It's this part -- laying the
foundation for the marketing plan -- that trips up most entrepreneurs. For
instance, a shoe designer may have her sights on an exclusive boutique in
Beverly Hills, or on an international market with established distribution
channels. The SBA might be targeted for one market; a venture capital
investor for the other. The marketing approach to each is quite different,
and that difference must be reflected in the marketing plan.
Generally
speaking, here are the levels of research needed for strong marketing plans:
Local business.
Demographics on local clientele, broken down by zip code AND information on
the industry in general. The "local" area may be one zip
code area or a whole metropolitan region, depending on your client base.
Country-specific
business. Demographic information on that country AND information
on the industry in general.
International
business. Demographic information on countries being targeted for
sales AND information on the industry in general.
"Creating a marketing
plan" reeks of weeks and months of eye-straining over statistical reports
and web sites printed in really small
fonts.
For
most entrepreneurs it needn't be so hard. I'll let you in on a
professional secret: BizMiner.
BizMiner
is the starting point for nearly all market research projects. The range
of coverage that BizMiner offers is astounding: over 900,000 industries, with
full industry analysis, statistical summaries and narratives. (That's
not a typo -- it is 900,000!)
BizMiner
has been known for years by some of the top companies and institutions in the
country, such as Accenture, Black & Decker, Business Week, Cambridge
College, Capital One, Cingular, Dell Computer, Dellitte Touch, Ernst &
Young, Expedia, Federal Express, Wharton School, Yale University and thousands
of others.
The information
that BizMiner
provides is now so "user friendly" that anyone can find what they
need:
Without doubt, this is
information you can literally take to the bank. It is knowledgeable,
current, and respected information.
If
a business plan writer researches this infomration for you, she will charge
you literally thousands of dollars. I know -- I did it for many
years. Doing it yourself via BizMiner is an incredible cost saver, as
well as time saver.
You
may be able to stop here. The information provided by BizMiner is very
comprehensive, and often suffices. If, however, you elect to customize
your marketing plan even more, take a look at Marketing
Plan -- Other Resources. (But before you go, do take a look
at Creating New Markets -- its a cautionary tale for many entrepreneurs.)
Creating
New Markets
Every so
often an entrepreneur comes along who has a NEW IDEA, something that has never
been tried before, something that will break open new markets, whole new
industries. And, he wants to be The First One to Market, the First to
show the concept/product, the First to place ads, The First, THE FIRST.
Trust
me, being The First isn't all it's cracked up to be.
Being
The First means that gazillions must be devoted to simply selling the idea,
and then gazillion more need to be spent to get people to buy it. By
then, there is a Competitor. The Competitor doesn't have to spend
gazillions to promote the Idea -- The First has already done that. The
Competitor just needs to show that hers is better -- at a fraction of the cost
that The First spent to sell the idea originally.
In
fact, it is typically very helpful to have competition. Imagine if there
were only one company that could make CD players -- the music world as we know
it would be stuck in an eight-track world.
All
of the advertising combined created the demand for CD players, not the
advertising of one company.
So
it is likely to be in your industry.
Now
head on over to Marketing Plans -- Online Resources to check out other
resources for the marketing plan portion of your business plan.
If you are comfortable with your
market research at this point, begin writing your business plan. Taking a
look at FREE business plan templates
may jog an inspiration or two.
Find
investors for your business. Fine tune the marketing plan to meet the
needs of many types of investors.
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