Marketing includes the upfront research that leads to the
development of the communication of a sales message. A marketing campaign
starts with learning about your target customer, marketplace and competitors.
Using that information, you will choose different types of media and create
your advertising and promotions. Start with number crunching, then use that
information to create effective communications to boost your sales.
Research
Step 1
Research the marketplace. Determine if there is a need for
your product or service, or customers might not want to buy it. Do this by
looking for competitors. In addition to finding competitors, examine the
differences between their business and yours. Look for a unique aspect about
what you sell. For example, there might be many restaurants in your city, but
you might be one of only a few that cater to budget-conscious families.
Step 2
Create a demographic profile of your potential customers.
List the gender, age, race, location, marital status, parental status and
income level of your primary customer and secondary buyers. Conduct customer
surveys if you have access to their phone numbers or email addresses. Contact
your industry's or profession's trade associations for research they have
conducted. Conduct a survey on your website and offer a prize for
participation. Limit this to people who have purchased your product online or
who use a code on product packaging.
Related Reading: Marketing & Communication
Activities
Step 3
Research your competitors to learn their price, selling
message and product or service benefits. Compare your business to your
competitors.
Product Development
Step 1
Determine if you need to change your product or packaging to
better compete in your marketplace. A menswear store might consider adding boys
clothing. A hair stylist might benefit from adding facials, manicures and
pedicures and becoming a full-service salon.
Step 2
Develop a brand, image or position for your product or
service in the marketplace. Your brand might be that you offer low-cost quality
or that you provide high-end service. You might offer name brands or focus on
servicing what you sell. You can position yourself as the destination of young,
hip consumers, or sensible, practical seniors.
Step 3
Price your product to achieve your marketing goals. Once you
know what you need to charge to make a profit, determine if you will undercut
your competition, sell at a competitive price or price yourself higher. A low
price positions you differently than a high price in the eyes of consumers. A
low price decreases your profit margin but can help you take market share from
higher-priced competitors. A high price might reduce sales but gives you higher
margins and might position you as a higher-quality product or service.
Promotion
Step 1
Decide where you will sell your product. Based on your
target customer and brand position, your best options might include retail
stores, online, in catalogs, through TV offers or with direct mail. Consider
your price point and branding when you choose distribution channels. Selling a
high-end product at Wal-Mart, for example, sends a mixed message.
Step 2
Develop a public relations campaign to generate free media
attention about your product. Send press releases to newspapers, industry trade
associations, magazines, websites and radio stations. Write your press releases
to focus on the newsworthiness to the public rather than making your
communication read like a free ad. If you are a new business, stress that angle
in local publications. If you have won awards, play that up. If you are
creating jobs in a community, lead with that fact.
Step 3
Create an advertising campaign to send a controlled message
to the marketplace. Research different media using each one's media kit. A
media kit contains the demographics of the readers, viewers or listeners of a
newspaper, magazine, website, TV station or radio station. Using the reader
profiles in the media kits, choose media outlets with audience demographics
similar to your target customers. In the ads, sell the benefits of your product
or service rather than the features. Have a grand opening.
Step 4
Use promotions to generate more brand or product awareness.
Create in-store promotions, such as coupons, aisle displays or product
sampling. Sponsor events, such as charity balls, auctions or sporting events.
Donate products to charities to raffle or auction.
