Developing a Marketing Plan

A great marketing plan is crucial in the makings of a business, showcasing the purpose as to why the company exists to serve people and the various services that it offers to its customers and clients. This way, a company can address the needs and satisfy the wants of its clients and customers more efficiently. Consequently, the marketing aspect of a business will decrease in cost, allowing the funds to be used in other sectors of the firm.
This task for the marketing team, however, is not always the easiest thing to conceptualize. With
that, here is DATI: the four essential steps one should always keep in mind when developing
his/her own marketing plan.
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D - determine your target market.
In order to effectively market a company’s products/services, one must always have a clear
view of the kind of people it is trying to entice into purchasing its products/services. Moreover,
one must know what things appeal the most to certain age groups.
Take kids and teenagers as an example. Generally, they tend to buy flashy and colorful things,
fitting those objects into their respective aesthetics. For people older than them (e.g., young
professionals, people in the workforce), on the other hand, they value functionality over
aesthetics.
Those two scenarios are only a couple of instances of what might transpire from the target
market. Every situation is different and one must always look at things holistically to get a good
grasp on the target market. Once a person can determine what the target market wants in a
specific product, only then will he/she be able to create ways to fulfill the wishes of the target
market.
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A - analyze the market situation.
One must oversee how the market situation in his/her company’s line of work is doing. Does the
market harbor hungry competitors? What makes customers like their products? Consider all the
possible questions that one can think of.
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T - think like the customer.
Thinking like the customer is an effective way of seeing through the perspective of one. Look for
something that the general public lacks or is in need of. Once one is able to determine what the
masses need, that person can start making ways to market their products/services to how the
clients would like them.
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I - incorporate the SMART method.
When creating a marketing plan, one must take into account the SMART method.
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S - specific
The marketing plan must be specific in the sense that every detail of it serves a purpose for the betterment of the business and is clear in each aspect so as not to create any confusion.
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M - measurable
Certain criteria must be met to ensure that the business marketing venture will progress. One
must set indicators/standards that will show the plan’s progress, establishing the measurability
of the project.
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A - attainable
A realistic approach must encompass the whole project, garnering the essence of attainability. A plan that speaks “impossible” should never show itself. Set the activities and standards of the project to an attainable level.
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R - relevant
The issue of relevance must be addressed when initiating a marketing plan. Producing
something that does not serve a purpose to the general public will only be deemed useless.
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T - time-bound
Set a deadline when the marketing plan must be executed. This way, one can set time for when the project must be launched but also have ample time to carry out all the preparations for the whole marketing plan.