Following industry trends, and learning how to use them when creating a marketing plan

When it comes to creating a marketing plan one thing that you are going to need to keep in mind is your industry's trends. Many people don't think this is important because they tend to think that marketing is all about getting your name out to the public, as well as getting your product or service out to the public. But following your industry's trends is very important in any type of business because it allows you to keep up with your competition and sometimes it even allows you to stay ahead of your competition. Following your industry's trends is going to allow you to create a unique marketing plan because you will be able to cater to what is currently going on in your industry rather than a generic plan. The trick to using industry trends in your marketing plan is to learn how to create a marketing plan and then to learn about your industry's trends.

Here are the steps you are going to need to follow to create a marketing plan.

Step one:
The first step to creating an original marketing plan is to clearly define the company's goals. Having goals that are concrete, which means they are actually attainable, is the main part of developing your marketing plan because it is going to tell you exactly what you are trying to accomplish. If you don't know what you want to accomplish then you are not going to know what steps are needed for a plan. Defining your company's goals helps to steer the development of all marketing activities, including but not limited to press related activities, advertising campaigns, and promotions. An example of a marketing goal would be to increase the company's market share by 2% during a twelve month period. This tells you clearly what you want to do and how long you have to accomplish the goal.

Step two:
The second step of creating a market plan is to conduct market research. Market research can be done by using the internet, library, focus groups, surveys, research from an established market research company, or other ways. When conducting market research you are going to want to gather information about the target market (existing size and anticipated growth rate, demand of the product or service, etc.), as well as getting information about the potential customers. Your research should also include the history of the market and the various trends that are within the market. If your company is launching a new product you might not be able to obtain any historical data, but you can see what historical data is available from similar industries. And don't forget when doing market research you are going to want to include a thorough analysis of the competition.

Step three:
After completing the first two steps you are ready to move onto the third step which involves choosing marketing activities. Choosing the marketing activities is the last step because you have to have your goals in mind and understand the market so that you can choose the activities that will allow you to achieve your goals. When choosing your marketing activities you are going to need to consult your marketing budget to see what you have to spend on your activities, price can play a big factor in determining what marketing activities you are going to use. The more traditional types of marketing activities are television, radio, newspaper, and magazine advertisements, while your less conventional activities include online banner bars and buttons, newsletters, press releases, and trade show exhibits. The most important thing you will have to consider when choosing your activities is to make sure that the ads you create reflect the specific marketing goals and objectives.

Step four:
Many companies also include in their marketing plan an explanation of how the effectiveness of marketing activities will be measured. This is included so that companies can figure out which ads are working and which ones might need to be readdressed to gain more of a response.