The Sample Marketing Plan

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Inventors THE SAMPLE MARKETING PLAN

Print out and use the following template along with the instructions and information included in The Marketing Plan for Independent Inventors or The Business Plan for Independent Inventors

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This is the marketing plan of_____________________________________

I. MARKET ANALYSIS

A. Target Market - Who are the customers?

1. We will be selling primarily to (check all that apply):

Market Segment Total Percent of Business

a. Private sector              %

b. Wholesalers              %

c. Retailers              %

d. Government              %

e. Other              %

2. We will be targeting customers by:

a. Product line
We will target specific lines _________________

b. Geographic area? Which areas? _________________

c. Sales? We will target sales of _________________

d. Industry? Our target industry is _________________

e. Other? _________________

3. How much will our selected market spend on our type of product or service this coming year? $_______________

B. Business Competition

1. Who are our business competitors?

NAME _____________________________________

ADDRESS _____________________________________

_____________________________________

Years in business ___________________

Market share ___________________

Price/Strategy ___________________

Product/Service
Features ___________________

NAME ______________________________________

ADDRESS ______________________________________

______________________________________

Years in business ___________________

Market share ___________________

Price/Strategy ___________________

Product/Service
Features ___________________

2. How competitive is the market?

High Competitive Market ____________________

Medium Competitive Market ____________________

Low Competitive Market ____________________

3. List below your strengths and weaknesses compared to your business competition (consider such areas as location, size of resources, reputation, services, personnel, etc.):

Strengths Weaknesses

1.________________________ 1._______________________

2.________________________ 2._______________________

3.________________________ 3._______________________

4.________________________ 4._______________________

C. Market Environment

1. The following are some important economic factors that will affect our product (such as country growth, industry health, economic trends, taxes, rising energy prices, etc.):

______________________________________________________

2. The following are some important legal factors that will affect our market:

_____________________________________________________

3. The following are some important government factors:

______________________________________________________

4. The following are other environmental factors that will affect our market, but over which we have no control:

______________________________________________________

II. PRODUCT OR SERVICE ANALYSIS

A. Description

1. Describe here what the product/service is and what it does:

______________________________________________________

B. Comparison

1. What advantages does our product/service have over those of the competition (consider such things as unique features, patents, expertise, special training, etc.)?

______________________________________________________

2. What disadvantages does it have?

______________________________________________________

C. Some Considerations

1. Where will you get your materials and supplies?

______________________________________________________

2. List other considerations:

______________________________________________________

III. MARKETING STRATEGIES - MARKET MIX

A. Image

1. First, what kind of image do we want to have (such as cheap but good, or exclusiveness, or customer-oriented, or highest quality, or convenience, or speed, or ...)?

______________________________________________________

B. Features

1. List the features we will emphasize:

a.___________________________________________________

b.___________________________________________________

c.___________________________________________________

C. Pricing

1. We will be using the following pricing strategy:

a. Markup on cost ____ What % markup? ______

b. Suggested price ____

c. Competitive ____

d. Below competition ____

e. Premium price ____

f. Other ____

2. Are our prices in line with our image?

YES___ NO___

3. Do our prices cover costs and leave a margin of profit?

YES___ NO___

D. Customer Services

1. List the customer services we provide:

a. ____________________________________________

b. ____________________________________________

c. ____________________________________________

2. These are our sales/credit terms:

a. _____________________________________________

b. _____________________________________________

c. _____________________________________________

3. The competition offers the following services:

a. ______________________________________________

b. ______________________________________________

c. ______________________________________________

E. Advertising/Promotion

1. These are the things we wish to say about the business:

______________________________________________________

2. We will use the following advertising/promotion sources:

           1. Television               ________
           2. Radio                      ________
           3. Direct mail               ________
           4. Personal contacts      ________
           5. Trade associations     ________
           6. Newspaper                ________
           7. Magazines                 ________
           8. Yellow Pages             ________
           9. Billboard                   ________
          10. Other___________       ________