Marketing

Marketing and Sales are synonymous and are crucial to the success of any establishment. No matter the volume of money, time and effort invested into a venture, it will soon fold up if it fails to generate sufficient revenue. Revenue can only be generated from selling your product and services.

In drawing up the business plan/strategy, concerted effort should be made at putting in place a process that can be easily understood, transferable and adaptable to the vagaries of the economic changes.

Anthony Davis in his post on Marketing Plan posted on Linkedin on Tuesday, May 27, 2014 had this to say:

“Few businesses ever take the time to create a Marketing Plan.  The irony is that once created, a Marketing Plan will only need marginal revision each year as you determine what worked and what didn’t and what you will repeat and what you won’t.”

Marketing is all about getting and expanding your customer base and retaining them. In essence, “a Marketing Plan is more than just a schedule of activities”. He also identified 5 variables that must be considered in your plan:

1. A Marketplace Analysis: This looks at three distinct groups; Customers, Competitors and the Industry in which you both operate.

2. Defining Your Objectives: The elements of this are: your ultimate purpose; delineate your differentiation points; define your audience; identify prime communication vehicles; compare current strategy with future marketing approach and, create an implementation plan.

3. Define Your Marketing Vehicles: This determines whether your marketing activities will use some form of Media or Public Relations or in fact a combination of both.

4.  Establish an Activity Schedule: This should cover a 12-month period and be reviewed every 6 months. 

5. Measure Your Success This includes measuring the number of inquiries, conversion to sales, number and value of sales, return on marketing investment and customer awareness.

The Marketing Plan is a statement of what is to be done and how it would be done, which is the strategy to be adopted in achieving set goals. The strategy you wish to adopt must align with the vision/purpose of the business, the vehicles available for the process, unique competence of the workforce.

The following variables are essential:

·        Clear Target/Purpose

·        Must be flexible and adaptable

·        Seek feedback regularly and follow up

·        Ask for help when necessary

·        Train and re-train your workforce

·        Be sold first: lead by example