Marketing Plan Elements

* Defining your ideal customer (target market) – Think about the characteristics of your ideal customer – what is it you like about working with them and why? * Understanding the competition and what makes you better (differentiation) – There are a lot of people who do what you do so what do you offer that others do not? What do your clients appreciate about what you do? Figure out what it is and lead with that difference in all of your marketing efforts. * Knowing what you want to achieve with marketing (marketing goals) – Write down your marketing goals and make them specific. Pick one or two that are critical and make them the focus of your marketing efforts. According to statistics, if you write them down, you are 95% more likely to achieve them. * Defining how you will reach your target (marketing strategy) – Pricing, packaging and promoting your products and services is the heart of your marketing plan. Look at all types of marketing activities that would most likely reach your target. * Projecting the costs of the marketing activities (marketing budget) – Putting together a quarterly marketing budget for your business helps you keep track of what you need to spend on marketing without it getting out of control.

need to decide who you 're marketing to. Who are you going to sell your product or your service to? Where is it going to go and the process that you 're going to need to take to get you there? Are you going to use one of the three major modes of media? Are you going to advertise on television, radio, newspapers, Yellow Pages, billboards? Will you go on line and you develop a website? They need to know will you advertise in two different modes on line, search engines and what will work best for you depending on your budget

Mission * Every organization exists for a reason. It could aim to produce a superior product, create a unique benefit, or help an underserved population. It is based on the firm 's mission statement, a