Include a Title Page and a Table of Contents
Executive Summary/Situational Analysis/Analysis of Market –
. Includes your company name and product name,
. Company/product history,
. Current state of business,
. Summary of the business.
. Please include a mission statement in this section
1. Analyze the environment- look at current environmental trends
Are there any environmental concerns for your market? Are there any significant changes in the
following environmental areas?
. Demographic trends
. Economic trends
. Legislative: List laws regulating your product offering
. Social trends
. Political trends
2. Analyze the strengths and weaknesses of your firm – SWOT ANALYSIS
. Strengths
o What are the major competitive advantages we have over the competition, our strong
points?
. Weaknesses
o What are competitors better at than we are?
o What are our major internal weaknesses?
. Opportunities
o What favorable environmental trends exist that may benefit our firm?
o What is the competition doing in our market?
o What areas of business that are closely related to ours are undeveloped?
. Threats
o What unfortunate environmental trends exist that may hurt our future performance?
o What technology is on the horizon that may soon have an impact on our firm?
. Analysis of company/market and consumer needs
o Based on the SWOT analysis where is the current need in the marketplace?
Target Market – Who are your customers? Describe your target market – include the following:
. Demographics
. Geographic (local, regional, national trade area)
. Psychographics (Activities, Interests, Opinions, day-to-day pattern of living, page 117)
. Population of Market (check out- http://lib2.hacc.edu/, www.fedstats.gov, www.census.gov,
www.hoovers.com, www.market-line.com)
. Industry Trends (check out Standard and Poors-www.standardandpoors.com and trade
magazines)
. Uncontrollable variables affecting your market
Competition: What are the customer’s choices (substitutes for your product)? Perceptions? What
else can the customer do to solve the problem that your product/service solves?
Marketing Mix – The 4 P’s
PRODUCT: What will you sell? (products and services)
. Product lines
. Names of products, packaging
. Benefits to customers
. UNIQUENESS (positioning)
. Sources of revenue
. Customer Service
. Warranties
. Value added service (gift wrap, installation, delivery, etc.) Something that customers do not
receive from your competitors.
PRICE: How much will you charge?
. List specific price (prices) for your product and product line.
. Industry standards/competition
. Image to be conveyed
. Wholesale/Retail
. Discounts (if applicable)
. Break even analysis (optional)
PROMOTION: How will you communicate with your customers?
. Budget
. Theme or Slogan
. Product/Business definition
. Customer’s knowledge of product
. Cooperative Advertising
. Media Related to target market/exposures
. Promotion Mix:
Personal Selling, Sales Promotion, Mass Selling – Publicity and Advertising
PLACE: Where to sell your product?
. Location – Types of Outlets
. Expansion Potential
. Décor
. Internal/External Appearance
. Distribution Methods/Channels
EVALUATION: How will you know whether your marketing plan was effective?