Section 4 - Marketing Strategy
Introduction: Now that readers understand your industry, they will want to know how your business will fit in. In this section we will ask you to describe your marketing strategy. In particular, we will ask you to:
1. Define your target markets
2. Describe your competitors and your competitive position and
3. Outline your pricing, promotional and distribution strategies.
TOPICS:
1. Target Market:
Instructions: In the last section you described the key market segments within your industry. Which of these customer groups or market segments will your business specifically target? You can define your target markets both by type of customer and by geographic region. Explain how your target markets may change during the term of the business plan.
Sample Answer:
Our target markets will be rural, semi-urban and urban people. We will also cater for regular as well as exclusive users.
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2. Description of Key Competitor:
Instructions: There will be other businesses or competitors who are also competing for these target markets. List your key competitors and provide a brief description of their businesses in terms of location, products and services, marketing strategies, and market position.
Sample Answer:
As there are many shirt manufacturing units’ competition is highest. The key in this case is a quality product with a deeply rooted market supply. If the products are offered at reasonable price without hampering the quality in co-ordination with an effective market penetration competitors can be surpassed.
Keeping customer faith is of utmost importance and supplying quality products to them will help in gaining market position.
There are many shirt manufacturers in Pune . Few of them have huge factories and 75- 100 employees that offer large varieties of shirts.However, these large firms cannot cost effectively service this market due to high overhead and labour costs.
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3. Analysis of Competitive Position:
Instruction: Analysis of Competitive Position Instructions: Now we want to compare your business to your competitors. In what ways you will have an advantage over your competitors and in what ways will you be at a competitive disadvantage? In which markets will you have the greatest competitive advantage?
Sample Answer:
Constant innovations in the product will help the company make its own position in the market. Giving full usability of the product will be needed. Constantly looking at the market for feedbacks and improving the products will help in getting an edge over the competitors. The manufacturing of unique fancy as well as formal wear shirts will help in establishing quality brand in the minds of the people hence making the company product different from its competitors.
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4. Pricing Strategy:
Instructions: Briefly discuss how you will price your products and services. How will the pricing of your products and services compare to that of your competitors? For example, will you follow a penetration pricing policy (where you offer low prices in order to generate higher sales volumes)?
Sample Answer:
In Sanchit Shirts all their products will be priced competitively with other small companies. Typically the prices offered by small firms are much lower than those charged by the large firms due to lower overhead costs. Prices of our products will be based on several factors including the time and resources needed to complete our product , overhead costs. Our regular wear shirts are cheap compared to the other companies
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5. Promotion Strategy:
Instructions: Having a good product and/or service is no guarantee of success. You have to make potential customers aware of your products and tell them how and where they can buy them. Describe how you will create awareness of your products and services. Highlight the types of promotional activities you will undertake such as media advertising, trade shows, direct mail, sales calls and any other means of promotion that you will use to reach your target markets.
Sample Answer:
Sanchit Shirts will market its products by placing an ad in the yellow pages, listing with all local business and industry associations, developing a brochure to be distributed to lending dealers, wholesalers, networking with the outstation dealers.
1. Exhibitions: For business promotion we will take part in big trade fairs and exhibitions.
2. Corporate brochure We will develop a corporate brochure outlining our Products. The brochure will also highlight our level of expertise. The brochures will be distributed at the exhibitions and trade fairs, distributed to lending Stockiest and dealers, and to potential clients.
3. Advertising Sanchit Shirts will not do much advertising except for placing an ad in the local yellow pages and leading magazine and newspapers. Within the next three years, we may develop our own Internet site highlighting our expertise and services. Yearly we may print Advertising calendar for our customers.
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6. Distribution Strategy:
Instructions: How will you distribute your products and/or services to your target markets? Discuss where your customers will be able to buy your product and/or service, and how you will provide customer service and after sales support.
Sample Answer:
Distribution is important for garment manufacturing units. All modes of transports will be used depending upon the destination of the client. A separate team will work towards the smooth and regular flow of distribution of the product.
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