Course Objectives

At the completion of this course you will be able to:

• Understand the purpose and benefits of preparing a comprehensive marketing plan to grow your business.
• Conduct marketing research on your industry, product, customers, and competition to ensure your marketing expenditures are properly targeted.
• Evaluate your industry to better understand industry trends, your market presence, and that of your competitors. 
• Recognize your product’s competitive edge so you can effectively differentiate your product from the competition.
• Identify your target market so you can focus your sales and marketing efforts on those people most likely to purchase your product.
• Evaluate your competition to better understand your competitive advantage and to identify potential opportunities.
• Develop effective product, pricing, distribution, and promotional strategies to increase exposure and sales.

 

Purpose of Marketing Strategy Course

The purpose of this course is to help you identify your target market, then meet the needs of that market through effective product, pricing, distribution, and promotional strategies. This course will help you answer questions like:

• Who are my prospective customers?
• How do I get my product noticed by more people?
• How do I respond to the constant changes in society and in my market?

You will learn how to prepare a marketing strategy that encompasses the basics of marketing and takes your company to a new level of financial success.

Marketing is often confused with selling, but the two are not the same. Some small business owners assume that marketing is something done by only big companies who have the financial and personnel resources to conduct in-depth market research. But marketing should not be confused with sales, nor should small businesses look at it as something complex and difficult, costing a lot of money and only performed by specialists.

Marketing is essential for the growth of all businesses, large and small. To develop a marketing approach unique to your industry and your business you need research and a carefully crafted plan. Market research and plans don’t have to be complex. You don’t need an advanced degree in business, marketing, statistical analysis, or research. You don’t need to hire specialists. What you do need is a marketing plan.

Growth requires customers, but where do you find them and how do you reach them? The needs and wants of customers frequently change. How do you stay attuned to their needs? Will customers want your product in five years? Will you be prepared with new products if customer needs change?

What do you know about your industry? Who are the market leaders, and why? Who are your competitors? Are you competitive? What extra value do you offer your customers that your competitors, don’t — or can’t? Or what do your competitors offer that you don’t?

Marketing is the process you use to answer these questions.

As a business owner, you plan for success by formulating a strategic plan that maps out where you want to take your business and how you’re going to get there. Marketing is an important part of your strategic plan because it supplies the information you need about the road ahead. What you find out about your industry, product, customers, and competitors is vital and will have a dramatic impact on the success of your business.

By using the information you learn in this course you will be able to conduct your own market research on almost anything — from your competitors to your customers, from how your products are accepted in the marketplace to how you can target them for better impact. You’ll be able to recognize and respond to changing customer needs and other trends in your industry.

You will also identify your product’s competitive edge so you can correctly position it in your targeted market, set it apart from products offered by your competitors, and attract those who are most likely to buy your product.

 

The Purpose of Marketing

The purpose of marketing is to match your products with the customers who want or need them — at a profit. For your business to be successful, it needs customers. These customers aren’t guaranteed when you open your doors for business, even though you may have a great product at the right price. Finding the customers who want and need what you have to sell isn’t always easy.

Customers who want your product may not know you exist. It’s also possible that you don’t have a product that meets their demands. You may need to tailor your product somewhat before it will be accepted in the marketplace. How do you find this out before investing a lot of money producing something that people don’t buy? What do you do about solving a mismatch if it exists?

Marketing is the process that provides the answers to these questions. It helps you determine which products have a future and which don’t; which products are the most likely to succeed and how to make them succeed. Through the marketing process you will look at a number of factors, many uncontrollable, that impact your ability to match your product with the right audience. Trends, competitors, government regulations, and finicky customers are just a few examples.

As you go through the process of developing your marketing strategy you may discover information regarding your industry, product, customers, or competitors that will dramatically impact your business. Marketing provides you with valuable information that allows you to make better decisions about how to match your product with prospective customers. You will use the information you gather to develop or redefine your objectives and goals, and incorporate them into your strategic operating plan.

 

Marketing: Research, Analysis, and Strategy

The need for marketing arises because the business environment is constantly changing. External factors, such as economics, politics, and demographics influence what customers want or need. These external factors can’t be controlled, but as a business owner you need to quickly respond to changes in your market or risk losing your market share ¾ market share being the percentage of sales your product accounts for in a defined market.

As markets change, businesses are faced with questions. Do new products need to be developed? Does a product’s image need to be updated? Do customers need to be informed that a product still meets their changing needs? Is a service priced correctly? The main question is how to maintain a profitable match of product and customer.

Finding an answer requires researching your product, your customers, your competitors, and your industry, then analyzing the information you gather to understand what it all means. Knowledge is power. From your research you will gain an understanding of your market that allows you to form a marketing strategy. The strategy lays out a plan of attack and looks at things like how your product should be priced, what methods of distribution you should use, what type of advertising will be most effective, whether or not public relations is appropriate, and what image you want to present through product packaging. The combination of these aspects of marketing are called the marketing mix.

This course will take you through the marketing process from the initial research phase to developing a market strategy. Topics covered include:

 

Marketing Research: How to conduct market research, including where to find information, types of information to gather, how to develop questionnaires, and many other techniques for collecting information.

Industry Analysis: The process of understanding your industry, including analyzing your industry forces and trends.

Product Analysis: The process of understanding how your product fits into the market, including preparing a product description, identifying how your product differs from its competition, positioning your product, and what to consider when developing new products.

Customer Analysis: The process of understanding your customer and defining your target market, including identifying your market and customer needs.

Competitor Analysis: The process of understanding your competition, including identifying your primary competitors, understanding their strengths and weaknesses, and determining your competitive position.

Effective Marketing Strategies: The various ways to compete in your market, including pricing, distribution, advertising, public relations, and packaging, with emphasis on getting your message or company image across.

Your marketing strategy should be continually reexamined and updated to keep pace with changes in the market and consumer attitudes.