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Preparing Your
Marketing Plan
Disclaimer
The information contained herein is for the sole purpose of information, guidance and
education which was extracted and compiled from various sources.
This template represents guidelines and M! "orporation Mala#sia reserves the right
to modif# this template, amend or terminate the information published at an# time
without notice.
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M! "orporation Mala#sia is not responsible for errors, omissions or damages of an#
kind resulting from the use of the information contained herein.
$f #ou need further information, assistance or reference about M! or
microfinance issues or in completing this business plan, please contact us
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[Place your business logo here]

&Business Name'
Marketing Plan
Date prepared( &Date prepared'
Prepared y ( &Your Name'
&Your Title'
&Business Name'
&Business Address'
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Table of "ontents
1. !"ec#tive $#mmary %

&. O'ectives
).% Corporate O'ectives *
2.2 (ar)eting O'ectives
5
3. !nvironmental $canning
+.% (ar)et *nalysis *
3.2$+O, *nalysis *
3.3 Competitive *nalysis 5
%. (ar)eting Plan
,.% (ar)et $egmentation *nalysis -
,.) ,argeting (ar)et -
,.+ Marketing trateg# -
,., (ar)et Researc- .indings -
,.* Prod#ct /ifecycle .
0. ,-e (ar)eting Plan
*.% Prod#ct .
*.) Price .
*.+ Place 1 Distri#tion /
*., Promotion /
*.* People 0
2. .inancial 3nformation 4
5. Contingency Plan 10
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!6!C7,38! $7((*R9
!xecutive summar# should highlight the most important parts. $t forms an overview of #our
business marketing plan. $t is suggested for the executive summar# to be written at the ver#
last so that it will describe a holistic overview of #our marketing plan. $t is recommended for
the executive summar# to include(
Description of t-e
Company
To include a brief summary of the company e.g. when was
founded?
To highlight on the important details about your company that
you want the reader to know
Brief
description
of products
or services
What products ser!ices are you sellingpro!iding?
What make your products ser!ices different from your
competitors?
Target
market
Who are your potential customers?
Why would they buy your products use your ser!ices?
Where will you be marketing your product ser!ices?
Why did you choose this market and what research has been
undertaken?
What message would you like to send to this market with
regard to your products/ services?
Competitiv
e
advantage
Why are your products ser!ices better than your competitors?
What are the e"tra ad!antages?
What are the attractions?
Who are your direct and indirect competitors?
#ompetiti!e ad!antage can be chosen from any element of the
e"isting marketing mi" known as $%&s e.g. %roduct' %rice' %lace'
%romotion and %eople
Why are your products ser!ices better than your competitors?
What are the e"tra ad!antages?
What are the attractions?
Who are your direct and indirect competitors?
Financial
Feasibility
What are your company financial strengths' its financial
performance and forecasted cash flow?
As for e"isting businesses' what has been your company&s past
performance in terms of business profitability' li(uidity and
balance sheet?
What is your financial forecast for at least ne"t ) to * years
comprising profit and loss statement' cash flow statement
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and balance sheet statement?
Keys to
Success
What are your proposed strategies and action plan?
What will be the key to your success in this
business?
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&. O:;!C,38!$
Corporate
O'ectives
What is your mission statement in order to determine your
businesses purpose and what you want to accomplish?
+emember your mission statement should be market oriented
and thus' !ital for your business future success
(ar)eting
O'ectives
What are your company&s main goal and marketing ob,ecti!es?
+emember the main goal of marketing ob,ecti!es should lead to
sales. -t must be clear' measurable' ha!e time frame and should
be achie!able.
-f your marketing ob,ecti!e does not lead to actual sales
re!enue' you will need to re.e"amine it so that it relates to sales
results
3. !<83RO<(!<,*/ $C*<<3<=
(ar)et *nalysis What type market analysis has your company undertaken?
+emember / -t is important for you to do market research to
analyse the market and to identify if there are any changes in
the economic' social' political en!ironments or any other factors
that will affect your products ser!ices' customer purchasing
power and business competition0
$+O, *nalysis Based on your assessment' what are your business strengths'
weaknesses' opportunities or threats?
1ow do you plan to address them?
$+O, Description Plan of *ction to *ddress
$trengt-s
+ea)nesses
Opport#nities
,-reats
Competitive
*nalysis
1ow do you rate against your competitors?
1ow can your business do better than what they offer?
Who are your top $ competitors within the !icinity or in the industry?
e.g. to pro!ide an o!er!iew of product competitors
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2ample of #ompetitors& Details Analysis/
Competitor !stalis->
ment Date
$i?e (ar)et
$-are @AB
8al#e to
C#stomers
$trengt-s +ea)nesses
1 When
were they
establishe
d
No.
of
2taff
Appro"imate
market share
3.g.
con!enience'
(uality' price
or ser!ices?
2
"
3
(ar)et
$egmentation
Through market segmentation analysis' you will be able to/
-dentify sales and the de!elopment of goods and ser!ices
3"plore consumer&s needs
Di!ide homogenous subgroup e.g. male female' homemakers'
senior citi4ens' children
#larify the attributes of productsser!ices life cycle for each sub.
group
#ategori4e the different income brackets
Analyse local social and cultural characteristics
#lassify purchasing patterns e.g. moti!es for buying' products
usage.
,arget mar)et Who are your potential customers?
Why would they buy your productsser!ices?
You can identify your target market by looking at the following
factors/
o 5eographical/ location' population si4e.
o Demographical/ age' gender' income of the population around
your business area.
o %sychographic/ social class' lifestyle' interest.
o Beha!ioural/ usefulness of product' brand loyalty
(ar)eting strategy Are you e"porting your products 2er!ices?
What is the percentage?
-f only for domestic market' e"plain why?
(ar)et Researc-
.indings
To describe market situation in the %ast' %resent' and foreseeable
6uture0
+e!iew changes in the market' which can include/
o 7arket share.
o 8eadership.
o %layers.
o #ompetition.
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o 7arket shifts.
o #osts.
o %ricing
To highlight the o!er!iew of your market research findings e.g. /
o anticipated demand9
o customer profiles9
o customer characteristics9
o customer needs and wants 9 and
o what is the latest new :in; thing.0
Prod#ct /ifecycle %roduct life cycle is the life of a product in the market with respect
to businesscommercial costs and sales measures that go through
multiple phases as follows/
o -ntroductory period/
o 5rowing period/
o 7aturing period9 and
o Declining period.
As a product mo!es through the stages of its life cycle' the
business en!ironment surrounding the product changes' re(uiring
re.e"amination and ad,usting the marketing mi" <$%s=/
o %roduct
o %rice
o %lace Distribution
o %romotion
o %eople
-t is crucial for a company to respond properly and in a timely
manner to the sales market by planning new products ser!ices
and strategies or enhancing e"isting productsser!ices
%. ,C! (*RD!,3<= P/*<
Prod#ct The product or ser!ice offered to the customer by your
company must consider/
o the physical attributes of your products ser!ices'
o what they do'
o how they differ from your competitors and
o what benefits do they pro!ide to your potential customers.
The product decisions should consider the product>s
ad!antages and should include/
o Brand name
o ?uality
o 2cope of product line
o Warranty
o %ackaging
Price 1ow do you intend to price your products which will help you
reach your target profit margin?
1ow will you price your product or ser!ice so that the price
remains competiti!e but allows you to make a reasonable
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profit?
1ow you price your productser!ice can influence your
customer.buying moti!e. You may wish to consider the
following/
i. 8ist price
ii. Discounts
iii. Bundling
i!. %ayment terms and financing options
!. 8easing options <if any=
Your pricing strategies will ha!e direct impact on the
profitability and future sustainability of the business. -t is
imperati!e that some research be done to compare your
products& prices with similar products in the market.
Place 1 Distri#tion Where will your company sell its products or ser!ices?
1ow will your products or ser!ices reach your customers in
your target market?
What distribution channels and methods that you will use to
distribute your productsser!ices?
i. Distribution channels @ e.g. retail' distributors middle man
or distributing yourself.
ii. 7oti!ating the channel . e.g. reward their performance.
iii. #riteria for e!aluating distributors. e.g. ability to distribute
sell the products ser!ices to customers.
i!. 8ocations . state the geographical area you need to co!er
!. 8ogistics . transportation' warehousing' and order
fulfilment storage
The location of the distribution place may impact the product
marketability and e"posure to potential customers. 5ood
locations can be e"pensi!e especially if located in high.end
areas.
2ample of sales and distribution channels/
C-annel
,ype
Prod#cts1
$ervices
Percentage of
$ales @AB
*dvantages Disadvantages
e.g.
2hopfront'
internet'
direct mail'
e"port or
wholesale
8ist of all the
products
ser!ices to be
sold !ia this
channel
What
percentage of
o!erall sales
do you
anticipate to
sell !ia this
channel?
What are the
ad!antages of
using this
channel for
these
products
ser!ices?
What are the
challenges when
using this
channel?
1ow will you
address them?
Promotion What methods of promotion will you use to communicate the
features and benefits of your products ser!ices to your
potential customers?
-t is essential that the promotional strategy ensures consumers
find out about your product ser!ice.
1ow much is your company willing to spend on the
promotional costs? -s it going to be cost effecti!e? And why?
You should also consider ad!ertisingpromoting your product
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!ia the internet by setting your own website. This would
broaden your market base to include regional and international
clients.
The fre(uently used approaches for marketing promotion are/
o 8eaflets and Brochures
o -nternet @ own website and e.commerce
o Windows display
o Newspaper
o +adio Tele!ision
o Billboards Banners
%romotion decisions in!ol!e ad!ertising' public relations
publicity' sales promotion' personal sales etc. -t is suggested
for you to pro!ide planned promotion ad!ertising type as
e"ample below.
Planned
Promotion 1
*dvertising ,ype
!"pected :#siness
3mprovement
Cost @R(B ,arget Date
%rint media
ad!ertising' online
ad!ertising' mail.out'
gi!eaway' media
release or e!ent
1ow will this impro!e
your business success?
e.g. Dec )AAB
People 4 1ow would your le!el of ser!ice and the people who will
pro!ide that ser!ice be used in marketing your products or
ser!ices to the customer?
C Who will be pro!iding this ser!ice and what kind of training will
they recei!e?
C Do you plan to offer any incenti!es to your customer ser!ice
representati!es?
C 1ow do you plan to measure customer satisfaction?
0. :7D=!,,3<=
:#dget allocation What is the si4e budget allocation for sales' e"penses and
marketing' and how was this determined?
You need to prepare and pro!ide sales pro,ection for at least *
years on monthly or weekly basis that comprises the following/
i. %rofit and loss statement
ii. #ash flow statement
iii. Balance sheet statement
$o#rce of f#nding 1ow do you intend to source for funding for the abo!e
e"penses outflows?
Bank borrowings <e.g. o!erdraft= carry interest charges and
can be relati!ely e"pensi!e. The results of such ad!ertising
efforts will take time and there is an element of uncertainty of
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success.
Therefore' careful consideration needs to be gi!en to planning
your marketing efforts and to undertake the marketing action
plan o!er a period of time so as to reduce the financing burden
and to ensure that the promotion is done in a continuous
mode.
2. CO<,3<=!<C9 P/*<
:#siness ris) What are the potential risks in your business?
1ow do you plan to o!ercome them?
You must consider the possible risks to the business and make
contingency plans to address them. 2ome possible risks can
be identified under the :weaknesses; and :threats; sections of
the 2WDT analysis.
You also need to identify/
i. 2ymptoms of failure
ii. Alternati!e strategies
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