing problems.

In fact, an action plan is a table of your actions for the year, where deadlines and responsible persons are clearly indicated. It is better to write this section in as much detail as possible - this will make your work easier.

1. 8 . Financial Marketing Plan (the financial analysis, or marketing budget). In this section, you should present your conclusions on key parameters related to the sales forecast and marketing costs of the enterprise.

You can include in the chapter the results of an analysis of sales dynamics, dividing them into several subsections - by customer, market segments, product categories, regions where your company operates. Briefly indicate how much you plan to spend on marketing goals, grouping them according to the same criteria as sales indicators.

1. Marketing plan control. This is the last chapter of the document, in which the mechanism and tools for monitoring the implementation of the provisions of the plan by company divisions should be spelled out in detail.

You can indicate that other structural units of the enterprise are required to provide reports at certain times, that it is necessary to track the enterprise’s KPIs and control points for their measurement, and also adjust the indicators every quarter, taking into account changes in the market.

1. Applications. The marketing plan is accompanied by tables and graphs, where the provisions of the document are disclosed in more detail. Applications can reflect the dynamics with which the main market indicators are developing, how competitors are working, how the company conducts production, commercial or marketing activities.

Developing a strategy and marketing plan allows you to systematize all the actions necessary to solve a particular problem. Each activity outlined in the marketing plan is designed to achieve a specific goal related to both business development and eliminating the problem.

When starting to develop a marketing plan, remember that it should not just be a document that contains facts about the company and its competitors. A marketing plan is a collection of analytical data, recommendations, and options for further business operation in the market.

In total, developing a marketing plan will take you about 3-4 months. Half of this time will be spent collecting necessary information, 40% – analysis and assessment, 10% – formation of the plan itself.

Main stages of developing a marketing plan

Developing a marketing plan is a difficult process. This is a complex and complex document, when creating which a number of important details and nuances should be taken into account.

However, to solve the problem of compiling quality plan maybe even a specialist who knows little about the marketing industry. Below we will reveal the sequence of developing a marketing plan. So, what needs to be done to create such a highly effective operating procedure?

Stage 1. Conducting a situational analysis

Determine what goals the organization sets for its work

A situational analysis is performed to better understand the current marketing situation your company is facing. If you are clearly aware of your current situation and have a good understanding of the market, you can develop an effective plan to improve the situation.

Review your goals and mission (if they are missing, be sure to set them), and check whether your current marketing plan is helping you achieve the desired results.

Suppose your company provides snow removal services in winter period. You have set a goal to increase revenue by 10% by concluding new contracts for this. Have you developed a marketing plan that outlines your options for attracting additional contracts? If there is a plan, does it have the desired effect?

Determine what marketing advantages and disadvantages your business has

What is currently attracting audiences in your company? What puts customers in favor of competing enterprises? It is possible that consumers see your merits and therefore choose you. Knowing your strengths gives you a critical marketing advantage.

• Determine what unconditional advantages you have over your competitors, what attracts your consumers . We are talking about the internal characteristics of the enterprise and the degree of satisfaction of your customers. Potential advantages include low cost, excellent service, friendly attitude towards customers, fast and high-quality service.
• Identify your differences from competing companies. The differences may relate to your strengths or how you run your business. If you want customers to choose you over your competitors, then you should understand in advance what should make them choose you.
• In addition to the benefits, you should also be aware of the gaps in the work , since this is also an important parameter in the analysis. Once you identify the shortcomings, you can begin to correct and eliminate them. If you don’t work on your mistakes, you will give your competitors the green light and they will easily bypass you.

Research your target audience

Developing a marketing plan involves carefully researching your audience. You must clearly understand who your products are intended for in order to target your marketing strategy to a specific segment of buyers.

If you know well who your target audience is and what they want, you will understand where and how to promote your product. If you don’t have an idea of ​​the range of your potential customers, you won’t understand how to adapt products to the needs of customers.

• Conduct demographic research when developing your plan. Find out who your clients are - what gender, age, where they live, how much they earn on average. For example, if you provide snow removal services to large organizations, find out which part of the service is most important to them.
• Use official statistics for your market and industry. You can study these economic indicators, such as price and cost indices, as well as employment statistics by country, region and city.
• If you have sufficient funds, contact specialized companies, by ordering customized market research and analysis, as well as analysis of current industry trends.
• Pay attention to studying the activities of competitors. There's only one way to offer consumers something your competitors can't, and that's to find out exactly what it is about your competitors that attracts customers. If you understand the advantages and disadvantages of similar companies in the industry, you will achieve success faster.

Collect data on opportunities and threats to your business

Developing a marketing plan also involves collecting data - the external characteristics of the company, depending on competitors, changes in the market environment, and consumers.

The main task here is to identify various factors that can influence the company’s activities. If you know this information, then creating and adjusting your marketing plan will become much easier.

• Analyze market trends , for example, how customer wants and needs are changing, as well as expectations from businesses like yours.
• Explore trends in the financial industry, for example, pay attention to the increasing use of virtual means of payment and current inflation rates.

Stage 2. Studying the strengths and weaknesses of your enterprise

At this stage you need to perform a number of actions.

Send questionnaires to consumers by mail

If you have a large enough base of regular customers, then you can survey them. This will allow you to obtain information from consumers about the strengths and weaknesses ah your business.

As a result, the marketing plan you create will focus on the benefits of your business (since you will know exactly what your customers specifically prefer). Moreover, having identified your weak spots, you will correct existing shortcomings and improve your activities.

The hallmarks of the survey sheets you send to clients should be brevity and simplicity. Often people want to take a survey, but do not want to spend a lot of time and effort on it. The questionnaire should occupy approximately half an A4 page.

Ideally, the buyer should answer your questions briefly and not just choose one of the options you offer.

Of course, if you want, you can also include questions in the questionnaire where a person will choose one of the options. However, most questions should be open-ended, for example: “What do you like about our product/service?”, “What improvements would you like to see?” and so on.

You can also ask your customers if they would recommend you to their friends and why. This way you will not only collect information about the advantages and disadvantages of your organization, but also understand how satisfied customers are with the service, quality of goods and services.

Conduct a survey by email

Such a survey can only be carried out if you know the email of your customers, that is, you have received the contact information of your customers in advance for conducting a monthly newsletter.

The content of an email survey differs little from that of a standard survey. But when you collect information on e-mail, there is a serious risk of your email ending up in the Spam folder. There is no way for you to know which part of the letters sent out will reach the recipients and which part will not. There is also no guarantee that people who receive the emails will want to complete the survey.

Organize a survey by phone

Telephone surveys are a complex and controversial topic, since many have a very negative attitude towards calls from unknown persons and conversations with them. However, if the basis of your business is personal communication with clients, then there is nothing wrong with telephone surveys.

The questions for them can be the same as for a written survey - about the pros and cons of the company, about the likelihood of friends recommending you.

If you plan to conduct telephone surveys, it may make sense to use the services of a person with high speed print that could compile a summary table or catalog of reviews from representatives of your target audience.

Conduct an individual customer survey

Don't do a very extensive individual survey. Limit yourself to a couple of related questions during a telephone conversation with a client on business when you process his order or provide assistance.

Remember, the best way to conduct a survey is through direct personal communication with the buyer, from which you will directly learn what gaps there are in your business.

Just like with a telephone survey, in a face-to-face interview you will have to capture customer responses and feedback. This does not make a personal survey lose any of its effectiveness or become difficult to complete. You just need to think through every detail in advance with this method of interaction.

Stage 3. Selection of ideas for developing a marketing plan

At this stage, you need to follow several steps.

Gather all the information you have

Review all the research you've done so far and map out ways to expand your business. Then weigh your ideas against your current reality and challenges.

Be aware of expected costs and current and projected market trends that may emerge in the near future. Consider which regions your business could be most successful in, which demographic groups you should target, and also pay attention to competitors operating in the same territories.

Assign responsible persons

Developing a marketing plan also involves appointing persons responsible for certain areas of activity and development of your enterprise. Determine which company specialists will be better able to solve marketing problems and establish the scope of their responsibilities.

You should also think about what evaluation system for the performance of these specialists should be applied at the enterprise.

Set marketing goals

Think about what developing a marketing plan will give you, what goals this document will allow you to achieve. Perhaps you are interested in expanding your customer base, communicating information about new services and quality improvements to your current target audience, expanding into other regions, or some other marketing result.

These points will become the basis for developing a plan:

• There should be no contradictions between marketing objectives and the main goals of the enterprise.
• When setting marketing goals, remember that they must be tangible and measurable. Otherwise, the results of their achievement will be difficult to interpret, and you will not be able to understand which of the applied strategies and approaches were effective.
• Focus primarily on such indicators as increasing the level of sales/production in physical terms, increasing revenue, increasing awareness of your company, expanding the base of new customers.
• For example, you could set a goal to increase the number of contracts concluded by 20% or increase awareness of your company on social networks.

Define a plan to achieve goals

Developing a strategic marketing plan is a process in which you need to reach three groups of consumers: cold customers (whom you will reach using advertising tools), warm customers (who have already seen an advertisement or participated in some promotion), and hot customers ( knowledgeable about your range of products and services).

You need to come up with a clear and effective plan to win and strengthen the trust of all categories of customers. This will ultimately influence the chosen marketing strategy.

To inform a cold group of customers, you can use social networks, deliver advertising messages on the radio, post them on billboards or flyers.

Specialists can work with the warm category. Based on the information obtained from marketing research, they will competently convince consumers that your product or service most effectively solves their problem.

Develop marketing strategies that will help achieve your goals

Developing a strategy and marketing plan is unthinkable without clearly articulating and setting goals and perspectives. Once you have defined your goals, you will need to develop clear actions to achieve them. Today there are different types marketing strategies. Let's focus on the most popular ones.

• Organization and holding of corporate events or special events directly at retail outlets.

This allows you to attract the attention of the target audience to the brand. Such an event could be a banquet or something else that will form a favorable impression of the company among consumers, stimulate your employees to even more fruitful work and unite them, and most importantly, increase the circle of your customers.

• Application social methods promotion– they almost always bring a positive effect.

Such methods work to promote your business and make customers admire your products or services. You can hold some kind of competition in the store or on social networks with a symbolic prize for attention shown to your brand or for subscribing to your group on social networks.

• Short-term support for your business by a leader or influencers who are already using your products and services.

That is, you pay a selected authority figure or group of people for support, and the partner provides it, for example, through social networks. This type of marketing effort may require a significant financial investment from you, but the results are usually worth the expense.

• Don't forget that high-quality advertising gives excellent results.

Approve budget

You can make grandiose plans to grow your business and increase the number of clients, but do not forget about the budget. Take this into account when developing your marketing plan.

If you are on a budget, you may have to change some of your strategy. You must have a realistic budget that reflects the state of the business for the current period and its possible development in the future.

• Take a sober look at the budget that you can currently allocate for advertising and marketing purposes. You should not increase its size, hoping for excellent results after implementing the marketing plan in the form of large earnings. After all, if the developed activities fail, you will simply lose money.
• Start by distributing funds allocated for marketing purposes, and go from there. Choose effective, time-tested advertising methods and use them.
• There is no need to be afraid to act somewhere contrary to the plan. If advertising efforts do not go as you planned (for example, advertising in a newspaper does not have an effect on potential clients), choose a different, more effective path and direct all previously allocated funds to its implementation.

Step 4: Preparing a Marketing Plan

This is directly the development of a marketing plan, within which you need to perform a number of actions.

Prepare an explanatory note

This chapter of your marketing plan should cover the basics of your product or service and provide a brief summary of the entire document. Typically a resume is 1-2 paragraphs long.

If you write a good explanatory note, then in the future it will be easier to cover in more detail individual provisions in the main text of the marketing plan.

Remember that the marketing plan should be shared with both your employees and consultants for review.

Describe the target audience

When developing a marketing plan, provide research results in the second chapter and describe the target audience of the enterprise. Don't write complex, long text. Indicate the main provisions of the document, and that will be enough.

First, describe the demographic parameters of your audience (age, gender, place of residence, area of ​​activity of your customers), and then identify the main consumer preferences regarding your products or services.

List goals

The chapter should not be more than one page. Indicate in it the marketing objectives of the enterprise for the coming year. Remember, your goals must have five characteristics - specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timely.

For example, a realistic and achievable goal might be something like: “Increase total revenue generated from state enterprises, on 10 %".

Describe the marketing strategy

This chapter deals with the implementation of the marketing plan, that is, it describes the overall marketing strategy. The main thing here is to focus on your USP (unique selling proposition). The USP is the main advantage of your business.

If you identify and plan the main strategic ideas, you will be able to write a quality text for this chapter. Don't forget that your marketing strategy should help sell your USP.

This section should include information about ways to interact with customers (through trade shows, radio advertising, telephone calls, online advertising).

The chapter should make it clear how to encourage consumers to buy and convince them that your product will be useful. That is, you need to convey to clients exactly how your unique trade proposal can satisfy their requirements.

Note that it is in this chapter that it is most important to provide specific information.

Specify budget

Here you should indicate the total amount of funds that must be allocated to promote the product, and also clearly indicate for what purposes it will be spent. You need to divide all estimated costs into groups and summarize the costs for each area.

For example, you plan to spend half a million rubles on participation in trade exhibitions, another half a million on radio advertising, 20 thousand rubles on flyers, 100 thousand rubles on using new promotion methods, 150 thousand rubles on carrying out work to optimize the company’s website .

Update your marketing plan every year (at least)

One way or another, developing a marketing plan is not the end point. In any case, adjustments will need to be made to the plan. According to marketers, the optimal frequency for updating marketing plans is once a year.

Reviewing the developed promotion plan allows you to assess the degree to which your goals have been achieved, taking into account current indicators, how to work and develop in the future, and which elements of the existing action plan need to be adjusted.

When reviewing your marketing plan, assess the situation objectively. If you discover that any of your employees with certain responsibilities are causing harm to the business through their actions, have an open conversation and discuss the current issues.

If the situation is completely unsatisfactory, it is possible that the development of a new marketing plan will be required. In such cases, it is advisable to contact a third-party consultant - this will allow you to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of the old marketing plan and correct any mistakes when drawing up a new one.

Example of developing a marketing plan

As an example, we will give a simplified scheme for creating a marketing plan for a company that sells freshly squeezed juices at five specialized points in different parts of the city.

Stage 1. Analysis of market trends

• Consumers want to buy juices made from fresh vegetables and fruits. Drinks are received in their presence, after which they are sold in paper cups or plastic bottles– containers convenient for drinking.
• Juices are sold near large offices and in recreation areas.
• These drinks may cost more than coffee and sodas. But at the same time, their price is lower than the cost of fresh juices offered by city cafes and restaurants.

Stage 2. Product analysis

• The company produces fruit juices in plastic bottles and on tap.
• All five sales points are located in high traffic areas, including recreational areas.
• The cost of juices is the same as the price of fresh juices in city cafes and restaurants.

Stage 3. Selecting the target audience

• Taking into account the cost and properties of the product, it is designed for working representatives of the middle class who want to maintain their health in good condition.

Stage 4. Positioning and competitive advantages

• The company will be able to offer consumers a high-quality product at a significant price.
• Its main competitive advantages will be: the presence of only natural ingredients in the drink, ease of use and good location of retail outlets.

Stage 5. Strategy development

• The company focuses on the array regular customers.
• Strives to retain customers during the cold season.

Stage 6. Tactical action plan

Here the company intends to:

• create a cumulative point system for customers and a system of seasonal discounts;
• offer delivery of juices throughout the city in plastic containers;
• expand the range by selling diet cookies and bars.

Based on the example above, you can create your marketing plan taking into account the specifics of your activity.

5 Mistakes in Developing a Marketing Plan

Many marketers have a logical question: why does the development of a marketing plan, carried out in accordance with all the requirements, not give the desired result? For what reason is this document ineffective, since its preparation was carried out according to all the rules?

It's simple. The problem is that often well-developed and informative plans have the following shortcomings:

Note! Once the development of your marketing plan has come to an end, you need to double-check finished document for the presence of the above-mentioned shortcomings.

A competent marketing plan is 50% of a company’s success in the market. Developing a marketing plan provides an opportunity to understand how a company should act to achieve the desired position in its industry.

Alexander Kaptsov

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Forming a stable array of buyers, finding one’s niche in the market, suppressing competitors, building a good reputation - this is not a complete list of issues that entrepreneurs have to solve. Without a clear marketing plan, it is almost impossible to achieve stable demand for products, brand recognition, and a large number of loyal customers. How to correctly draw up this important document for any business?

Company marketing plan - what is it?

A company's marketing plan should be understood as detailing all its actions that are aimed at achieving its optimal position in the market. It does not affect the production and technological aspects of the functioning of the company and only affects the issues of marketing products and making a profit.

What does developing a marketing plan give a company:

• Firstly , determines exactly what part of its funds will have to be spent on marketing activities.
• Secondly , formulate a policy for promoting specific types of goods and services on the market.
• Third , draw up a strategy and tactics for working with the target market, including the procedure for setting prices.
• Fourth , certain goods, sales revenue and profit.

Important point: Since the marketing plan outlines in detail all marketing activities and expected results, it is possible to trace the effectiveness of certain approaches in the company’s activities in the market.

Types of a company's marketing plan and the purposes of their preparation

There are many criteria for classifying marketing plans, including:

1. Duration of validity – strategic (more than 3 years), tactical (up to 3 years), operational (up to 1 month).
2. Breadth of coverage – plan for turnover, sales, advertising events, market research or integrated (comprehensive plan).
3. Depth of development – detailed or general.
4. Field of activity – plan of goals, pricing policy, product policy, marketing communications, control and audit, finance, warehousing, order formation, supplies (logistics), etc.

A marketing plan is a very serious internal document, which is focused on achieving certain goals:

• Maintaining the company's position in the market.
• Development and implementation of a new product.
• Coverage of new niches and segments (diversification), etc.

Important point: Due to such a wide range of areas for using marketing plans, it seems necessary to draw up a separate document for each goal, since the methods and tools for each goal are different.

It should be remembered that a marketing plan is not an analogue of a business plan. It covers only issues of the company's activities in the market.

Structure and content of the company's marketing plan

A marketing plan is an internal document that is used for decision-making by company management. However, it has a fairly clear structure.

Its preparation may take several months, as it requires:

1. Collecting information about buyers.
2. Studying supply and demand in the market.
3. Definitions of competitive advantages.
4. Competitor assessments, etc.

Important point: A marketing plan should be not just a “collection of facts”, but a document containing analysis, recommendations, and alternatives for the company’s further work in the market.

All 3-4 months during which the marketing plan will be formed will be spent like this: 50% of the time will be spent collecting all the necessary information, 40% on analysis and evaluation, and only 10% on creating the document itself.

In order not to make mistakes in forming a marketing plan, it is advisable to focus on the structure below:

1. Summary . This section includes a description of the main points outlined in the marketing plan. The goal must be written down here and the ways to achieve it are listed. The expected results of the plan are also stated.

Important point: Paradoxically, the first section of the marketing plan is always drawn up last, since it is summary the entire marketing plan.

2. Market overview and forecast . This section describes the market (size, growth opportunities, trends, features) and shows the specific behavior of consumers and competing firms in it. Here it is important to indicate how many competitors there are in the selected segment, what share they cover, as well as what are the market growth opportunities.

3. SWOT analysis and competitive advantages . This part analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of the company, threats and opportunities for its functioning.

Based on the results of compiling a SWOT analysis, the marketer must determine:

• The main competitive advantage of the company.
• Positioning of the product in relation to consumers (preferably with a forecast for 3-5 years in advance).
• Tactical measures to take advantage of opportunities and reduce the impact of threats.
• A strategy to combat competitors and increase customer loyalty.

4. Purpose and objectives of the marketing plan . A marketing plan should contribute to business development, which is why it contains business goals within the selected planning horizon (one month, one year, three years) and marketing goals for the same period of time. Only after this are tasks compiled marketing activities.

5. Marketing mix (marketing mix). The core of any marketing plan is the so-called marketing mix, which for goods is based on the 5P model, and for services - on the 7P model.

Model 5P. Any marketing event is built on the basis of five components:

• Product (Product) or product policy – ​​logo and form style, appearance And physical properties product, product range, product quality.
• Price (Price) or pricing policy - wholesale and retail prices, the procedure for determining the cost of goods, discounts and promotions, price discrimination.
• Place of sale (Place)or sales policy– sales of goods in markets, in stores, basics of distribution, display of goods, inventory management and logistics.
• Promotion (Promotional) or promotion policy - promotion strategy, promotional events, PR activities, event marketing, communication channels, media strategy.
• People (People) – motivation and stimulation of personnel, corporate culture, working with loyal customers and VIP clients, feedback.

Model 7P is complemented by two more “Ps”, namely:

• Process (Process) – conditions of interaction with the client, service procedure, creation of a favorable atmosphere, speed of service provision, etc.
• Physical environment (physical evidence) – setting, interior, background music, image, etc.

Thus, when developing a marketing plan, each of the above positions is worked out in detail, which allows us to form a comprehensive picture of the company’s functioning in the market.

6. Choice of company behavior in the market . This part of the marketing plan describes the company’s specific actions in the market to achieve its goal and solve identified problems.

7. Event budget . Includes a detailed list of costs for marketing activities, which can be presented in table form.

8. Risk assessment . This part describes the risks that a company may face while implementing its marketing plan.

The main stages of developing a marketing plan: an example of drawing up

Obviously, a marketing plan is a complex and complex document, which is not easy to formulate. However, even a specialist with basic knowledge in the field of marketing can do this. Where should you start?

First of all, you should collect information about the market, the selected segment, competitors, consumers, and then implement the following sequence of actions:

• Stage 1 . Analysis of market trends. Identifying customer requirements for product quality, price, packaging design, and communication channels.
• Stage 2 . Product analysis. Assessment of quality, price, packaging design, communication channels for an existing product.
• Stage 3 . Selecting the target market. Determining the category of consumers for whom the proposed product is most suitable.
• Stage 4 . Positioning and competitive advantages. Establishing the place of the company’s product in relation to competitors (average in quality, lower in price, etc.) and its advantageous aspects.
• Stage 5 . Creating a strategy. Formation of promotions and special offers for the target audience, procedures for promoting the brand to the market, etc.
• Stage 6 . Tactical action plan. Actions to achieve the ideal position of a product on the market.

It is advisable to give a simplified example of creating a marketing plan for a company selling freshly squeezed juices through five specialized points located in different parts of the city.

Stage 1. Analysis of market trends

1. Buyers want to purchase juices that are squeezed out of fruits and vegetables in their presence and sold in containers that are convenient for drinking (paper cups and plastic bottles).
2. Sales are carried out in recreation areas and near large offices.
3. The price may be higher than the cost of draft carbonated drinks and coffee, but cheaper than fresh juices offered by cafes and restaurants in the city.

Stage 2. Product analysis

1. The company produces fruit juices in plastic bottles and on tap.
2. All five sales points are located in places with large crowds of people, including near recreation areas.
3. The price of juices is similar to the cost of fresh juices in cafes and restaurants in the city.

Stage 3. Selecting a target market

1. Taking into account the properties of the product and its price, the main target audience will be working representatives of the middle class who monitor their health.

Stage 4. Positioning and competitive advantages

1. The company will offer customers a product of excellent quality and high value.
2. Natural ingredients, ease of drinking, proximity to the consumer are the main competitive advantages of the company.

Stage 5. Creating a strategy

1. Targeting an array of regular customers.
2. Retaining the audience during the cold season.

Stage 6. Tactical action plan

1. Formation of a cumulative points system for clients and a system of seasonal discounts.
2. Offer to deliver juices in plastic containers throughout the city.
3. Expansion of the assortment through the sale of dietary cookies and bars.

The above template should be considered as a kind of basis for drawing up a marketing plan. In fact, having such information in hand, the marketer can only distribute it into the appropriate sections.

Problems with the effectiveness of applying an organization's marketing plan

Many marketers ask a completely logical question: why do marketing plans drawn up according to all the rules not work and do not bring the desired effect?

The fact is that often quite neat and meaningful documents include such shortcomings as:

• Using information from one source . When creating a marketing plan, you should use information from industry surveys, expert assessments, statistical bulletins, customer surveys, competitor reports, etc.
• Overgeneralization . The document should be based on data, rather than endlessly pouring water and writing speculative assumptions unsupported by information.
• Lack of flexibility . Despite its detail, the marketing plan must be flexible so that any of its parameters can be adjusted as the market situation changes.
• Lack of connection with company strategy . If the company's overall strategy is to sell goods to middle-aged people, and marketing activities are aimed at teenagers and young people, the marketing plan will not bring the expected effect.
• Inconsistency . If the marketing plan first considers the means of carrying out promotional activities and only then analyzes the product and customers, then the goals set will not be achieved.

Important point: The completed marketing plan should be double-checked for the above issues.

A properly drawn up marketing plan is half the success of a company in the market. With its help, you can form a clear, structured, consistent picture of the company’s occupation of a certain position in the industry and in a separate segment. It allows you to create a list of effective tactical marketing activities that will help achieve the company's goals.

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What are the main marketing plans?

Various approaches to planning are possible. Traditional planning typically involves dividing plans based on the time period for which they are intended. Including short-term, medium-term or long-term plans. However, there is no universal definition planning periods.

Mid- and long-term plans are known as “strategic” plans because they look at business strategies over the long term. Short-term plans are often called “business plans” or “corporate plans” because they provide guidance for day-to-day activities. The application of a specific plan depends on the scope of activity and objectives of the company, the markets served, and the need to plan product release for the future.

Long-range planning is designed to assess overall business and economic trends over many years. The company's strategy is aimed at growing the relevant long-term objectives of the organization, which has important for the defense industry, pharmaceuticals and astronautics, where the development time for new products reaches 5-10 years. Long-term planning in these industries covers 10-20 years. But the development timeline for most companies is not that significant, with long-term planning targeting more than 5-7 years.

Medium-term planning is more practical, designed for a period of no more than 2-5 years (usually three years). Such planning is more tied to life, since it relates to the near future, and is more likely to be reflected in reality in terms of reality. The medium-term “strategic” marketing plan is based on strategies similar to the long-term ones. However, it is necessary to implement major decisions over more short time. Such decisions include the need for capital investment, the introduction of new products, the availability and application of resources and personnel.

Short-term planning (and budgeting), as a rule, is focused on a period of up to 1 year, involving the development of business or corporate plans and associated budgets. These plans are expected to look at the immediate future and details what the company plans to do over a 12 month period. Short-term plans are considered the most detailed. They can undergo appropriate adjustments if necessary.

How to Write a 1 Page Marketing Plan: The Allan Deeb Technique

Fast and easy write a marketing plan, even if you are a pro in marketing, you can use this article electronic journal"Commercial Director".

Why do you need a marketing plan?

Lack of a marketing plan leads to the following problems:

• spontaneous development of the company occurs without a specific plan of action;
• there is a constant conflict between possible schemes and existing development options; there is a dispersion of funds, efforts, time;
• the target audience is not defined, which periodically leads to the above problems;
• chaotic purchases of products, attempts to diversify the product offer at a time when you need to concentrate on the main product offer.

The marketing plan achieves the following goals:

• systematize, formally describe the ideas of the organization’s leaders, conveying them to employees;
• concentration of company resources with their reasonable distribution;
• set marketing goals, ensuring control in their achievement.

What sections are included in the marketing plan?

• grocery plan;
• sales plan – increasing sales efficiency;
• advertising and sales promotion plan;
• research and development of new products;
• distribution channel operation plan;
• price plan, including future price changes;
• marketing research plan;
• physical distribution system operating plan;
• marketing organization plan.

Structure and content of the marketing plan

Executive Summary (Executive Summary) – This initial section of the marketing plan provides a brief summary of the plan's major recommendations and objectives. This section allows management to quickly understand the focus of the plan. This section is usually followed by a table of contents for the plan.

The current marketing situation is in this section describes the target market and the organization’s position in it. These sections include:

• market description;
• product review;
• competition;
• distribution.

Threats and Opportunities – This section outlines the main opportunities and threats for the product in the market. The potential harm of each hazard is expected to be assessed.

Marketing goals - this section characterizes the focus of the plan, initially formulating the desired results of activity in specific markets.

Marketing strategies are the main directions of marketing activities. Following them, organizations strive to achieve marketing goals. The marketing strategy includes specific strategies for operating in target markets, the marketing mix used, appropriate marketing costs. In the strategies that are developed for each market segment, it is necessary to consider new and manufactured products, prices, promotion of products, bringing products to consumers, it is necessary to indicate how the strategy responds to market opportunities and threats.

An action plan is a detailed program showing what needs to be done, when and by whom the accepted tasks should be carried out, how much it will cost, what decisions need to be coordinated in order to fulfill the marketing plan.

The program, as a rule, briefly characterizes the goals to achieve which the program's activities are oriented. Consequently, the program is a set of specific activities that must be carried out by marketing and other services of the organization to achieve the goals of the marketing plan. The course will help you achieve them faster."

Marketing budget – this section reflects the projected amounts of income, profits and costs. The amount of income is justified from a forecast position on sales and prices. Costs are determined as the sum of production, marketing and distribution costs. At the same time, marketing costs must be described in detail in this budget.

Section “Control” - it reflects the methods and procedures for control that are required when assessing the level of success of the plan. For this purpose, criteria (standards) are established, on the basis of which progress in the implementation of marketing plans is measured.

Stages of developing a marketing plan

Stage 1. Determining the initial goals of the company’s development and activities.

Stage 2. Analysis of marketing activities. It is divided into three parts:

1) Analysis of the external marketing environment:

• analysis of the economic and business external environment - the state of the economy, socio-cultural conditions, financial policy, technological conditions, socio-economic conditions in the company;
• market environment: general market condition; its development; distribution channels, communications, state of the industry;
• competitors' environment.

2) A detailed analysis of marketing activities involves analysis sales volume, market share, profit, marketing organization, marketing procedures, analysis of all elements of the marketing mix, control of marketing activities.

3) Analysis of the marketing system involves analysis of marketing goals, marketing strategy, responsibilities and rights of managers in the field of marketing, information system, planning and control systems, interaction with other management functions, as well as conducting profitability analysis and analysis based on the “cost-effectiveness” criterion.

Stage 3. Formulation of assumptions, hypotheses regarding certain factors external to the company that may have an impact on its activities. It is worth classifying and presenting assumptions explicitly. The classification of assumptions can be carried out in the following areas - the organization itself, the specific industry and the country of operation.

Stage 4. Setting marketing goals. Defining and organizing goals is an important aspect of marketing activities. Almost any planning and management document on marketing now contains in one of its initial sections, at a minimum, a simple verbal list of goals, in obtaining which no special approaches or methods are used. But to strengthen the orientation towards final results in planning and management activities, with the intensification of the use of special management methods, the increasing need to increase the quality of individual management goals requires the use of special approaches and methods to build a system of goals.

Marketing has the following goals:

1. Satisfy consumer needs.
2. Provide yourself with a competitive advantage.
3. Increase your sales level.
4. Receive a certain profit.
5. Increase market share.

The core of marketing goals should be the specifics of the product or the need for it. If possible, goals should be focused not on consumer groups, but on their needs. After all, buyers are a fickle group.

Stage 5. Alternative strategies are developed that are aimed at achieving marketing goals. These strategies are detailed in relation to the elements of the marketing mix.

You can formulate pricing strategies like this:

• setting product prices according to market position;
• carrying out different pricing policies, depending on the markets;
• development of pricing policy, taking into account pricing policy their competitors.

In the area of ​​product promotion, strategies can be noted that characterize communications with consumers, means and methods of organizing the actions of sales department employees in new markets.

The strategy for bringing the product to consumers includes:

• channels used to bring the product to the consumer;
• level of after-sales customer service;
• activities aimed at achieving delivery costs;
• sales in small batches or wholesale.

After these stages of marketing planning are completed, you need to once again ensure the ability to achieve your goals and strategies using various evaluation criteria, including sales volume, market share, resource expenditures, profit margins and other estimates of planned results and the ability to achieve them.

Stage 6. Totality marketing strategies, goals and activities to achieve is a strategic marketing plan, which at the next planning stage should be translated into working planning documents. Therefore, it is necessary to carry out operational scheduling.

Stage 7. At the stage of operational calendar planning or the development of detailed action plans, it is necessary to specify marketing strategies into detailed plans and programs in the context of each of the 4 elements of the marketing complex.

We are talking about developing action plans for each division of the organization, aimed at achieving specified goals based on selected strategies. It is necessary to contain answers to the questions - what, who, where and when, how and with what resources should be done to implement marketing programs and plans.

As a rule, written instructions for drawing up action plans are also being developed, which are accompanied by forms and samples to fill out.

Stage 8. Marketing budget is developed. Its compilation helps in correct definition priorities between strategies and goals of marketing activities, in making decisions on the allocation of resources, in exercising effective control.

The budget is usually developed using a profit-based planning approach.

In this case, the marketing budget is developed in the following sequence: forecast estimates of market capacity, market share, price, sales income, variable and fixed costs are determined; gross profit is calculated, covering all costs, including marketing costs, and ensuring the achievement of a given target profit value.

Variables and fixed costs, as well as the value of the target profit. This is how marketing costs are determined. They are detailed by individual elements of the marketing mix.

• Marketing and sales: how to establish effective interaction

There are always problems with budget calculations

Roman Tkachev,

promotion project manager trademark MDV, group of companies "AYAK"

Marketing expenses are not always perceived as an investment in attracting or retaining customers. Some view marketing spending as a fashion statement rather than an investment to improve profit margins. The reason is that the marketing department is often unable to present an assessment of its activities in the form of a mathematical model to management for review.

Sizing marketing budget- is a matter of strategic planning in the company's work. Consequently, the budget includes not only an estimate of promotion and advertising costs, but also costs for market research, development of external brand attributes, management of relationships with consumers, indication of sales channels, BTL and other relevant activities.

It is worth considering that marketing planning is intended to determine the organization’s position at the current moment, areas of activity, and means of achieving its goals. The marketing plan is central from the standpoint of conducting activities to generate a certain income. It provides the basis for all other activities of the organization.

You don't need to invent a wheel to create a marketing plan.

Anton Uskov,

General Director of PR agency Media_Act, Moscow

A company does not have to reinvent the wheel to plan its marketing policy. If you don't know how to create a marketing plan, it's best to seek professional advice.

The most effective and simple option is to put yourself in the shoes of a potential buyer or client, discarding your habits and preferences, and stopping using cliches and templates.

How is the execution of a marketing plan monitored?

In order to control the operation of the enterprise as a whole, it is necessary to develop a multi-level management calculation procedure, with the formulation of a development strategy, supported by a set of tactical measures. It is the solution of the last task in the activities of marketing and commercial services that the marketing plan is focused on.

The manager ensures control over the results of the activities of his subordinate units:

• according to criteria in the marketing plan;
• according to management accounting indicators;
• on the performance of the unit.

Analysis of the implementation of the marketing plan also involves a comparison of the actual development of the situation and the planned or expected indicators for the reporting period. If the actual state is considered unsatisfactory, appropriate changes must be made. Sometimes it is necessary to revise the plans due to the influence of uncontrollable factors.

Marketing plan analysis can be carried out using 3 methods:

1. Marketing cost analysis;
2. Implementation analysis;
3. Marketing audit.

As part of the analysis of marketing costs, an assessment of the effectiveness of different marketing factors. It is necessary to find out which costs are effective and which are not, and make the necessary adjustments. Sales performance analysis is a detailed examination of sales results to evaluate the appropriateness of a particular strategy.

A marketing audit is a systematic, objective and critical assessment, review of key objectives and policies marketing functions organization in the implementation of this policy, with the achievement of its goals. Marketing audit involves 6 stages:

1. It is determined who will conduct the audit.
2. The frequency of the audit is determined.
3. Forms for the audit are being developed.
4. An audit is carried out directly.
5. Presenting results to the management of the organization, making decisions.

A prerequisite in this direction is the dependence of salary on the performance of duties. The share of real payments, depending on the results, should be quite significant (at least a third of the employee’s total earnings).

• How to determine a marketing budget: calculation methods and expert advice

Information about authors and companies

PR agency Media_Act specializes in conducting advertising and PR campaigns in the regions. It has branches in almost all major cities of the country. Among the main clients: the investment holding Finam, the Japanese tire manufacturer Yokohama, the distributor of roofing materials Diana-Trade, MTS. The agency has subsidiaries providing advertising, production and printing services.

Roman Tkachev, project manager for promoting the MDV brand, AYAK group of companies. Graduated from Altai State University (specialist in the field international relations, orientalist) and Yanshan University (PRC) ( Chinese, international marketing). Involved in the development and implementation of a supply planning system and an accounting and analysis system commercial offers by MDV brand.

Group of companies "AYAK"- founded in 1996. Distributor of world famous manufacturers of air conditioning equipment. It has about 50 regional representative offices, more than 2000 dealer companies in the Russian Federation and the CIS countries. Official website - www.jac.ru

The company's management is called upon to perform a complex of important functions: setting goals, developing plans, policies, methods, strategies and tactics. Managers organize and coordinate, lead and control, and serve as the driving force and liaison. Planning is only one of these functions, but one of the most important: the company's business plan, or business plan, directs the activities of the company as a whole.

A marketing plan is the most important part of a company's plan, and the marketing planning process should be carried out as part of general process planning and budgeting of the company.

There are a number different approaches to planning. In traditional planning, plans are usually divided depending on the period of time they are intended for, for example:

• long-term plans;
• medium-term plans;
• short term plans. There is no universal definition of planning periods. Long- and medium-term plans are often called "strategic" plans because they address long-term business strategies; short-term plans are often called "corporate" or "business plans" because they provide guidance for day-to-day operations. Which plan is used depends on what the company does, what markets it serves, and how much it needs to plan for future product releases.

  Long-range planning aims to assess overall economic and business trends many years into the future. It defines the company's strategies aimed at ensuring growth that correspond to its long-term objectives, which is of particular importance for enterprises in such industries as the defense industry, astronautics and pharmaceuticals (in which the development time for new products reaches 5-10 years). In these industries, long-term planning covers a period of 10-20 years. However, for most companies, the lead time for product development is not that long, and long-term planning does not look ahead further than 5-7 years.

  Medium-term planning is more practical and takes a period of no more than 2-5 years (usually 3 years). Medium-term planning is more connected to life, since it concerns the near future; it is more likely that the plan will reflect reality. A medium-term "strategic" plan is based on the same strategies as a long-term plan, but major decisions must be made in a shorter time frame. These types of decisions include: the introduction of new products, the need for capital investment, the availability and use of personnel and resources.

  Short-term planning (and budgeting) usually covers a period of up to one year and involves the development of “corporate” or “business” plans for the company and associated budgets. These plans look at the immediate future and the details of what the company intends to do over a twelve-month period (tied to the company's fiscal year). Of all plans, short-term plans are the most detailed. If necessary, adjustments are made to them throughout the year.

  Traditional planning and strategic planning

  Until the 1970s Traditional strategic planning for the company worked quite well. Business cycles were highly predictable, the environment was stable, competitors were well known, exchange rates were fixed, pricing was stable, and consumer behavior was predictable.

  After the oil "shock" of the early 1970s. and the transition to “floating” exchange rates, enterprises were faced with a radically different, rapidly changing situation. New technologies, new competition, significant price changes and other irreversible changes required a different type of strategic planning. The focus of company management has shifted from long-term planning to the implementation of corporate plans, when within a limited time the company receives real results, on the basis of which the necessary adjustments are made to the long-term strategic plan. Planning horizons have narrowed to several years.

  The main difference between the two approaches is that traditional planning assumes that all relevant information is available from the very beginning of the process, whereas new "strategic" planning uses new data as it becomes available. Currently, specialists in the field of marketing planning have adopted the method of “strategic” planning.

  What is the difference between a marketing plan and a corporate plan?

  Directors and senior managers of a company set the objectives of its activities. Goals are usually expressed in financial terms and define what the company will be like over time, say three years. The company's business goals usually include indicators such as sales volume, profit before taxes, return on capital, etc. To develop a feasible business plan, it is necessary to first collect information on current operations, i.e., perform an analysis economic activity(audit). Each functional area of ​​the company conducts its own audit. During the audit process, specific goals and strategies are developed, on the basis of which a plan will be developed for each function of the company to achieve a separate set of goals and implement specific strategies. Individual plans are developed in detail for the first year of the plan and include quantitative data on estimated costs and revenues.

  A marketing plan establishes a company's market goals and proposes methods for achieving them. It does not include all of the firm's goals and methods of operation. In addition to marketing, there are production, financial and “personnel” goals. None of them can be considered in isolation.

  A complete corporate or business plan includes a number of supporting plans, including a master marketing plan for the company. All separate plans must be agreed upon and coordinated into a single corporate plan.

  The subject of our analysis is the marketing plan, but we need to take into account the complexities of setting goals and developing strategies within the system as a whole.

  The corporate plan is based on the order acceptance procedure and the sales budget (part of the marketing plan). None of the plans can be implemented without analyzing and taking into account this information. On its basis, the sales volume for the production plan is determined, on the basis of which a purchasing plan is developed, inventory levels and turnover rates are determined, which in turn affects invoicing procedures, cash flow and consolidation of commercial credit in the financial plan.

  The company's plans are also influenced by other issues that are primarily considered in the marketing plan. Pricing issues influence the financial plan, and the marketing plan can suggest pricing policies and strategies. The introduction of new products is largely determined by the production plan and the financing of strategic reserves. In order for inventories to facilitate penetration into new strategic markets, they must also be provided on a consignment basis. Production and purchasing plans determine the decision whether to manufacture some of the components of the final product by the company itself or to turn to external sources. If the marketing plan involves product substitution or increase in production, and price is a key success factor, then it may make sense to purchase some parts of the product from other manufacturers. What will be the opportunity costs of production (and the plan) if additional production capacity and what consequences will it have for financial plan the need to find additional Money to purchase components externally? All of these (and many more) issues need to be discussed and agreed upon with functional managers and the company's senior management at the beginning of the marketing planning process.

  A marketing plan is like a map: it shows where the company is going and how it plans to get there. It is both an action plan and a written document. A marketing plan identifies a company's promising business opportunities and outlines ways to penetrate, capture, and maintain positions in specific markets. It connects all the elements of marketing into a coherent plan of action that details who, what, when, where and how to achieve goals.

  The attention of the authors of many works on marketing planning is focused on theoretical problems. Perhaps this approach is interesting for scientists and managers who manage the process of the company as a whole, but it is too complex for ordinary commercial directors. Our approach is practical and touches on theory only to the extent necessary to understand the planning process. The author hopes that by accepting and sharing the formal outline structure outlined in this book, you will find it easier to organize your thoughts and facts into a logical order. And then:

• employees who will need to familiarize themselves with the plan will understand your arguments and the logic of your conclusions without any problems;
• you will present a complete professional document to management (even if the information you have is limited).

  What is marketing and how does it differ from sales?

  Successful marketing ensures that the right product is available in the right place in the right time and buyer awareness about it.

  The purpose of marketing is to convince the buyer to purchase the product offered. But this is only one side of marketing.

  Even today, in large companies, marketing and sales functions are often completely separate, sometimes led by different directors. In some organizations, sales is viewed as a local functional area, with marketing handled separately by head office or "marketing people." It should not be. Sales and marketing activities must be combined, or at least they must have the same objectives. There must be a constant exchange of information between these two areas, otherwise it will adversely affect marketing planning.

  The separation of sales and marketing functions creates difficulties in involving sales personnel in marketing activities or planning marketing. Today, especially in smaller companies, sales managers often lack formal marketing training. For commercial directors the situation is even worse, and sales people, even in large companies, apparently receive no marketing training at all. How will today's sales specialists manage the relevant departments and perform the duties of commercial directors tomorrow? Only by mastering all the secrets of the trade on your own. They can learn from those who already have experience, but proper training is still necessary.

  It is taken for granted that large companies, especially international ones, can afford to train employees in marketing or lure specialists from other companies. Ten years ago it was difficult to get training in marketing, but that is no longer the case. Organizations that offer sales-oriented training also offer marketing courses at various levels.

  According to the generally accepted definition, marketing is “the provision of goods and services in accordance with consumer needs.” In other words, marketing is about focusing on the needs of customers, ensuring that its products meet them and making a profit. Long gone are the days when companies first released a product and then looked for buyers for it.

  Buyers purchase only those goods that they need. The public often criticizes intensive advertising campaigns for allegedly “forcing” consumers to purchase the company’s products. This is not entirely true - remember, for example, the unsuccessful attempts of the Coca-Cola company to introduce new soft drinks to the market or the initially negative reaction of consumers to the Ford Sierra car model.

  Two thirds of new products fail in their very first steps on the market. Firms must take into account the requirements of consumers and the market and adapt their products to them (i.e., be market-oriented). The company that produced in the 1950s. tube radios, in the 1960s-1970s. was forced to reorient to transistor ones, and in the 1980s. - for the production of stereo radios. Manufacturers of black and white televisions (in the 1950s-1960s) in the 1970s. began producing colored ones in the 1980s. - televisions with teletext, and in the 1990s. - high definition TVs. Each of these products meets essentially the same customer needs, only at different points in time. If these enterprises continued to produce the same products that satisfied consumers in the 1960s, then in the 1970s and 1980s. they would go bankrupt. These are the basic principles of marketing - “in the end, the consumer always gets what he wants,” and an entrepreneur who ignores market requirements is doomed to fiasco.

  Marketing is a process that combines the capabilities of an enterprise and the needs of the consumer:

• the buyer satisfies his needs;
• The company receives income from the sale of goods.

  To achieve a balance between needs and supply of goods, enterprises must be agile. They must be prepared to modify products, introduce new products and enter new markets. It is vital for them to be able to understand the needs of customers and the current market situation. Achieving equilibrium occurs in " external environment", which is formed by a number of factors significant for the company.

  Local and cultural preferences. Buyers' perception of certain products is largely determined by local traditions and conditions, as well as national and cultural ideas. British black pudding and shepherd's pie are unlikely to catch on with consumers in Italy or Spain, and sauerkraut is also unlikely to sell well in Scotland. American refrigerators are too big for Japanese homes.

  Government policy. Economic conditions, policies, legislation and environmental requirements in the countries in which you intend to sell your products will affect your company's operations in one way or another. Changes in exchange rates affect the competitiveness of your product relative to local analogues and determine the decision on the advisability of organizing their production in the chosen country. For car manufacturers and detergents For example, the environmental policy of the state is of great importance. As a rule, national legislation strictly regulates the sale of drugs and pharmaceutical products; In some countries, certain types of fertilizers and pesticides may be controlled or banned.

  Competition. The activities of your company affect your competitors, and the actions they take affect the production of your company. What your competitors do affects products, pricing, and many other factors. Even the market leader has no right to ignore the activities of competitors.

  New technologies. Modern technologies, and with them the needs of consumers, are changing extremely quickly. The advent of electronic digital watches has had a major impact on the market wristwatch. Power windows and sunroofs once seemed like an expensive extravagance in the luxury car market; now they are the norm for cars from most manufacturers. The functions of VCRs are constantly changing. The company cannot expect that its current range of products will always be in demand. As technology advances, products need to be modified, improved, or replaced.

  Changing the distribution structure. The emergence of giant supermarkets and suburban supermarkets in Europe shopping centers in the 1970-1980s changed the distribution structure of literally everything from food to DIY stores (largely facilitated by an increase in car ownership). In Japan, which is in the early stages of this transformation, the number of stores per capita is significantly higher than in the United States and Europe. Introducing containerization and increasing the use and availability of air freight transport also caused significant changes in the distribution structure.

  Obviously, the external marketing environment is beyond the control of both individuals and companies. Its conditions are constantly changing and must be constantly monitored.

  So, marketing is defined:

• company capabilities;
• buyer needs;
• marketing external environment.

  The company's marketing organization involves control over four main elements of the company's operations (the "marketing mix"):

• sold goods (Product - Product);
• pricing policy (Price);
• product promotion (Promotion);
• distribution methods (Place).

  “Promotion” and “Place” primarily relate to how a firm attracts potential buyers, while “Product” and “Price” address their needs. The marketing mix (also known as the four Ps of marketing) determines the company's policy aimed at generating profit and satisfying customer needs.

  A market typically consists of a number of submarkets characterized by different sets of consumer needs. The firm must create an appropriate marketing structure for each submarket. For example, the automobile market consists of a market passenger cars, the company car market and the private car market, which differ significantly in the set of consumer requirements.

  Each element of the marketing mix represents a broad field of activity for a marketing-oriented organization; they must be considered both separately and in conjunction with other elements. A marketing mix structure that is satisfactory at a particular point in time may require revision because:

• goods and services fall out of use or are improved;
• new goods and services appear;
• competition leads to a decrease in the price of the product (and, as a consequence, the profit margin);
• advertising activities may be less effective than those of competitors;
• the distribution location or distribution method may not accommodate emerging alternatives or changes in the business.

  Marketing mix management is the key to a successful sales organization and the core of marketing planning.

  What is marketing planning?

  The term marketing planning is used to describe the methods of applying marketing resources to achieve marketing objectives. It sounds simple, but the actual process is quite complex. Each company has specific resources and pursues specific goals, which also change over time. Marketing planning is used to segment a market, determine its health, forecast its growth, and plan a viable market share within each segment.

  The process includes:

• performing marketing research inside and outside the company;
• analysis of the company's strengths and weaknesses;
• assumptions;
• forecasts;
• setting marketing goals;
• development of marketing strategies;
• program definition;
• budgeting;
• reviewing results and goals, strategies and programs.

  The planning process is designed to:

• improve the use of company resources to establish marketing opportunities;
• strengthen team spirit and company unity;
• provide assistance in achieving corporate goals.

  And, in addition, marketing research as part of the planning process allow you to formulate information base for the implementation of current and future projects.

  What is a marketing plan?

  A marketing plan is a document that sets out the main goals of marketing a company's goods and services and ways to achieve them. Although we are talking about products in this chapter, they almost always include some service component, such as after-sales service, advice from trained salespeople, and (in the case of consumer products) the art of selling. The marketing plan has a formal structure, but can also be used as an informal, fairly flexible tool:

• to prepare arguments for the introduction of a new product;
• when changing approaches to marketing the company's products;
• when developing complete marketing plans for a department, division or firm for inclusion in a corporate or business plan.

  In principle, a marketing plan can be prepared for one product in a separate trading area, but large-scale plans have become more common.

  In the future, we will consider examples from various industries (production of investment and consumer goods, services). Although there are significant differences between the products produced, basic marketing principles apply to each. Yes, the way they are used varies, but the fundamental approach to creating a marketing plan does not change.

  There is no issue too small or too big for a marketing plan. You can write plans for marketing dairy equipment in any region of the country, diaphragm valves in one of the European countries, and bathroom kits in hotels in the Middle East. You might as well develop a marketing plan for the most different goods and services (from products chemical industry to restaurant services fast service) at the regional, national or global level.

  When it comes to companies with subsidiaries, marketing plans for each of them are developed either by their employees or by employees of the head office. Each subsidiary's marketing plan is developed from separate, smaller individual plans.

  The main condition for developing divisional plans and subsidiaries is that they must be linked to the company's master plan. This doesn't mean you have to prepare a plan for every product or sales area. But if they are developed, they must be consistent with the master marketing plan.

  A marketing plan cannot be considered complete unless it includes historical data, future projections, goals, and methods or strategies for achieving those goals. If the plan is being drawn up for a new product for which historical data is not available, it may be possible to use information about the product it replaces or estimates for similar products from a competing company.

  In its simplest form, a marketing plan begins with the collection and evaluation of historical data. It usually contains detailed information about competitors, their strengths and weaknesses, advantages and disadvantages. Naturally, it should consider the strengths and weaknesses of your company, your successes and failures. But this is not a plan yet, but only the first step in its development. It is then supplemented by future forecasts, which include a detailed description of the strategies that will be used to achieve the goals.

  The full form of the plan provides an estimate of the resources required to execute the plan, examines in detail its impact on profit and loss figures, or includes a forecast of the company's financial statements.

  Why do you and your company need a marketing plan?

  Managers of some companies believe that the efforts spent on marketing planning are not paid off by the results of plan execution. The manager’s time is supposedly too valuable to spend on anything other than solving urgent problems. operational tasks inappropriate. You may feel that you don't need a formal marketing plan. Many of the specialists throughout their entire career working life In trade or sales, organizations have never participated in the development of a marketing plan, have they?

  Unable to control trade organization, even of a very small size, or prepare at least a sales forecast without drawing up some rudimentary form of a marketing plan. Often, however, managers simply take some quantitative indicators, to which the statement of facts is then adjusted. This type of activity requires little effort, but demonstrates a clear lack of understanding of the marketing planning process.

  In a highly competitive environment, it is necessary to be able to use “marketing” in order to direct “sales” in the direction the company needs. A marketing plan is one of the tools that allows you to complete the task. As a document with a formal structure, it obliges the one who writes it to present his thoughts, facts and conclusions in a consistent and logical manner so that they can be understood by others.

  A properly prepared marketing plan should describe the company's policies and strategies that guide managers in their daily activities. Consequently, the intervention of organizational leaders in operational management is required only in complex or unusual situations.

  Summary

  Planning is one of the main functions of management. A company's corporate or business plan guides its operations. The marketing plan is only one component of the corporate plan, so the planning process should be carried out as part of the company's master plan and budgeting process.

  As a result of significant changes in the economic environment in the 1970-1980s. the focus of attention of company management has shifted from long-term planning to the implementation of action plans, the implementation of which allows to obtain results in a short period of time and on the basis of which long-term ones are improved strategic plans. The new "strategic" planning assumes that management quickly responds to incoming information and uses it. This approach is also accepted by marketing specialists.

  To prepare a corporate plan, a company must set performance goals, conduct an audit, and prepare separate plans for each functional area of ​​the company. All of them (including the marketing plan) must be agreed and coordinated into a single corporate plan.

  The goal of sales is to persuade customers to buy a company's product, but this is only one aspect of marketing. Marketing requires that a firm identify customer needs and match them with products and services so that the company can make a profit.

  This requires understanding:

• company capabilities;
• customer needs;
• marketing environment in which the company operates. A company's capabilities can be managed by controlling the four main elements of a company's operations (or marketing mix):
• goods sold (Product);
• pricing policy (Price);
• methods of product promotion (Promotion);
• distribution methods (Location).

  Marketing planning means analyzing the application of marketing resources to achieve its objectives. It requires segmenting the market, determining market position, forecasting market size, and planning viable market share within each market segment.

  The basic principles of marketing are equally applicable to various industries (production of consumer and capital goods and services).

  A marketing plan is a document that formulates a plan for marketing goods and/or services. A master marketing plan consists of marketing plans individual goods or shopping areas. A company's marketing plan establishes marketing goals and provides strategies for achieving them.

We will send the material to you:

From this article you will learn:

• Why is it needed?
• For what period should it be drawn up?
• How to Develop a Company Marketing Plan
• How to do it quickly in half an hour
• What mistakes should you avoid?

Modern enterprises are constantly in a state of competition with each other. The one that loses is the one that is weaker due to an ill-developed marketing plan. A company's marketing plan is important because it helps drive sales to new level. Let's figure out together how to create it and what strategy is best to use.

What is a company's marketing plan?

To the leaders modern enterprises In a competitive environment, questions arise on which the future of the company often depends. How to develop further, what mechanisms to use to reduce costs, where to look and attract potential consumers, what marketing techniques to use to increase profits?

With a correct, competent and effective plan, you can easily find answers to these and other questions.

A company's marketing plan is short description an algorithm that allows you to quickly find solutions to important production problems. Moreover, this document clearly indicates the deadlines and strategies. It could be one year, two or three.

The company’s marketing activity plan is drawn up as a separate document. Along with financial as well as production plans it is included in the company's strategic business plan. With their help, it is easy to build a general line of enterprise development.

To develop the document, the results of previously conducted research and data on the study of economic niches in which the enterprise operates are used. Additionally, resources and consumers are analyzed to determine the main goals and objectives. The period during which the desired results outlined earlier are achieved must be indicated.

Why is a company marketing plan necessary?

We think this is already clear. The main objectives of this document include those described below.

1. A company's marketing plan will help determine its profitability.

Therefore, it is necessary to use terms that everyone will understand - from the manager to the junior service personnel. This must be taken into account so that the work of all employees is as productive as possible.

1. To be more productive, you need to consider how the system works.

From the document it will be clear which department of the company needs to be strengthened and which one needs to be closed. It is important to describe each item in detail and accurately.

1. A marketing plan clearly sets goals and defines methods for achieving them.

It is important to have an additional document if the first one does not justify itself.

1. The main purpose of the document is to coordinate the actions of personnel (workers, employees) and management (directorate) of the company.

Thanks to this, the actions of the company’s employees will be clear, each employee will know well job responsibilities and carry them out.

How long does it take to create a company marketing plan?

If the company is large, then the document is developed every year. In order for there to be a result, it is necessary to indicate specific deadlines, which depend on the size of the company and its scope of activity.

Typically, the document is drawn up for a period of three to six years and is adjusted annually, data is adjusted, and changed to take into account new market conditions. After a revision, a company's marketing plan is often rewritten.

If the company is small, then, according to research conducted in 2017, effective search engine or SEO marketing is used. It is usually used to promote goods and services on the Internet along with contextual advertising and SMM.

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Large companies work according to a different scheme; they prefer to use advertising in media mass media(newspapers, magazines), on television, radio.

The frequency of review of the marketing plan for small enterprises depends on demand and activity of needs, which can be determined independently using SWOT analysis.

Other tactics, goals and methods of promotion may be chosen. As soon as global changes occur in the market, most often the company adjusts the positioning of the product or service, which means the entire marketing plan is reworked.

Let's look at an example. Company N produces baby food premium. In the early years, it was known only to a narrow circle of consumers. It means that the main task marketing department - increase brand awareness. This will definitely be highlighted in the company's marketing plan.

In a year, when awareness has grown, the range has expanded, the document will indicate specific dates for carrying out promotions, and a section will appear in which advertising campaigns must be clearly described.

What goals should be reflected in the company’s marketing plan?

The ultimate goal of a marketing plan is to continually increase the company's profits.

Many businessmen often forget that marketers cannot solve all the issues themselves. They do not produce or sell goods or provide services, nor do they work with clients or partners. Therefore, it is important to look at all departments of the company and strengthen collaboration within it in order to constantly increase profits.

All members must participate in the implementation of the marketing plan labor collective. If this does not happen, all your endeavors will remain on paper, time and effort will be wasted.

All goals must be recorded and secured with specific dates, against which you can then check the exact deadlines for completion. It might look like this:

• expansion, optimization of the customer base by (date) on (%);
• developing a strategy to increase sales by (date) by (times);
• increase in brand awareness among consumers, target audience by (date) by (%);
• expansion or formation of a new partnership, as well as dealer network to (date) to (quantity).

What is the structure of the company's marketing plan?

The company's marketing plan consists of several sections.

1. Management summary (introduction for management)– This is the first, introductory, section of the document. It indicates a list of tasks, the main goals of the company, its mission and problems that the business is solving at the time of writing the marketing plan.

2. Assessment of the company’s current activities. This section clearly highlights the following points:

• Described main segments of the target audience.
• market analysis , including legislative framework, suppliers, forecasts and prospects, features of the industry in which the company operates;
• internal audit, during which issues that hinder the development of the enterprise are identified, as well as mechanisms that can improve the situation;
• results of a previously conducted SWOT analysis . At the same time, they evaluate the positive and negative factors that will affect your business;
• competitive advantages . This is what you are able to offer to your business partners and potential consumers. Based on the results obtained, you will be able to effectively promote your product or service.

3. Quantitative and qualitative analysis of the activities of your company’s competitors. Here you need to describe the development strategy of your competitors, analyze the assortment, prices, their promotion methods, and the features of working with clients.

You can use the services of a “mystery shopper”. This will allow you to draw conclusions for improvement. further development your business.

4. Development of a product strategy for your enterprise. You analyze the product portfolio, sales, consumption volumes and draw conclusions, formulate recommendations for business expansion. If necessary, evaluate the product line and basic production technologies.

5. Strategy development. You need to describe the main areas of marketing for your company, how the brand and the company as a whole are positioned.

You indicate measures to work with clients, events that are carried out to attract new business partners, to strengthen the company’s position in the market of goods and services. Analyze internal marketing and how you will serve your customers.

6. Analytics. Using special data, analyze and describe external and internal situations (in the market and in the company), possible risks that need to be taken into account in future activities.

You plan and collect information, prepare analytical materials, and think through measures that can be used in specific situations. Conduct competitor monitoring, publicity, marketing research and describe how all this is implemented in practice.

7. Action plan. Analysis and inclusion in the company's work plan of the activities necessary to achieve the goals that you set for yourself and the company's employees. It would be better if this is a table in which you enter the actions taken to promote a product or service, and also set deadlines, indicate those responsible, etc.

8. Finance. Analyze the main indicators and draw conclusions. They will help you predict sales, see and estimate additional costs. Include sales dynamics in the document, break it down by clients, market segments, product (service) groups, and regions.

Be sure to analyze the main cost indicators, group them so that they can then be used to draw conclusions for improving sales and the marketing plan as a whole.

9. Exercising control. This is the last section of your plan. It spells out in detail the main mechanisms and control tools with an exact indication of which divisions of your company will carry out a specific item.

This section may contain reports, key indicators and milestones that will help you draw conclusions.

10. Applications. This part of the document will contain graphs, tables, and analysis of individual provisions of the marketing plan. This way you can track the dynamics of your business.

As you can see, all elements of the marketing plan are systematized into a list that corresponds to certain areas of activity. This helps to solve specific problems, eliminate problem areas, etc.

Step-by-step development of a company marketing plan

Developing a company marketing plan consists of several stages. Almost all of them are required.

Development of a marketing plan according to the SOSTAC model

The SOSTAC structure was created in the 1990s. She is quite authoritative and has an excellent reputation. Aspiring businessmen and international companies take it as a basis to create a marketing plan.

SOSTAC's marketing plan consists of a number of stages.

Stage 1. Analysis of a specific situation

When analyzing the current situation, it is necessary to show the overall picture of the project. To do this, the following questions are being considered:

1. What are your current clients like? Create a detailed portrait of your target audience.
2. Based on the SWOT analysis, draw conclusions about your strengths and weaknesses, and possible threats to the company.
3. Analyze your competitors. Who are they? On what basis do they compete with you? This could be the product, its price, better customer service, a reputation other than yours. How exactly are you different from each other?
4. Make a detailed list of channels that you can use to attract customers. Mark the ones that will be most successful for you. Separate those that perform well from those that perform poorly.

Only after this will you be able to see your potential customers and evaluate their motivation for purchases. Alternatively, you can create a portrait of the client. This will help you get to know your audience better. To do this, you can use the data obtained by the current CRM system after analyzing the order history.

From the information collected by your CRM system, you can:

• understand your ratio of male to female clients;
• evaluate profiles based on age, average age and understand whether creating categories is possible;
• find out data about the location of your customers, their addresses, what percentage lives in your region;
• study the history of successful purchases and create an overall picture, evaluate the average order, understand how products differ in volume, color, size from competitive ones;
• understand how your customers prefer to pay upon receipt - with cards or cash; how often orders are placed and purchases are made.

Having such data, you can move on to the next stage, where we will collect information related to your company.

Let's look at a specific example. We have data about the target audience. Now let's take two avatars for a virtual online store that sells T-shirts.

Avatar A - Maxim

Maxim is a master of his craft, he is 26 years old, he lives alone, rents a one-room apartment in the center of Moscow, is not married, and has a high income level for the capital. The guy is passionate about football and often supports his sports club. Every year he buys a new colored T-shirt with his team's fan logo. He does this via the Internet.

It is convenient and comfortable for Maxim to place orders via the Internet. He often communicates via social networks with friends and acquaintances, regularly follows news from the world of domestic and world football, and does not mind getting acquainted with new paraphernalia.

With the World Cup just around the corner, this will provide an opportunity to introduce a new collection of T-shirts for football club fans. Therefore, the XXX company can come into contact with Maxim and offer not only a T-shirt for a fan of his favorite team, but also a unique international T-shirt for an active fan.

How will Maxim interact with your online store? It could be the following diagram.

Maxim gets acquainted with the latest news about the World Cup in a fashion blog. He notices that the company offers to participate in the promotion - order a T-shirt with a logo dedicated to the championship for 10% cheaper. To do this, he needs to follow the link to the online store website.

Maxim makes the transition and ends up on the website of the XXX online store. Here he is offered a large selection of high-quality T-shirts, which he can order with a 10% discount. Maxim selects a T-shirt of the color, design, size he wants, and then completes the purchase by paying with a credit/debit card.

Avatar B - Margarita

Margarita is a professional in her field, she is 33 years old, the girl is in a relationship. Margarita follows the fashion world and tries to place orders through the online store.

And her boyfriend, a fan of the football team and local club, also likes to keep up with sports fashion. He buys his team's fan T-shirts every year.

The World Cup is coming soon, and Margarita knows about it. She, too, can become a customer of the XXX online store. A girl can buy a T-shirt for both herself and her boyfriend - together they are going to support the football team at the championship.

An example scenario for Margarita’s interaction with an online store: a potential client received an email with an offer from the online store. This newsletter contains an online advertisement for a company that offers to order a T-shirt with the symbols of the championship using a promotional code.

Margarita understands that this is a chance to give her beloved guy a T-shirt, buy the same one for herself and save money. The girl goes to the online store website. To get information, she calls customer service and places an order over the phone.

To successfully promote an online store, you need to create two or three customer avatars for a separate group of products that have similar properties.

Stage 2. Setting goals

This part of the marketing plan should focus on your goals, which must be as specific as possible. Goals should correspond to the following points:

• Specificity. Select the indicators that you will focus on.
• Measurability. Decide how you will evaluate efficiency and carry out control.
• Reachability. How and when can you achieve your goal?
• Realism or valence. It takes into account what marketing tools you will use.
• Limited time. See if the time is clearly indicated.

Continuing with the example of an online store selling T-shirts, the goals could be:

• Interaction: it is necessary to increase the number (flow) of clients by 50% by March 2018.
• Attraction. The goal is to increase awareness of your brand. Tracking using Google Analytics. Date: March - July 2018.
• Interaction. The mailing of letters is increasing systematically: previously they sent one letter per quarter, now one letter per week, starting from April 2018 to July 2018.

Stage 3. Strategy for achieving goals

Your strategy should demonstrate that you are committed to achieving your goals.

Goal 1. Increase your brand awareness. Tracking using Google Analytics. Date: March - August 2018.

You should maximize the presence of your brand (product or service) in places online that target fans:

• Determine a cost-effective route to market.
• Do you have any clients on these online platforms?
• Where exactly can you get the attention of potential clients?

You can achieve your goal only when you study competitive companies so that you understand what basic tools they prefer.

Goal 2. Interaction: it is necessary to increase the flow of existing customers by 50% by April 2019.

Here you must carefully analyze your existing customer base and identify what each of its representatives prefers.

Goal 3. The frequency of letters is increasing systematically. Previously, they sent a letter every 3-4 months, now every 7-10 days, starting from April to July 2018.

By answering the questions below, you will decide on the frequency of sending emails:

• How does the company currently interact with subscribers?
• Who are your competitors and how do they send out mailings?

Stage 4. Tactics for achieving goals

Here are the key tools to consider that will help you achieve your marketing plan goals. There can be several tactics.

Let's assume you have chosen methods such as SEO optimization, contextual advertising, and email marketing. Let's look at them in detail.

During the analysis, key shortcomings were identified - a small budget for marketing and conducting research within its framework. To determine the direction of marketing forces, it is necessary to analyze requests for a specific product, in our case, T-shirts with football club logos.

The second tactic is aimed at contextual advertising, that is, to pay for completed clicks. Having determined keywords, you will understand how much budget to allocate for contextual advertising.

The third tactic is email marketing.

You must develop a mailing strategy so that your customers receive emails regularly. The main purpose of the message is to ensure that potential clients went to your website and ordered a product or used a service.

Stage 5. Active actions

At this stage, you bring what you have developed to life. It is important to re-examine the goals carefully in order to follow them.

Plan of approximate active actions.

• SEO.

We analyze key queries. We optimize the main pages for keywords for better ranking of site pages by the search engines Yandex and Google. We publish content regularly (once every 2-3 days). We create a link mass. We post information on other sites.

• Contextual advertising.

Based on the analysis and processing of requests, we analyze the approximate traffic. We decide on the budget and the main pages of the site (target) to which people will come based on key queries.

• Email marketing.

First, let's create a script for the emails that your subscribers will receive. We analyze the involvement of recipients in the mailing list and profitability.

Stage 6. Monitoring the results obtained

This is the last step that will help you evaluate your previously stated goals. This analysis will allow you to draw conclusions about whether you are acting correctly.

The shortest company marketing plan

The shortest but most useful company marketing plan was created by Kelly Odel. It is suitable for any, even the newest idea, product or service. Just fill out the table and you will immediately see the overall picture, including the future, which will help you draw a conclusion about the prospects for business development.

3 common mistakes in developing a company marketing plan

1. Inconsistent promotion

If you don't have a clear strategy, your company marketing plan may fail outright. Here, not only the presence of bright and memorable symbols and logos, but also the entire marketing program in general plays an important role.

1. Save justifiably

Advertising costs must produce results. What determines the effectiveness of the tools used to promote goods or services? There are many factors, including: product features, knowledge of potential consumers, goals set for the business.

It is important to understand that the larger the company and the broader the goals it sets, the more expensive the business.

1. No need to set your expectations high

Don't assume that you will see results immediately after implementing a marketing plan. Well-thought-out promotion stages will not always give an immediate effect. Make sure to maintain a balance between what you actually promise and what you advertise.