Now comes the biggest construction site in the business plan, the marketing concept. Marketing is all about packaging the product ideally for the customer and the current market. The needs of the customer and use the product are clearly in the foreground. So that your potential customers are interested in finding out more when addressing them, for example through poster advertising or through Instagram Advertising. In the business plan part of marketing, the focus is on the successful communication of basic benefits and unique selling propositions (USP). The USP, the so-called Unique Selling Proposition, describes the differentiation from the competition or competing products.
In the marketing part you have to explain exactly how your product is / will be positioned and how you get attention for it. The first step is to refine the offer, in particular you have to clarify two questions for the optimization of your idea with the new findings from target group (need, benefit) and competition (USP)
What benefits does your offer have for potential customers?
What’s better than the competition’s offer?
After your idea has been clearly defined and your offer has been written in key points, the price strategy continues. In which price segment do you want to be on the move with your business idea? Low-priced offers or the high-priced offer, with the risk of a small clientele.
The price strategy at the first moment does not depend on your personal feeling, but on the market. The competition in particular plays a major role when it comes to finding the right price for one’s own product. Not only the competition, but also potential customers play a role in pricing.
At what price will you end up selling your product? The assessment depends not only on factors that can be clearly quantified and evaluated, of course the psychological price also plays an important role in the assessment.
What price strategy do you pursue and why?
At what price do you want to offer your product / service?
What calculation is this price based on?
Acceptable
Introduction
Competition
Psychological Price
Price Differentiation
Conditions
Psychological price
What role does the psychological price play exactly if you are really active in the market? You can determine the price for a product completely freely. You can produce cars for a reasonable price but also cars in the luxury segment. Depending on which applications and which extensions you offer customers, the higher the product value. The more individual and unique your product is, the more individual and unique the price will be. Supply and demand are the main basis for pricing. The principle is quite simple. The higher the demand in relation to supply, the more likely it is that the price will rise, whether the product is low-priced or high-priced, and whether there is much or little supply. If demand tends to outstrip supply, it is a good market for new business ideas.
Here again a little reality check about High Pricing vs Low Pricing, Which strategy do you want for your product?
High Pricing: Exclusivity vs. smaller clientele
Low Pricing: Mass Market vs Costs
Middle: Less effect (psychological) vs Stability
Sales in Marketing Concept
The organization of sales ultimately plays the central role in the sales figures. Because without a profit, your business idea will never make it to the top league. Accordingly, sales must be well organized. Ideally, you have a good network and good contacts to quickly start selling your products or services. The less sales structure there is at the beginning of a business idea, the more difficult it becomes to establish it in the market.
Sales methods: telephone sales to fulfillment
There are numerous possibilities for distribution. Above all, the new digital methods are worth mentioning. E.g. Fulfillment (like Amazon FBA). As a retailer, you can outsource the entire logistics process, from the storage of products to dispatch and return. If you purchase your products via platforms such as Alibaba or produce them yourself, you can have them delivered directly from warehouse to warehouse. All you (at least) need is a notebook. So you can focus on marketing and sales as managing director and owner. Sales, in the FBA example you have Amazon as the largest trading platform in the world behind you! This gives you public access to new products and direct market access to millions of users every day. Sales, however, is not only handled by external service providers, but of course also by our own employees. From the Facebook advertising campaign your social media managers to the classic telephone sales.
The business plan then deals with the rough goals. How big will your sales be by your chosen distribution methods, especially periodically distributed over the months? In which area will you be able to offer your products? What are the costs of new logistical extensions such as sales partners? Of course, your media portfolio in marketing will always be diversified. In the business plan you focus on the most important sales channels. Those who make the decisive sales. The central questions for your business plan and your later pitch:
What heel sizes do you control in which periods?
Which destinations are you heading for?
Which distributors will you use?
What are the costs of distribution?
Guideline: Setting up your own business & business plan
You want to start your own business as a real estate agent or with another business idea? We support you with tips on your business plan and concept. Whether self-employed full-time or part-time self-employed: If you want to set up your own company, you have to think about a lot, in advance and in the operative business. From the right idea to health insurance – what needs to be considered if you want to become self-employed?
There is no training or further education for entrepreneurs. Managing director is you or not. Your own ambition is always important, because this is the only way to improve, every day.
