Appendix 1: The Marketing Plan

1. MARKET ANALYSIS
   1. Target Market--Who are the customers?
      1. We will be selling primarily to (check all that apply):

         		Total Percent of Business
         a. Private sector		______				______
         b. Wholesalers		______				______
         c. Retailers		______				______
         d. Government		______				______
         e. Other		______				______

      2. We will be targeting customers by:

         a. Product line/services.     We will target specific lines:		________________
         b. Geographic area? Which areas?		________________
         c. Sales? We will target sales of		________________
         d. Industry? Our target industry is:		________________
         e. Other?		________________

      3. How much will our selected market spend on our type of product or service this coming year?

         $________________

   2. Competition
      1. Who are our competitors?

         NAME		________________________________________
         ADDRESS		________________________________________
         		________________________________________

         Years in Business		___________________
         Market Share		___________________
         Price/Strategy		___________________
         Product/Service Features		___________________

      2. How competitive is the market?

         High		____________________
         Medium		____________________
         Low		____________________

      3. List below your strengths and weaknesses compared to your competition (consider such areas as location, size of resources, reputation, services, personnel, etc.):

         Strengths		Weaknesses
         1._______________________		1._______________________
         2._______________________		2._______________________
         3._______________________		3._______________________
         4._______________________		4._______________________

   3. Environment
      1. The following are some important economic factors that will affect our product or service (such as trade area growth, industry health, economic trends, taxes, rising energy prices, etc.):
         ________________________________________________
         ________________________________________________
         ________________________________________________

      2. The following are some important legal factors that will affect our market:
         ________________________________________________
         ________________________________________________
         ________________________________________________

      3. The following are some important government factors:
         ________________________________________________
         ________________________________________________
         ________________________________________________

      4. The following are other environmental factors that will affect our market, but over which we have no control:
         ________________________________________________
         ________________________________________________
         ________________________________________________

2. PRODUCT OR SERVICE ANALYSIS
   1. Description
      1. Describe here what the product/service is and what it does:
         ________________________________________________
         ________________________________________________
         ________________________________________________

   2. Comparison
      1. What advantages does our product/service have over those of the competition (consider such things as unique features, patents, expertise, special training, etc.)?
         __________________________________________________
         __________________________________________________
         __________________________________________________

      2. What disadvantages does it have?
         __________________________________________________
         __________________________________________________
         __________________________________________________

   3. Some Considerations
      1. Where will you get your materials and supplies?
         __________________________________________________

      2. List other considerations:
         __________________________________________________
         __________________________________________________

3. MARKETING STRATEGIES--MARKET MIX
   1. Image
      1. First, what kind of image do we want to have (such as cheap but good, or exclusiveness, or customer-oriented or highest quality, or convenience, or speed, or...)?
         __________________________________________________

   2. Features
      1. List the features we will emphasize:
         1. __________________________________________
         2. __________________________________________
         3. __________________________________________

   3. Pricing
      1. We will be using the following pricing strategy:
         

         a. Markup on cost		____		What % markup?		_____
         b. Suggested price		____
         c. Competitive		____
         d. Below competition		____
         e. Premium price		____
         f. Other		____

      2. Are our prices in line with our image?
         YES___       NO___

      3. Do our prices cover costs and leave a margin of profit?
         YES___       NO___

   4. Customer Services
      1. List the customer services we provide:
         1. ____________________________________________
         2. ____________________________________________
         3. ____________________________________________

      2. These are our sales/credit terms:
         1. ____________________________________________
         2. ____________________________________________
         3. ____________________________________________

      3. The competition offers the following services:
         1. ____________________________________________
         2. ____________________________________________
         3. ____________________________________________

   5. Advertising/Promotion
      1. These are the things we wish to say about the business:
         ____________________________________________________
         ____________________________________________________
         ____________________________________________________

      2. We will use the following advertising/promotion sources:
         

         1. Internet		________
         2. Television/Radio		________
         3. Direct mail		________
         4. Personal contacts		________
         5. Trade associations		________
         6. Newspaper		________
         7. Magazines		________
         8. Yellow Pages		________
         9. Billboard		________
         10. Other		________

      3. The following are the reasons why we consider the media we have chosen to be the most effective:
         __________________________________________________
         __________________________________________________
         __________________________________________________