Business Plan Marketing and Sales Strategies
Part
5: Marketing and Sales Strategies
Marketing is the process
of creating customers . . . and customers are the lifeblood of your
business. In this section, the first thing you want to do is define
your marketing strategy. There is no single "right" way
to approach a marketing strategy. Your marketing strategy should
be part of an ongoing self-evaluation process, and unique to your
company. However, there are steps you can follow which will help
you "think through" the strategy you would like to use.
An Overall Marketing Strategy would include a:
- Market penetration strategy
- Strategy for growing your business. This growth
strategy might include: an internal strategy such as how to increase
your human resources; an acquisition strategy such as buying another
business; a franchise strategy for branching out; a horizontal
strategy where you would provide the same type of products to
different users; and/or a vertical strategy where you would continue
providing the same products but would offer them at different
levels of the distribution chain.
- Channels of distribution strategy. Choices
for distribution channels could include: original equipment manufacturers
(OEMs); an internal sales force; distributors; and/or retailers.
- Communication strategy. How are you going
to reach your customers? Usually some combination of the following
works the best: promotions; advertising; public relations; personal
selling; and/or printed materials such as brochures, catalogues,
flyers, etc.
Once you have defined your marketing strategy, you can then define
your sales strategy. How do you plan to actually sell your product?
Your Overall Sales Strategy should include:
- A sales force strategy. If you are going to
have a sales force, do you plan to use internal or independent
representatives? How many salespeople will you recruit for your
sales force? What type of recruitment strategies will you use?
How will you train your sales force? What about compensation for
your sales force?
- Your sales activities. When you are defining
your sales strategy, it is important that you break it down into
activities. For instance, you need to identify your prospects.
Once you have made a list of your prospects, you need to prioritize
it. Next, identify the number of sales calls you will make over
a certain period of time. From there, you need to determine the
average number of sales calls you will need to make per sale,
the average dollar size per sale, and the average dollar size
per vendor.
Elements of a Good Business Plan
