Business Start

source by: businesstown.com

Sample Marketing Plan

5) Product Features and Benefits
Several products are already in the marketplace in the under $100 price range that offer similar functionality. These products offer powerful editing capability for text-only documents as well as for graphics. They give users the capability of moving large amounts of text or graphics into a form translatable into a language understood by the Internet.

ITC’s main distinctive feature is its intelligent agent. The benefit to consumers is that the product is easier to use and more flexible than competing products. The intelligent agent “walks” users step by step through the process of creating a document. The most similar competing product offers more passive help by using “placeholders” where the user places objects on a layout page. While the placeholder approach also gives users the ability to quickly assemble creative material, it does not give the user the flexibility of moving objects about.

Strengths
Engineering: As shown by the features of its first product, ITC has a strong competitive edge in its engineering capabilities. The intelligent agent is a leap ahead of its competitors. This strength should help ITC keep ahead of its competition in the future as well.

Fast Development Cycle: Even with a product offering superior capabilities, ITC was able to create its first product from scratch in a very short period of time. This ability coupled with superior engineering skills, should give ITC the ability to stay on the leading edge of product design over a sustained period of time.

Closeness to Market: Almost all key employees have a long experience of personal Internet use and keep in close touch with many in the industry and at different computer clubs who are also heavy Internet users. This gives ITC the ability to keep abreast of the marketplace and strong insight into the changing demands of its core customers.

Weaknesses
Financial: Even after raising the additional planned funding, the company will be substantially less well capitalized than some of its competitors. This would make it particularly difficult to finance the national advertising and promotion campaign that would be important if the company were to try to obtain shelf space at computer retailers nationwide.

No Market Presence: The company currently has no other products in the market or coming to the market soon. It has no relationship with any resellers. This contrasts with several competitors, who are already selling product through many outlets, including retailers, and competitors who have other offerings in their product line.

Weak Marketing and Sales Staff: The company has one marketing manager and no sales staff. The marketing manager has several years of experience in selling hardware add-ons direct to major corporate customers but no experience selling software or selling products to consumers.

5) Sales
ITC will sell the product via established direct-mail catalogs and through promotional efforts with computer clubs.

Direct-mail catalogs will be chosen on the basis of how closely the demographics of the catalogs match the demographics of ITC’s target market.

To prompt consumers to order direct, ITC will accept orders on the Internet and via a toll-free 800 line.

6) Advertising and Promotions
Because ITC’s budget is very limited, it will keep its message simple, emphasizing its product’s flexibility and ease of use.

With the company’s very limited budget, initial ads in direct mail catalogs will be small—typically no larger than 1/8 page. Ad copy will contrast with competitive products that are shrink-wrapped and sold at lower prices to less experienced computer users.

Press releases will first emphasize the company’s two key benefits. But they will also offer a lot of technical detail that will appeal to the editors and publications most important to effectively reaching the core target market.

The company’s top technical people will give talks at computer clubs, again to help position ITC on the leading edge.

Packaging will be subdued and professional-looking to further contrast ITC’s product with the competitor’s offerings.

7) Competitive Reaction
By positioning ITC’s product as the premier product at the top end of the price range, any price cutting by competitors will only help reinforce ITC’s premium positioning. While deep pocketed competitors may trumpet their products with expensive, colorful magazine ads, these ads will be unlikely to have much impact on ITC’s core audience of highly experienced computer users.

8) The Future
Because ITC has relatively weak marketing and financial strengths, it must rely upon continued product innovation to remain viable. Sooner or later competitors will mimic ITC’s features. However, ITC’s engineering and fast- to-market capabilities should allow it to stay one step ahead of competitors. And each new product feature will help ITC gain more publicity for its product.

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