How to develop a Marketing Strategy Mix when preparing a business plan

The marketing strategies describe the way your marketing objectives will be achieved. 

Your strategic choices define how you will make the target market aware of your product, 

how you will motivate the customer to purchase your product, 

how you will build customer loyalty for your product, 

how you will achieve the projected return on sales

 The strategies, or marketing mix, will be the most effective combination of the classic four Ps of marketing—product, price, place, and promotion as follow

• Product/service. Make sure that your product or service is consistent with both your company philosophy and the target market needs. For example, if the company philosophy is to provide the highest quality accounting services, then those services must be the most accurate and comprehensive available to wealthy customers who require accurate and comprehensive services for their financial portfolios. 
• Price. At what price point will you offer your product or service? Will there be an established price, or will it be tiered or variable depending on consumer demand? Your pricing decisions will depend, on the one hand, on the price sensitivity of your market and the market's perceived value of your product. On the other hand, total costs and required profit margin also affect the price of the product. Pricing is difficult to predict. You will have a range of prices available determined by costs and expected contribution margins, but within that range, price adjustments can occur in response to consumer demand. 
• Place. The term place indicates the physical movement of products—how the product will be transported from the plant to the end user. What channels of distribution will be used? How will the product be merchandised? In what kind of retail store or location? 
• Promotion. Promotion involves creating consumer awareness of the product. It is the communication function of marketing, communicating with the customer about the benefits of the products. Promotion includes activities such as these: 
• • Word of mouth. This selling tool is the cheapest and most effective kind of promotion—satisfied customers spreading the word. However, it is unpredictable and difficult to control. If the word is positive, then your sales will increase, but a negative message is difficult to overcome. 
  • Sales promotion. In this case, you control the message by spreading the word to the consumer through coupons, samples, and demonstrations. A relatively low-cost program, sales promotion can reach a wide audience. 
  • Direct sales. Direct selling is more expensive than the general approach of sales promotions, but it is an important tool for developing relationships with customers while motivating them to buy. The tactics used in direct sales range from individual sales calls to mass telemarketing. 
  • Advertising. Advertising influences the consumer through paid persuasive messages delivered to the target market. This sales approach can be expensive, but the payoff is successfully building a brand image and brand loyalty. 

Depending on your resources and whom you are trying to reach, select the interrelated mix of marketing strategies appropriate for your product or service and your target market.

Your marketing plan should fit with all the other pieces of the business plan, and it should show how the specific marketing objectives will be achieved. The marketing plan should also be a dynamic plan. Use it to monitor progress and modify it as needed to reflect changing circumstances.