Following
marketing research, The Marion Group can help you
determine your customers’ needs and with a
marketing plan, attract and retain more and more
satisfied customers to grow your business. Your Marion
marketing plan will focus on persuading people to
use and keep using your products or services, while
your company sustains a strong market presence.
Market
Research
To
determine your customer needs, Marion market research
will provide current and relevant
market intelligence,
including:
| • |
Customer
satisfaction or dissatisfaction with your products
or services. |
| • |
Opportunities
for new products or services. |
| • |
Trends
that could affect your company sales and profitability: |
| |
| - |
Population
shifts. |
| - |
Legal
developments. |
| - |
Local
and national situations that could create
problems and opportunities. |
|
| • |
What
your competitors are doing. |
Marion can assist you with market surveys, customer
focus groups, researching published reports and statistical
information, and interviewing industry experts.
Once
you have gathered and analyzed all this market research
information, you can determine your competitive
advantages and express your superior benefits to customers
through an aggressive marketing plan.
Marketing
Plan
Your marketing plan identifies groups or segments
of customers that you can better serve than your
competitors, and tailors your product and service
offerings, prices, distribution, promotional efforts,
and services toward those particular segments. Ideally,
your marketing plan addresses unmet customer needs
that have the potential to generate satisfactory
profitability for you. A good marketing plan focuses
on those target customers that your company can best
serve.
The marketing plan also describes the corporate identity
and image you wish to have as you build your brand
over time. Your logo, taglines, corporate stationary,
marketing message, sales literature, website, Internet
Marketing activities, individual promotional pieces
and public relations activities all contribute to your
corporate image as you build your band.
Market
Research
There are two common methods generally used to segment a market:
Geographical
targeting – Focuses on serving
customer needs in a narrow geographical area (e.g.
targeting a neighborhood as nail salons, beauty shop,
convenience store, family practice physician, realtors,
etc.).
Customer
targeting – Focuses on those groups
of customers most likely to buy the product or service
no matter where they are located (e.g. national or
even global targeting such as industrial supply distributors,
manufacturers, online
retailers, packaging supply, etc.)
|
Managing
the Marketing Mix
Determine
how best to satisfy customer needs by formulating
the correct marketing mix:
| • |
Products
and Services: Are you concentrating
on a narrow product line? Are you developing
a highly specialized product or service? Are
you providing a product-service package containing
unusually high-quality service? |
| • |
Marketing
Promotions: In our “massively
connected” society, successful promotional
strategies embrace multiple media, both online
and offline, including a website (now a necessity),
corporate capabilities brochure, direct mail,
email campaigns, tradeshows and public relations
events. All promotions should reflect your
corporate identity, be consistent and on message
as you grow your brand.
Keep in mind too that all company policies
and activities should be directed toward satisfying
customer needs - perhaps the most critical
piece of sustaining a healthy corporate identity
and brand. |
| • |
Distribution
Channels: If you are a manufacturer
or wholesaler, you must decide how to distribute
through established distributors or agents.
Retailers consider cost and traffic flow in
store location; remember that a low-cost, low-traffic
site means more must be spent on traffic-building
advertising. |
| • |
Pricing: Getting
the price right is critical for maximizing revenue.
In general, higher prices mean lower volume;
lower pricing means higher volume. Personalized
service can often command higher prices. Also,
having a profitable sales volume is more important
than having a high sales volume. |
Measure
Your Performance
After
executing a marketing promotion, successful companies
periodically evaluate their success and look for
ways to improve performance. Other issues to consider:
• Is
your company doing all it can to be customer-oriented?
• Are your customers satisfied and leave wanting to return?
• Can customers find competitive pricing easily?
Analyze
and act.
Contact
The Marion Group for assistance in Market Research
and/or to develop a Marketing Plan by calling 832-369-8210
or use our contact form. |
