The marketing section of a business plan should identify prospective customers, describe the size of the relevant market, and explain how the business will enter that market. It should also describe advantages over competitors in areas like performance, quality, price, promotion, reliability, reputation, and distribution. The marketing section generally consists of describing the market, identifying the target customer profile in terms of demographics, geography, and psychographics, discussing major competitors, and outlining the marketing plan's pricing, distribution, and advertising/promotion strategies.

1. MARKETING
The marketing section should:
• Identify your prospective customers
• Describe the size of the market for your product or
service.
• Explain how you plan to enter the market.
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2. Marketing
• Describe advantages over the competition in areas such as:
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Performance
Quality
Price
Promotion
Reliability
Public image or reputation
Distribution
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3. What is the Marketing Section?
• The purpose of the marketing section of the business
plan is to convince readers that your business or planned
venture provides a great opportunity.
• The Marketing Section generally consists of four main
components:
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The Market Description
The Customer Profile
The Competition
The Marketing Plan

4. Market Description
• The Market Description describes your market in terms of:
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Size
Value
History
Recent growth trends
Anticipated future growth.
• If there are any major barriers or obstacles that will effect your
entry in to the industry, they too should be discussed

5. Market Description
• Industry information can be found in:
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Trade Publications
Business Magazines
Marketing Firms
Chamber of Commerce
Small Business Associations
Internet
Suppliers

6. Customer Profile
• The second component of the marketing section
outlines your Customer Profile.
• Knowing the characteristics, attributes, behaviors,
and traits of your customers is extremely important
to the success of your business.
• Experts suggest that three segmentation variables
may be used:
• Demographics
• Geographics
• Psychographics

7. Customer Profile – Geographic
Segmentation
• Used to identify specific regions, city sizes, and densities.
• Region:
• Eastern US, Central US, Western US, Canadian Prairies, Ohio, Utah,
Ontario, etc..
• City Size:
• Under 1000, 1000-2999, 3000-4999, 5000-9999, 10000-14999, 1500024999, 25000-49999, 50,000-99 999, 100,000-199,999, 200,000299,999, 300,000-399,999, 400,000-499,999, over 500,000
• Density :
• Urban, suburban, rural

8. Customer Profile – Demographics
• Demographic Segmentation divides the market into groups based
upon variables such as:
• Family Size: •
1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7+.
• Family Structure: •
Young & single with no kids, young & married with no kids; young & married
with youngest child under 5; young & married with youngest child 5 or over;
older & married with children; older & married with no children; divorced,
single; etc
• Income: •
Under $10,000, 10,000-14 ,999, 15 000-24 999, 35 000-49 999, 50 000 and
over. What Income level will most of your customers fall into? Is income a
major issue?

9. Customer Profile – Demographics
• Occupation: • Professional managers and officials, business owners;
clerical workers, craftspeople, farmers, homemakers,
unemployed, retired, students.
• Education:
• Pre-school, grade-school; high school not completed;
graduated high school; some university; graduated
university, masters degree, PHD.

10. Customer Profile Psychographic
Segmentation
• Can be divided into three different classifications
• Social Class:
• Lower lowers, upper lowers, lower middles, lower uppers, upper
uppers.
• Life style:
• Active achiever, pleasure seeker, values, beliefs, etc.
• Personality:
• Introvert, extrovert, highly determined, authoritarian, sociable,
motivated, etc

11. The Competition
• It is imperative for you to identify and discuss each
major player currently operating within the industry
• Who are they?
• Where are they?
• What are their prices?
• How are your products/services different?

12. Marketing Plan
• The Marketing Plan consists of three main areas;
• Pricing Strategy
• What price will you charge for the products you plan to sell?
• How did you arrive at these prices?
• Are your prices higher or lower than competitor prices and
why?
• Will customers receive discounts for frequent purchases?
• Will you offer coupons?

13. The Marketing Plan
• Distribution Strategy
• How will you distribute your product?
• Advertising & Promotions
• Which form(s) of promotions will you use
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Newspapers
Tv
Radio
Internet?
• How often, and how much will each promotion/advertisement cost?
• What will your advertisements say?