Analyzing Components of Your Marketing Strategy

nav: resources ... seller's guide ... selling prep ... market prep ... segments

Your Current Markets

The buyer needs to understand your marketing strategy and how it is executed.

• Who is your target market? Who buys your particular products and/or services and why?
  
  This is very important. The buyer may want to move into a new marketing segment. Your experience with this kind of strategic play is very valuable.
  
  
• The buyer would like to understand your customer base. What is the approximate number of customers that you serve and how many of them account for 25% of the revenues?
  
  
• The buyer will ask whether your customers are loyal. Do you have repeat sales from your customer base?
  
  
• Where is your customer base: local, regional, national, or global? Are there any potential customer base opportunities outside of your current marketing reach?

Products and/or Service Offering

• The buyer needs to understand your current product or service offering. A history of your product or service development will be requested.
  
  
• Questions on potential product line extensions will be raised? For example, a plumbing business buyer may want to expand their service line to include bathroom remodeling.
  The buyer would like to understand your experience (success or failures) that you have in product line extensions and development.

Price

• How do you price your product or service? Price is a relative term. But could you raise your price and maintain your market position? Or is price subject to intense competitive pressures that force you to offer discounts and other incentives?
  
  
• A follow-up question is whether you have cyclical and/or seasonal factors that impact your price and revenues?
  

Promotion

• The buyer would like to know your promotional activities:
  
  Media:
  

  	radio
  	television
  	newspapers
  	billboards
  	internet

  
  Direct Marketing:
  

  	direct mail
  	telemarketing
  	search engines

  
  Direct Sales:
  

  	sales staff
  	outside representatives
  	trade shows, conferences

  
  Public Relations:
  

  	PR campaigns
  	media alliances

  
  Other:
  

  	customer referral
  	other

  
  Which of these promotional campaigns are successful? Which of them were failures and why?
  

Place (Distribution)

• Finally, how do you distribute your products or services? List the distribution channels that you maintain:
  
  

  	Do you maintain a warehouse, order facilities unit, etc.
  	Do you maintain a retail operation in a strategic location?
  	Do you deliver your service?
  	Do you maintain an e-business fulfillment operation?
  	Other