Building a proper marketing plan will provide you
with the foundation you need to succeed in your
business. To build a successful marketing plan,
you must ask and answer the right questions. I
wrote this article to invoke thought,
consideration and reasoning. Instead of supplying
you with information, I am going to ask you to
offer it up for yourself!

1) What is your product or service?

This may sound simple, but before you can market
your business successfully, you must clearly
define what business it is, that you are in. Many
an entrepreneur have bit the dust because they
simply didn't know what product or service to
market. Allow me to ask you this:

What product or service are you going to market?

Has it previously, or is it currently being
marketed successfully?

What media are your successful competitors using?

What are their prices?

In their advertising and marketing, what audience
are they targeting?

Will you be targeting the same audience, meaning
how tough will your competition be?

2) Is there a demand for your product or service?

Is the projected current demand large enough to
justify the costs of research, development,
design, packaging, marketing and delivery of your
product or service?

You must calculate the projected demand against
start up, manufacturing, labor and all other costs
it will take to get your product or service to
your potential customers.

Is the customer base large enough to support the
investment of time and money?

Is there room to expand?

Is there back end sales potential?

Do you project that your target market will grow,
diminish or remain stable?

3) How can you out do your competitor?

Is your product or service of better quality?

Better price?

Better service?

What's your angle?

If you have competition (which you will 98% of
the time), how will your product or service be
better?

How aggressive will your competitors be?

Will they counter their prices to better their
service or product appeal, to beat out yours?

Can you afford to provide your product or service
at a lower rate and still keep a substantial
profit margin?

4) What is your overall strategy?

Will you be targeting one product or service?

Will you be targeting a general market or will
you require targeting distinct groups of people?

Where will you find these people?

When considering media, what percentage of the
audience fits your target consumer?

5) How are you employing your tactics?

Have you planned the tactic you will use to
accomplish your strategy?

What are those special offers that will
distinguish you above your competitor?

What special services can you provide that they
cannot?

How will you keep tabs on your competition and
their sales rates?

How will you collect your fees? Checks or Credit
Cards? Online and Offline Solutions?

How will you test your product/service against
your selected market?

6) How do you plan to stay on top of things?

How will you track your advertising and
promotion?

Which promotions and media are drawing the best
results?

Which is the most profitable?

How can you analyze the demographics to better
target your future marketing strategies?

What networking plans have you made?

Who do you need to network with and why?

How will you find and contact them?

How will you monitor your (broken down) costs
versus your profits?

How will you plan your budget?

7) What are your future plans?

What is your projected duration for targeted
marketing of specific products or services?

How will you know when to target new or different
products/services?

What products and/or services are you planning to
add?

How can you ensure a safe recovery from failed
promotions?

How will you know when it's time for your
business to grow?

How will you delegate authority and who will
delegate authority in your absence?

WHAT WILL YOU DO WITH YOUR SUCCESS?

Some of these questions may be difficult for you
to answer yet, but each should be answered to
build that Successful Marketing Plan you need.
Relax, you aren't expected to answer these
questions as you read them. If I may suggest,
save these questions, use them as a worksheet.
Answer the questions as the solutions make
themselves known. Thanks to the simple text
editor, nothing here is carved in stone. You
can always change and update the answers as new
ideas and information becomes available.

Follow a plan and plan to Lead!

About the Author
Wild Bill Montgomery
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