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Developing a Marketing Plan

By Anonymous

The Marketing Plan

Creating a good marketing plan and allocating the resources to insure that you can implement it are essential first steps to being successful. A good plan is educated, simple and flexible. It helps you identify opportunities, set goals for your organization, and make concrete plans on how you will achieve them.

An export marketing plan defines the following:

Who is your target customer? Defining this customer involves identifying the end customer of your products as well as the distribution strategy, or how your product will reach the end customer.

What is your target market? Product categories and market segmentation, defined during the Product Development process, focus your marketing activities, particularly in selecting trade shows.

The marketing and promotional materials you need. Marketing materials do not need to be expensive or complicated but they should be thorough, anticipating the information that a buyer will want from you. They include price lists, sales terms, catalogues (online, CD or printed) and organization profile.

Where you will meet your customer and generate orders. One venue for approaching your buyer and generating sales is trade shows. Select trade shows based on your target customer in the distribution chain and your product category and make sure you prepare for them carefully and weigh the costs of participating vs. the benefits. Buyer visits to your showroom and visits you make to your buyers' offices compliment your marketing efforts.

Market research

Market research educates your marketing plan. Research and analysis of your competition helps you differentiate your organization. Research highlights growth areas in the market, such as product categories, distribution channels and sales venues, and guides you in how to make the most of those trends. Educating yourself about market trends should be an ongoing part of your business, not a one-time effort when developing a new marketing plan.

Export marketing timeline

Developing a new export market takes time, patience and resources. Developing a profitable relationship with a wholesale customer takes, on average, 18 months to two years. However, once established these relationships often last many years. Establishing a relationship with a retail buyer takes less time because they usually do not invest in custom product development. Relationships with retail buyers are not as long lasting as those with wholesale buyers.

The following is a sample timeline for establishing a profitable relationship with a wholesaler. Be sure that your marketing plan includes a budget that supports marketing activities throughout this 18-month to 2-year cycle.

Month #1	Exhibit at Trade Show. Meet buyer for the first time when they come into your booth. Buyer requests catalogue, price lists, and a few samples.
Month #2	Send catalogue, price lists, terms sheet, company profile immediately. Send email after 2-3 days to confirm receipt of catalogue, if you have not already heard from the buyer. Ship requested samples within 2 weeks of meeting buyer. Send email confirming receipt of samples 1 week after shipment. Ask if they like the samples and need any further information, photos, samples, etc.
Month #3	Buyer responds, thanking you for catalogue and samples, but says that they are not adding new product lines or new suppliers at this time.
Month #4	Continue developing new samples for your next trade show. Send buyer a friendly email with images of the new products to remind them of your products and company.
Month #5	Send email announcing that you will exhibit at Trade Show in the following month.
Month #6	Exhibit at Trade Show with new and expanded product lines. Meet buyer for second time. They are impressed to see you again and to see your new products. They place an order for some custom design samples. Send email confirming custom sample order immediately.
Month #7	Produce first prototypes. Send photos to buyer for their feedback. Make any necessary adjustments. Continue making all samples.
Month #8	Ship samples to buyer. After 1 week confirm that they received samples and ask for feedback, if you have not heard from them. Negotiate on pricing, order schedule, packaging and labeling.
Month #9	Buyer places order for 5 sets of samples to use in their marketing. Buyer places order for small volume of inventory for test marketing.
Month #10	Ship 5 sets of samples (within 3-4 weeks of order).
Month #11	Ship small inventory order (within 6-9 weeks of order).
Month #12	Exhibit at Trade Show. Your buyer exhibits at their wholesale trade shows. Your products lines get a lot of interest from buyers and some small orders. Your buyer is pleased.
Month #13	Confident that your products will sell, the buyer visits you to develop a much bigger collection of custom samples.
Month #14	Produce samples, send photos to buyers. Make any necessary adjustments.
Month #15	Send samples to buyer. Buyer placed order for 10 sets of samples for trade shows and sales staff. Buyer places purchase order for good volume for inventory.
Month #16	Ship samples (within 3-4 weeks of order).
Month #17	Ship order (within 8-10 weeks of order due to large quantities).
Month #18	Exhibit at Trade Show. Meet a new buyer (a new process of buyer cultivation starts). Buyer exhibits at their trade shows and your product lines SELL very well. Buyer immediately places another purchase order.

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