THE

MARKETING
PLAN
Business plan - Is a comprehesive paper that details
the situation analysis, objectives, strategies and
tactics, and how to monitor and control the
enterprise.

* Some etrepreneurs fail to give importance to the

voice of a business venture ----the market. If
ignored or given a small attention, this become a
major source of the entrepreneur’s failure.
Objectives of market plan:
1. Describe the unique selling proposition and value
proposition that differentiates one’s product/service from
existing product/services
2. Determine who the customers are like target market,
customer requirements and market size.
3. Validate customer-related concerns through Interview,
focus group discussion, observation and survey.
4. Describe the marketing mix (7ps) Product, place, price,
people, packaging, process
5. Developing a brand name
Marketing process:
*Marketing is all about knowing the customers.
Therefore, the marketing process starts with
identifying the customers’ needs where you are
tasked to create a meaningful value proposition.
*You study what the customers want or desire for
you to build unique selling proposition. It is
imperative to identify the most strategic market or
group to tap.
*A Value proposition (VP) simply states whay s
customer should buy a certain product or service.
Customer are very specific when it comes to their
needs and their desired benefits, so, the value
proposition should cater to those particular needs.
The value proposition is the majoy driver in
customer purchase or service availment. The startup
entrepreneur will surely have a hard time thinking of
a value proposition for his or her business.
*The entrepreneur should bear in
mind that a value proposition has to
be direct in addressing the problems
of the customers, should have
quantifiable benefits, and should
differentiate itself from the
competitiors.
Tips for entrepreneu on how to create an effective value
proposition to the target customers:
1. Prepare a situation analysis that details the problem of the
customer.
2. Make your value proposition straight to the point, simple,
and specific; in short, there should be no complication.
Your value proposition has to target your majoy objective.
3. Highlight the value of your product or service so that
customers will easily get what benefits you can provide.
4. Adapt the langauge of your market. Ensure that your target
market understand easily what you are trying to say and
avoid putting unnecessary and inexplicable phrases.
5. Add credibility enhancing elements such as actual
testimonials from customers, partners, and other
stakeholders, putting specific assurance elements and
social acceptability metrics found in social media or
press materials.
6. Differentiate your value proposition with your
competitors. Like originality of the product or
service, its functionalities or if the product or service
can be tailor-fitted to the customer’s preference,
among others.
Situational analysis:
Aling Tere’s Sari-sari store
Prior to the establishment of a sari-sari store, Aling Tere notices that there is a
convenience store in her vicinity, where many call center agents, nurses, and
construction workers buy food, beverages, and other products during odd hours
(from 10 pm to 6 am). She discovers that the customers either ride a tricycle or a
jeepney just to reach the convenience store. There are two sari-sari store nearby,
but they close at 9 pm. Aling Tere believes this is an opportunity for a sari-sari
store business with a twist. Aling Tere realizes she needs to address the needs of
the customers to differentiate her business from the competition. She decided to
establish a 24/7 sari-sari store. As an initial investment, Aling Tere hires three
employees who will help her run the sari-sari store in three shifts. During their
break, Aling Tere mans the sari-sari store herself. She designs her sari-sari store
like a semi-conviniences store, where customers can freely go and choose the
product they want. It is also air-conditioned. For security purposes, she also installs
a CCTV camera. Her task now is to craft a worthwhile value proposition for the
potential customers.
Proposed value proposition:

“Tindahang
maaasahan, bukas
kahit anong oras!”
Unique selling proposition (USP)
Refers to how you will sell the product or service to
your customers. It addresses the customers’ wants and
desires. After you create your value proposition, you have
to figure out how to advertise or promote certain unique
features of the product or service that you’re trying to sell.
You can do this in the form of product or service
characteristics, promotion strategies and tactics,
distribution centers and supply chains, pricing, physical
attributes or physical evidence, human resources or
human capital, and market positioning strategies.
Tips for the entrepreneur on how to
create an effective USP:
1. Identify and rank the uniqueness
of the product or service attributes.
2. Be very specific.
3. KISS (Keep it short and simple)
Know Your customers:
After the general scan and research performed during the
course of preparation for the value proposition and the unique
selling proposition, It is now time to dig deep understand the
target customers through:
Market research - Is a comprehensive process of understanding
the customers intrecacies and the industry they involve in.
Marketing research is one of the most critical tasks of an
entrepreneur. Marketing research aims to scrutinize the target
market, their specific requirements, and the market size where
the business operates.
Market size- is simply the size the arena where the
entrepreneur’s business will play. It is the approximation of the
number of the buyers and the sellers in a particular market. The
entrepreneur is required to determine the market size first to
gauge the vastness or tininess of the market where he or she
intendeds to join.
Steps on how to conduct a strategic marketing reserach:
1. Is to estimate the potential market- approximate number od
customers that will buy the product or avail the service.
2. Is to eliminate the customers who are probably unlikely to
the product or avail the service.
3. Is for the entrepreneur to estimate the market share --which
is the plotting and calculation of the competitors’ market share
to determine the remaining portion for the new venture. The
entrepreneur should first assess the market situation via surveys,
customer reviews, or any data gathering methods. From there,
he or she will be able to calculate the nunber of the potential
customers that will buy the product or service offered. This will
be the basis to decide whether the business is worth tha capital
will be used.
Customer Requirements
Customer are said to be the lifeblood of the business. These
are the people who buy the products or avail the service of the
entrepreneur. Their thoughts, feeling, and experiences shape
the decisions of the business. Thus the phrase “Customer is
always right”is a mantra that the most successful entrepreneurs
follow. Customer requirement is specific features and
characteristics that business opportunities originate.
Entrerpeneur must be aware of all these requirementsfor them
to come up with features that best suit their needs. They must
know who buy, and what, when, where, how and most
importantly, why they buy.
These requirements can be used to formulate the value
preposition and the unique selling proposition, as
addressing the requirement would increase increase the
competitive edge of the business. Entrepreneur should
also be vigilant with the constant change in customer
requirements. Example , cellphone repair services five
years ago are way different now because of the
proliferation of smartphones today as compared with
regular mobile phone before.
For example, in a restaurant business, some customers
will prefer cheaper prices or a bundled menu; some will
prefer a cozy ambiance; some will prefer a place with
relaxing music; some will prefer to have food served fast;
and some will prefer to pay using credit card and not cash.
In short, customer requirements vary from person to
person. The entrepreneur must group them together,
calculate their size, and come up with the products and
services that suit them. The customer is the voice of every
business that every entrepreneurshould listen to.
Primary and Secondary Target Market
Most of entrepreneurs believe in the misconception
that they can serve all types of customers or, if not, a wide
range of customers. Little do they know that this thinking
may lead them to a failure. Entrepreneurs must focus only
on customers whom they can serve beneficially because
they will be wasting resources if they will target all, or
worse, target none.
The entrepreneur can tap a primary target market and
the secondary target market as resources are limited
during the startup stage.
Market Intelligence
Which include customer profiling, drives the entrepreneur
on what correct strategies and tactics to employ.

Market segmentation
Is the process of grouping similar or homogeneous customers
according to demographic, geographic (location) and behavior. It
is necessary activity in marketing in marketing because it gives
the entrepreneur a holistic and general view of the market group
that he or she is serving. Therefore, there will be efficiency and
proper logic in implementing marketing strategies and tactics to
this choosen market group.
Demographic segmentation
Also called socioeconomic segmentation, is the process or
grouping customers according to relevant socioeconomic
variables for the business venture. These socioeconomic
variables include income range and social class, occupation,
gender, age, religion, and ethnicity. These date help yhe
entrepreneur target customers accurately and classify their
respective needs, wants, and desires.
 SEX AND AGE GROUP
MALE TEENAGERS ( 13 - 19 )
SINGLE FEMALES ( 20-30)
MARRIES COUPLES WITH KIDS ( 30-50 )
SENIOR CITIZENS ( 60 ONWARDS)
POTENTIAL PRODUCTS OR
SERVICE DEMAND
Products: Trendy clothes, rubber shoes, soft
drinks, chips, prepaid cellphone load, sport
apparel.
Services: Cool hangout places, gyms, barber
shops.
Products: Beauty products, bags, clothes,
perfumes, magazine, shoes.
Services: Spa, beauty clinics, gym, beauty
salons, coffee shops, movie houses.
Products: Food and grocery items, deaper,
milk products, baby clothes
Services: Theaters, babysitters, theme parks,
travel packages.
Products: Fruits and vegetables, hair dye,
medicines.
Services: Travel packages, health service
Psychographic Segmentation
Is a process of grouping customers according to their
perception, way of life, motivation and inclinations. Perception is
a process wherein an individual receives external stimuli using
the five senses of hearing, touching, smelling, seeing, and tasting.
The customers way of life will give an erntrepreneur an overview
of what products or services can best suit the problems of the
customers that happening on a daily basis. The entrepreneur
must be aware of what makes the customers buy the
products, so he or she will know how to segregate the customers
based on their way of life.
Geographic Segmentation
Is simply grouping customers according to their
location. This is critical in the analysis of the target market
as this encompasses the cultures, beliefs, preferences,
politics, and lifestyle of a certain geography. It can be
small as street, a village, or a barangay. It can also be
based on municipality, city, province, or region. It can be
a big as a country or continent depending on the
entrepreneur’s business objectives.
Behavioral Segmentation
Is the process of grouping the customers according to their
action. These behavior are instigated by accasions, desired
benefits, loyalty, and usage of products or availment of services.
Occassions drastically affect the customers buying behavior.
The christmas season entices the people to buy gifts. The
valentines seasons encourage people to buy flowers and
chocolates for their special someone. Summer seasons elicits
customers to go to the gym to be fit, to the beaches and resorts
to beat the heat, to book a trip for a summer gateaway or to buy
summer outfit. Birthday and graduations induce customers to go
to buffet restaurants or hotels and resorts to celebrate.
Using customers desired benefits in behavioral segmentation is
efficient because the entrepreneur determines the exact needs of
the customers and offer the most suited product or services for
them. Example offering wash dry and press services for busy
office workers. 3 in 1 coffee for budget conscious customers
and those who prefer instant coffee.
Loyalty is the result of maintaining satisfied customers.
Behavioral segmentation through loyalty is a major key result
area of the entrepreneur as it is more expensive to sell new
customers than to maintain customers. Loyalty program and
rewards separate loyal customers from the new ones.
Talking to your customers
Marketing research will not be complete without talking
directly to the target customers. It is good to estimate
number such as market size, market share, and other
general market assumptions, but the best way to fully
understand the customers is to ask them about their
specific thoughts and desires. Conducting marketing
research in a methodical way will bring the entrepreneur a
substantial bunch of relevant ideas than can be used to
effectively run the business.
Qualitative research includes
identifying the written or spoken
opinions of the customers whereas
Quantitative research invloves
analyzing the customers preferences
by using relevant statistics.
Most common method in collecting data from the customers:
1. The interview - is one of the most rliable and credible ways
of getting relevant information from the target customers. It is
face to face contact between the researcher/entrepreneur and
respondent where the researcher asks pertinent questions
that will give him significant pieces of information about the
problem that he will solve.It is credible way of getting
information because the researcher will be able to capture
not just verbal but also nonverbal answers such facial
expression , charactee of words used, or body language.
The interview also helpful even when the business
has already started because the customer’s feedback
provide the entrepreneur a glimpse of what the
customers think about the business. The drawback
though is that an interview are often expensive,
especially if the number of respondents is large. The
solution is to apply Sampling which is the selection
of respondents that statistically represent the total
population.
Two main types of interview:
a. An unstructrured interview is an informal type of
interview and does not follow a specific set of
questions. The researcher has a checklist of high level
issues that he or she wants to clarify with the
respondent. The researcher will ask all the possible
questions until he or she is satisfied that all the
necessary issues in his or her checklist have been
answered. The researcher records the conversation,
review it, and summarize the findings.
b. Structured interview on the other hand,
employs a speficific set of questions and
produce quantitative data. A prearranged
questionnaire with specific question usually
answerable by yes or no (closed-ended),
force ranking, multiple choice, or choose
the best will be answered by the
respondents.
Challenges in an interview:
1. Setting an appointment with an interviewee
which includes asking the respondent’s
permission.
2. Involve the respondents’s indifference to
how they share their opinions.
3. Involve getting unbiased answers from the
respondents.
The focus group discussion (FGD)
It is commonly used by market researcher to capture qualitative
result from the target customers. It is a process of mining customer
and noncustomer experience and insights about a specific product
or services. Through FGD the researcher will be able to generate
relevant concerns and issue of the customers such as their views and
inclination toward a product and services. The focus group usually
session usually lasts from 1 to 2 hours. It will be more credible if the
actual product or a potential product/service is showcased in the
FGD to elicit realistic reactions from the participants. The FGD
session must be recorded by either audio or video, so that
researcher can digest the session and pick the most relevant insights
from the participants.
Advantages of FGD:
1. The researcher can get combined insights from the
participants.
2. The participants are more spotaneous and enthusiastic because
of the interaction with coparticipants, thereby sharing more insights
to the researcher.
3. It can be observed bt various spectators.
Disadvantages of FGD:
1. It obtains only qualitative data.
2. Examination of the focus group session is difficult and requires
more time.
3. There are potentially biased answer from the participant
because they will encounter peer preasure.
FGD Illustration for a Food cart business
Vicky Velasquez just retired from her job as a banker for 35 years.
She is thinking of ways on how to preserve the retirement benefit she
recieved from the bank. One day, she notices that while commuting,
a lot of passengers are stopping by to eat or drink in convenience
stores or in food carts. They are buying pasalubong for their loved
ones, be it in the form of donuts, ensaymada, siomai, waffles or
siopao. She is interested to put up a food cart business in that
terminal, but she is unsure what paricular product or combination
of products will be liked sustainably bt the passengers. Vicky dicides
to employ as focus discussion in knowing the pulse of the target
market -----the passengers.
FGD objectives:
1. To determine the top products that passengers buy for
themeselves or pasalubong for their families and loved ones
2. To understand the buying behavior of the passengers.
3. To know if the passengers want new enchanced merienda
or pasalubong products.
Participants
Vicky will invite six passsengers who are waiting in line from
the bus. All of these passengers have been buying mereinda for
themeselves or pasalubong for their loved ones.
Venue and logistics
An FGD will be he held at vicky’s residence in Santa Rosa
City, Laguna, where most of the participants live. She will set up
her dining area as a mini-conference room. As a sign of
gratitude, Vicky will provide the participants with free snacks and
pasalubong.

Moderator
Vicky will act as a moderator and will use her smartphone to
record the session. As both the moderator and researcher, Vicky
must be able to elicit transparency, objectivity, and kindness, but
she should also be firm, flexible, and sensitive.
Moderator’s discussion guide
A. Introduction (10-15 mins.)-Vicky should be able to explain to the
participants the purpose of the FGD and the ground rules before
starting. She should disclose to the participants that she’ll be using her
smartphone to record the session and that all responses will be treated
with confidentiality. The participants can freely voice their opinions
regarding the topics to be raised and must speak one at a time with a
clear tone.
B. Product usage, attitude, and image discussion (30 mins.)Vicky will be
asking the following question during the discussion proper to validate
the first two objectives:
a. What images are connected with pasalubong products?
 b. How wre these image derived? Was it through
packaging, price, location, signage, or the service
personnel?
c. What are the words that first come to mind when
merienda or pasalubong is mentioned?
d. What are the top three food can businesses that you
frequently patronize? What products do you buy from
them, how of these products do you buy (quantity, and
amount)? How many times do you buy in a week?
e. Why do you prepare to buy snacks and pasalubong
from these food carts?
C. New or enhanced product (15 mins) Vicky will be
asking the following questions to validate the third
objective:
a. What new products excite you to be part of the food
cant business? Why is this so?
b. What enhancements or improvements would you
like to see in the exesting food cart products that you
patronize? Price? Location? Product
features?Signage?Service personnel?

D. Conclusion (5 mins)
Observation
Is one of the preferred and practical methods of generating
ideas because the researcher documents the behavioral
patterns of people or of objects or events without necessarily
requiring them to participate in the research process.
Types of observations:
1. Human observation - records informatrion as it occurs or
as it is happens using his or her five senses.
2. Machine observation - employs an equipment ( video
camera or computer) to record the information needed.
Example of human observation:
1. Customer purchase patterns - this technique uses the
researchere to understand the buying behavior of the customers
such as determining their pain points, buying patterns (how
many times and how often do they buy or their inclinations
toward a product or service), location, price, or promotions.
2. Mystery shopping - This is common practice of service
businesses today where the researcher pretends he or she is a
customer of his own business or the competitor’s. This is a test
to determine the quality of the customer service or if the service
provider is doing the right job.
Example of machine observation:
1. Video cameras or closed-circuit television (CCTV) These are
positioned within the business premises. They record the customers
in their organic shopping or service behavior (how they examine the
product, how they interact with the serivce personnel).
2. Traffic counters - These are very common machine observers
used by researcher to determine foot traffic or vihecular traffic in a
particular location. On the marketing side, the researcher will be able
to determine where to sensibly install a tarpaulin, signage, or billboard
as these counters give a glimpse of how many people or vehicles pass
the area. These also provide the researcher an idea to fine a strategic
location fo the business.
3. Web analytics - This an online tool that tracks the performance of a
Web site as to the number of its visitors, the contents they usually access,
and other information relevant to the web site owner such as
goegraphical locations of the visitors and statistics on how long they
stayed in he web site. This gives the online entrepreneur a report on how
his or her web site performs and how this drives awareness and sales for
the business.
4. Barcode scanner - These machines help researchers understand the
purchase behavior of the customers by reading the product code and
generate relevant sales information.
5. GPS technology - allows tracking of vehicles and pedestrians exposed
to out of home advertisement.
Observation only becomes a relevant research tool if it
meets
The following condition:
1. If the person, object, or event is indeed observable.
2. If the person does the activity regularly or the event
happens on a regular basis.
3. If doing an interview or FGD is becoming intrusive
of the privacy of the person.
4. If the subject of observation does not take too long
to produce relevant information.
Traditional and Online surveys
A survey is very simple and practical to run because it
requires preparation of predetermined questions answerable by
definite responses using equitable scales.
Some of the traditional ways to conduct a survey are via
a. Telephone
b. face to face interaction
c. snail mail
The emerging and more efficient way of conducting a survey is
through the Internet through e-mails, web-sites, or social media
sites.
Sampling techniques: (Preparation for the survey)
1. Sampling techniques. A sample is a percentage of a specific
population carefully chosesn by the researcher to generally
represent the whole population. When the entire
population is relatively small, the researcher may choose to
include the whole population in the research project. This
method is called the census.
Probability sampling is a technique wherein samples are given
equitable chances or nonzero chances of being selected from
the population. The researcher needs to applly randonmization,
wherein he or she needs to assure that every sample has an
equal representation for the selection process to be unbiased.
2. Sample size. The researcher must be able to calculate first the
appropriate sample size in conducting the survey, if the sample
size is too large, he or she will waste his or her capital and time,
therefore the sample size must be the right size.
3. Questionnaire blueprint. Here are some tips on how to create
a blueprint for the questionnaire:
a. Be specific and direct with the questions and the answer
required.
b.Be flexible with the respondent’s convenient way of answering
the questionnaires (mail, tel., face to face, or online)
c. Ensure that each question is necessary and not repetitve.
d. Always put yourself in the shoes of your
respondents. The questinnaires should be simple
but should meet the objectives.
e. Make sure that the questions are arranged in a
coherent order that will lead to the answers required.
f. The questionnaire should look professional, be
divided into strategic parts, and be properly
numbered.