In simple terms, a strategy plan is a type of a marketing plan which is formulated by the company or the organization to fulfill some business objectives. Some of the key objectives of a strategy plan are to identify and reach the target audience, decrease the cost of production, earn good profits and also sustain the market in the long run. In this age of competition, almost all companies and business organizations are putting their emphasis on strategy planning to stand above the rest.

According to business experts, a marketing or business plan without proper strategy planning is of no use as it does not show the way in which a company needs to direct and grow its business. The main factor on which a marketing strategy should be based is the marketing mix; that is price, place, product and promotion. While making a strategy plan, a company should try to look into these aspects with great importance to have a solid business objective. In addition, a marketing strategy plan should look into some other related factors such as the change in the customers’ tastes and preferences, the pattern of the market, the overall economic situation of the country and so on.

By formulating a proper marketing strategy plan, a company can not only earn profits but it will also be able to reduce the cost of production significantly. Once the revenue becomes more than the expenditure, it will be able to diversify its business plans and objectives which will help to sustain the market in the long run.

Some of the main segments of a marketing plan are situational analysis of the success factors and the target market, technology consideration and its usage, identifying the problems and the opportunities, formulating a proper pricing strategy and its distribution, and so on. The strategy plan should also put importance on the promotional factors required to market a product or a service.

Through a proper market strategy plan, companies can strengthen their position and enjoy long term profits and market growth.

The starting point has to always be that communication ought to be maximized at every available opportunity. In this article we would look at some of the various information channels that are being used in the modern business context.

The various forms of communication can include advertising campaigns, public relations initiatives, direct mail and communication services, forums such as trade shows, additional benefits incurred after sales, branding prestige services and technical support services. These are subject to industry quality assessments and certification is sometimes available depending on the level of commitment to the communication strategy.

The business statement is a method through which the company can direct and explain its general philosophy and the vision it hopes for the business marketing relationship. This statement could also include social responsibility clauses such as care of the environment which could attract ethical buyers. From this, the organization will then develop a coherent message which talks about values and principles in a way that is meaningful to its intended customers.

Company that has a strong value system and is able to communicate it to its customers will have a competitive advantage over other firms because customers will be in a better position to develop a relationship with the brand. There is a need to be honest here. If the brand is communicating values that it is obviously not representing, then customers will resent the hypocrisy and may turn away.

This then leads to the marketing campaign through which the organization will be able to send its resources and expertise to those areas of the market where it expects to get the best returns on investments. This is the implementation stage of the business marketing process and is the culmination of all the previous research and the branding ideas that have been placed in the mission statement.

Where an agency is involved the organization might decide to prepare a briefing document that outlines the core values and principles underlying the operations of the company. You cannot sell a product that you do not understand and therefore unless the agency fully understands the values of the marketer, they will not make an effective representative at sales meetings.

The final challenge is to establish a system whereby you are able to review the success of the marketing campaign based on the agreed metrics depending on the nature of the business. It is also advisable to check the process development for future reference and organizational learning. At the conclusion of the business marketing process you will be in a position to decide whether to move on to consumer marketing strategies or to concentrate on your relationship with the retailer.

In simple terms, word of mouth marketing is based on the exchange of information from one person to another. It is a form of oral communication process through which the seller tries to build customer satisfaction and trust through verbal communication. Today, apart from face to face communication, word of mouth marketing also includes telephone conversation, email communication and text messaging information.

According to experts, if done properly, word of mouth marketing can be very effective in gaining the confidence of the customer in a short time. However, for that, the seller needs to have that marketing sense and also possess the quality to gain the trust of the customer.

Keys to word of mouth marketing
There are certain factors which play a major role in the process of word of mouth marketing. Some of the keys aspects about word of mouth marketing are:
Creating trust : One of the major objectives of word of mouth marketing is to create trust in the mind of the customer about the product or service that is being promoted. The customer should be able to identify with the product and think that it is really of his or her use. Only then, the word of mouth marketing process will be successful.

Transparency : Transparency is an important aspect of word of mouth marketing. While promoting your good or service, you should clearly and honestly define your business motive and the customer benefits and services. This will help create that trustworthiness.

Incentive and proposals : If the word of mouth tool consists of some type of incentives, proposals or referral schemes, the company should clearly lay down the terms and conditions of such incentives to the customers to avoid any type of confusions at a later stage.

Involving customers : As the word of mouth process usually is a form of oral and verbal communication, one should always try to involve customers too. The company can ask for valuable advice from the customers about their tastes and preferences, how to improve the quality and so on.

Identifying promotional channels : Word of mouth marketing does not work well in all places. As such, you need to properly identify the places where you can get a good response. Some of the popular places are shopping malls, market places and so on.

Word of Mouth marketing, if done in a planned, methodical and innovative manner, can really become a great promotional tool for your business.

What are the advantages ?
Though human needs are unlimited, resources are limited. It is significant for the marketers to employ the resources in an efficient way without misuse as well as to attain the objective of the organization. It is proved that green marketing is unavoidable. The customers will easily be able to see the ‘greenness’ of that particular product or service. It is growing rapidly. The interest of the consumers is also growing all over the world to save the environment.

What are the marketing mix of Green Marketing ?

• Product : The products should be made in such a way that it can help the customers who like environment-friendly products. It can be made from recycled materials or from used things.
• Price : You have to careful about green pricing.
• Place : Green place is all about handling logistics to bring down on transportation emissions.
• Promotion : It includes several things such as advertising, marketing objects, signage, white papers, web sites, videos and presentations.

What are the elements required for Green Marketing ?
3 basic elements are required for a thriving green marketing campaign

• Credibility : It is the key element in the field of marketing. You have to acquire credibility from your target audience. You don’t have to do away with all the environmentally unfriendly practices; you should unveil them sooner or later. While trying to create your credibility, you should look for a convincing third-party certification. It can come from private or non-governmental organizations.
• Address a requirement : This is the key objective of any business. Your product or provided services should tell about its necessity. Green products and services do not obtain a pass as they have environment-friendly features. Most of the customers are reluctant to pay more for these types of products or services. If you are going to include any green feature into an existing product, you have to be confident of your claims. If you are making a new green products or services, first make out the need and then address it in an environment-friendly way.
• Converse using eco-friendly channels : You have to be inventive while you are going to promote your product or service. Look into new channels like solar power billboards or street advertising.

Green marketing covers more than the marketing claims of an organization. So what are you waiting for ? Go green with green marketing.

After you identify the target audience, you need to determine the marketing ideas and tools to promote the product or service among them. Here are some popular low cost marketing plans which you can use to get wonderful reach even at affordable rates. More and more companies and business houses are opting for these strategies to add to their promotional methods.

Newspapers and press releases – Using newspapers to promote and advertise your product or service is one of the best marketing tools. The wide reach of the newspapers will provide a big boost to your marketing strategies. It also does not cost much to advertise in the print media. You can promote your business in the form of press releases, promotional campaigns or advertorials and send them to a number of newspapers, magazines, brochures and so on. Alternatively, you can even send the press releases to other communication and media channels such as radio and television.

Taking part in trade shows – Trade shows can be a marketing platform to promote your goods and services. You can easily rent a stall or space in some trade show and interact with prospective customers. While interacting, it is advisable that you provide them promotional items such as brochures, journals and so on.

Using the internet – It is perhaps one of the best ways of promoting your business. The internet today has made the world a small place and you can interact with people located thousands of miles away with just a click of a mouse. You can use various search engines like the Google Adsense program to advertise your product or service and reach likely customers located far away. You can as well make a website of your business and showcase your products and services to the target audience.

In addition, there are some other marketing ideas that you can use to promote your business without spending much. Some of these are direct mail, yellow pages advertisements, and incentive schemes and so on.

Always remember that if you use these low cost marketing ideas properly, they can really help you to bag the best benefits and profits and also create a sense of goodwill among customers.