qprev_HBB Manual 2.qxd - Small Business BC

This framework stresses that a successfulbusiness provides the right product at acompetitive price to the intended people usingeffective promotion from the best place togenerate the greatest profit. Having all of theseelements well-chosen is important – weak pointscan be disastrous.A marketing strategy means a customerorientation in every aspect of your business.Exactly what this means in your situation andbusiness is usually composed as a marketing planand included as the marketing section of acomplete business plan.Draft a Marketing PlanA marketing plan is your plan of action – who,what, why, where, when, how, and how much. Aprinted marketing plan is usually not more than10 pages. Often it is presented in point form,giving basic facts about the business’s approachto marketing.The marketing plan includes details on:• Market Area: the trading or business area• Market Share: a business’s share of total salesin a market area• Location: the business’s physical base• Customers: the market profile• Competition: those selling similar goodsor services• Methods of Selling: ways sales are made• Price: the dollar figure that products orservices sell for• Servicing and Guarantees: after-sales support• Image: appearances and impressions• Promotion: ways to increase market share andraise profileMarket AreaMarket area is the area of business operation.Market area can be a building, a neighbourhood,a region, several towns or cities, the province, thecountry, or some international territory. One wayto keep market area clear is to remember it as ageographical area that can be marked on a map.Within the boundaries of a market area, yourtarget markets are those groups of people mostlikely to become buyers.Of course, today’s global economy has blurredmarket boundaries, often making theseboundaries irrelevant. The Internet easily allowsyour business to reach buyers living anywhere inthe world – so long as they have Internet access.But home-based businesses – especially thoselinked to tourism – may be identified with aspecific location or region.Market ShareA market area and your target market withinit will support a certain level of sales of a givenproduct or service. The portion of total sales thatany one competitor has is called market share.Your potential sales volume – howmuch you can reasonably expect to sell – is yourestimated market share. This estimatecan be given as the number of sales, the moneyvalue of sales, or as a portion of the total market– market share. Estimating market share isn’teasy, but it is worth it. To sell your product orservice, you have to know how a market isdivided, and what share of it you hope to obtain.• Advertising: ways to encourage andincrease salessolutions for small business home-based business 35