Marketing is an important tool to be used while setting up your business. Study, but don't necessarily copy your competitor's moves. Visit their businesses, watch their ads, figure out their strategies, and keep your eyes open.  You may not be able to keep up with your competitor's strategy move by move. You should, however, be ready and able to blunt or block the impact of their moves through effective marketing. Then, later, you can make your own offensive move at your own pace. 

Build a Successful Marketing Plan 

A good marketing plan summarizes the who, what, where, when, and how much questions of company marketing and sales activities for the planning year: 

• Who are target buyers? 
• What sources of uniqueness or positioning in the market will/ does your product have? 
• Where will you implement your marketing spending plans? 
• When will marketing spending plans occur? 
• How much sales, spending, and profits will you achieve? 

The financial projections contained in your business plan are based on the assumptions contained in your marketing plan. It is the marketing plan that details when expenditures will be made, what level of sales will be achieved, and how and when advertising and promotional expenditures will be made. 

The major elements of a marketing plan: 

• The situation analysis describes the total marketing environment in which the company competes and the status of company products and distribution channels.  
• The opportunity and issue analysis analyses the major external opportunities and threats to the company and the internal strengths and weaknesses of the company, along with a discussion of key issues facing the company.  
• The goals and objectives section outlines major company goals and the marketing and financial objectives.  
• The marketing strategy section provides the company's marketing strategy statement, summarizing the key target buyer description, competitive market segments the company will compete in, the unique positioning of the company and its products compared to the competition, the reasons why it is unique or compelling to buyers, price strategy versus the competition, marketing spending strategy with advertising and promotion, and possible R&D and market research expenditure strategies.  
• The sales and marketing plan outlines each specific marketing event or action plan to increase sales. For example, it may contain a summary of quarterly promotion and advertising plans, with spending, timing, and share or shipment goals for each program.  

Some of the ways to market your product or service are 

• Write letters (on issues and news items that have SOME relation to your business) to the editors of local papers. 
• Have give-away's (e.g. bookmarks or pens) that are useful and give details of your business. Distribute, with the aid of friends and family, everywhere. 
• Send news releases about your products and your business to local papers, radio and TV shows. 
• Take out an ad in a publication of a local group, school anniversary bulletin. 
• Offer to make presentations, on a topic related to your product or service, at schools. 
• Keep your eyes open for "specialized" newsletters, newspapers, or other publications which might welcome an article written by you. 
• Get on the Internet and connect to the world with your own home page. 

Remember marketing is the face you show to public, highlighting uniqueness and quality of the product. Check the content and layout before releasing an advertisement or distributing pamphlet. Marketing is becoming an ever important tool is present competitive scenario, tell what your product or services can do, but don't promise what you can not deliver. 

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