When you are preparing a marketing plan, which ultimately means studying your market, there are several things to consider. Not only do you have to worry about whether your product or service is good, and the pricing and packaging that go into that, you also need to worry about outside forces. How is the marketplace for your product or service?
The first step you should take when putting together a marketing plan is to do some market research. Understanding the marketplace of which you want to enter is crucial to your product or service being successful. The marketplace can affect everything from pricing to production methods.
Market Research
When you first research the market, you need to collect some info about your product:
1. You should be able to describe your product in a way that a layperson would understand.
2. Create an outline of what you think is your product’s unique properties or aspects, and explain why these aspects will appeal to customers.
3. Highlight the special features that you think will become your main selling points for the product. These are the features that will convince customers to buy your product.
4. Review sales projections to see if there is a demand for your product, or what the demand has been in the past, and where it is now, for products similar to yours.
By gathering this info first, you can gain a better understanding of how your product will do in the marketplace. And by doing #4, you’ll be able to identify and possibly predict changes in the marketplace.
Also take a look at the economy. A rough economy, like we are having now, is not the best time to enter the marketplace with some luxury product. People won’t be receptive, and many don’t have the money to spend anyway.
Marketing Plan Details
Here are the basic questions that absolutely must be answered by your marketing plan:
1. How many direct competitors do I have? (Companies that make the same item.) How many indirect competitors do I have? (Companies that make a similar item that could be substituted for your item. For instance, iPod and Zune MP3 players are direct competitors, but portable CD players, or cell phones even, would be indirect competitors.)
2. Is this type of product always in demand?
3. Can I create demand for my product?
4. Can I compete in price, quality and delivery compared to my direct competitors?
You’ll also want to check out any government regulations tied into your product or production of your product. We don’t live in a free market, where the government keeps its nose out of private companies’ business; and in a way, that’s a good thing. The government keeps foreign companies from selling their products here at rock-bottom prices. The government helps to make sure your invention stays yours. But, there is still supply and demand, even if it is regulated by the government. By understanding the marketplace, your product will have a better chance of always being in demand.
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