Small Business Guide - Welcome to Alabama A&M University

S m a l l B u s i n e s s H a n d b o o k f o r N o r t h A l a b a m aII) MarketingResearch and PlanningMarketing is one of the key elements for running a business. Eachentrepreneur should define a marketing plan based on the collectedinformation from a market research. A market research can be conductedby talking to customers, studying the advertisement of otherbusinesses in your community, and consulting with relevant industryassociations. The next step is to create a marketing plan by definingyour business, defining your customers, and defining your budget.Define your Business:- What products or services are you marketing?- Where do you want to conduct your marketing?- Who are your competitors?- What are your unique selling points?- What are your pricing strategies?- What are your promotion strategies?- What are your distribution strategies?Define your customer:- Who is your target market?- How do you want to inform your target market.about your product and service?- What are the preferences of your potential customers?Define your plan and budget:- What is the marketing cost per customer compared to sales?- Which marketing methods could attract new customers?- How much of your profit can be used for your marketingcampaign?- Which marketing tools are realistic with your budget?- How can you measure the success of your marketing campaign?11