The Marketing Plan

The Marketing Plan is where you demonstrate how you will attract and retain customers. In it you layout how you will promote the business, how your "brand" will attract customers, and how your "offering" of products or services will satisfy your customer's needs. Your investors need to know how you plan to compete and how your offering compares with your competitors.

Offering a legislated service in an established market doesn't leave a lot of room to stand out. As an immigration consultant, what you can offer may be no different than your competitors. Historically, lawyers have relied on their case management skills and past performance measures to differentiate the quality of their service. Are there other ways that you can position yourself?

For the Marketing Plan section, answer the following questions: BRIEFLY...

Business Name and Image

State the name your business will be operating under and explain how this name projects the appropriate image for your product or service and customer groups.

Describe the image that your company will project and explain why this is appropriate for your products or services and the expectations of the customer groups you are targeting.

Service or Product Mix

Provide a detailed explanation of the products or services you will offer, comparing your range of offering to that of your major competitors. Explain why this strategy is appropriate for your customers.

Explain any added-value services you will offer and why they are appropriate.

Pricing

Outline the pricing strategy you will be using and explain how it fits in with the rest of your marketing mix.

Prepare a price list showing the specific products or services you will offer and the prices you will charge. Indicate any discounts you will offer for specific types of customers or volumes or any ranges within which you will negotiate prices.

Distribution

Explain clearly who the ultimate users of your product or services are and where your business fits into any chain of distribution. Identify your legal customers and the details of any contracting arrangements.

Explain how your service or product will physically get to your customer. IF the customer is coming to you, describe in detail the setup, dcor, and tone of your site. Explain how the site design is in keeping with the image you wish to project.

Promotion

Identify any advertising medium you will use, the nature of the advertising piece, and the frequency of advertising.

Explain any publicity you will get and how you will arrange this exposure.

Describe any personal selling you will engage in, how you will get your prospects, how you will approach them, and any sales aids you will use.

Explain any sales promotion techniques you intend to use and any risks involved.

Promotion Evaluation

Explain how you will measure the effectiveness of the promotional means you have chosen and outline any backup plans for redirecting your promotional efforts.