Marketing Plan Bristol

Every business, no matter what product or service it is providing, needs a marketing plan. Look upon it as a routemap to help you achieve your business objectives. You know where you want to go; you just need a plan of how to get there and signposts along the way.
Harley Advertising Ltd
0117 9216666
Kings House
Bristol
Blow Out Sound Ltd
0117 9237270
33 West Park
Bristol
Proteus Creative Communications Ltd
0117 9858888
3-8 Redcliff Parade West
Bristol
Arno Gb Ltd
0117 9292541
Discovery House
Bristol
Arno Fords Ltd
0117 9292541
Discovery House
Bristol
The Point
01749 685190
Saville Court Business Centre
Bristol
Taylor & Taylor Advertising Ltd
0117 9230027
24 Berkeley Square
Bristol
Beanstalk Media
0117 3169200
7 St. Stephens Street
Bristol
Orgill Advertising
0117 9544959
Albion House
Bristol
Sore Thumb
0117 9637450
11 Birch Road
Bristol
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Marketing Plan

Write a Marketing Plan

Every business, no matter what product or service it is providing, needs a marketing plan. Look upon it as a routemap to help you achieve your business objectives. You know where you want to go; you just need a plan of how to get there and signposts along the way.

There are a number of components that make up a marketing plan and, just like your business plan, will need careful planning and research in order to produce a quality document.

Market identification

It is important to clearly identify the market for your products and services, as well as explain your Unique Selling Proposition (USP). Your plan should include:

  • Market analysis - what is your market? What is your position within that market? Is it a niche market?
  • Sector growth - is your market growing, declining or has it reached a plateau? Is it becoming more specialised?
  • Customer base - what are your customer demographics (e.g. age, sex, income, location) and psychographics (predisposition, influences, lifestyle)? What customers offer the best prospects for you? What evidence do you have that they need or desire your product or service?
  • SWOT analysis - identify your business strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats

Marketing mix

Once you have identified your position in the market, you next need to formulate your marketing mix. This is the combination of:

  • Product - this refers to the products, services, add-ons, installation, upgrades, after-sales support, etc that you offer the customer
  • Price - putting your product or service on the market at the right price is crucial. How tight are your margins?
  • Place - do you sell your products from a fixed physical location or do you sell over the phone or internet? How far does your business stretch geographically?
  • People - once you know who your customers are, you have to work out the best way to manage your customer relationships

Competitor analysis

Your marketing plan should also include a thorough assessment of the competition:

  • Who are they?
  • Where are they based?
  • What are their product lines (services offered)?
  • What are their prices?
  • How many employees do they have?
  • What are their strengths and weaknesses?
  • What is their market share?
  • What ads or promotions are they running?

Promotional activity

Clearly state whether you will use direct marketing, public relations, advertising or sales promotions to carry out your marketing campaign. Be warned - advertising and public relations campaigns can be expensive, so it is important that you spend wisely and evaluate the effectiveness of your campaigns.

Budgets

Your marketing plan should state the annual marketing budget, as well as an itemised list of expected expenditures. A projection of expected returns on marketing expenditure should also be included.

Flexibility

Your marketing plan should not be set in stone; certain factors may make it necessary for you to adapt or modify your plan, for example, changes in:

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