Starting an Online Business? You Need a Basic Marketing Plan...

To maximize your potential for success in any new business venture, it’s important to do the groundwork. You may be thinking of starting a new ebusiness or have already jumped into something and find it’s not taking off the way you expected.

Unfortunately many people start out with a basic concept in their mind, and a few written notes. They search the internet and hope to launch a successful business by figuring-it-out as they go along. The truth is most new businesses fail for one reason – lack of planning. Learning from successful Internet Marketers can give you a huge head start.

Taking the steps to prepare a Basic Marketing Plan will set you on a path to full awareness of the “who, what, where, when and how” of your new business.

Yes, I Understand Why – But I Don’t Have Marketing Experience

It is not necessary to be a marketing professional or even a writer. What you want to accomplish is an easy-to-follow ‘to-do list’ for your business. It’s a plan of action. It’s an understanding of the key components of what you plan to do with your business and how you will get there.


It is a summary which outlines your goals; your intended actions; and, your step-by-step plan of execution. More importantly it is a guide to measure your progress.

Here are some of the elements of a Basic Marketing Plan along with key questions you should answer when preparing your plan.

1) The Niche Product – Steps to Decision Process

Do I have a product to sell, or do I need to find a product – if so, how and where? What type of product or service will work for me? Do I need to have expertise in this area so I can become the go-to-authority? Do I have passion for what I want to sell and is that an important factor in running my business? Should I use a Niche Product Finder?

2) The Target Customer – Steps to Decision Process
Once I have an idea of my product, who is my target customer? Why does it matter that I know who my customer is? Can I identify this customer –ie: the customer with a need, want or burning desire to have this product)?

3) The Market Trends for Your Chosen Product(s)

Is my product seasonal? What is the best time to promote my product? What are the trends for this product – is it always going to have a demand or is it something that has a life-span? Where do I go to find out information on trends in the market?

4) The Method to Market – Web Site, Blog etc

How will I go to market with my product? The internet – a Website – a Blog, Web 2.0. Do I need training to fully understand the ebusiness marketplace? What methods work best for my product? Are there other Internet Marketers that I can learn from?

5) The Competition
Who is my competition and what do I need to know about them? How am I different than my competitors? How can I be better than my competitors? What actions can I take to keep my customers coming to me instead of my competition?

6) The Timing to Market
Is there a best time to launch my business based on the seasonality of my product offering? Why is that important to me? What lead time do I need to prepare my product launch to ensure I keep on a target time line?

7) The Time Commitment
What amount of time am I prepared to put into my business? Have I considered all my current commitments – job, family, current hobbies? What can I change to give my business more time? If I can’t change anything do I have any spare time to put into this business given that it will be a slower start?

8) The Price Point and Promotion Factors

What are my start-up costs? What will my product cost me – wholesale? What am I planning to resell this product for? Should I have sales or discounts and what am I prepared to reduce my selling price to? What are my competitors pricing for this same product and how do I compare? When do I expect to make a profit? What do I hope to earn in 3 month, 6 months etc?

9) The Product Supplier(s) – Finding a Good One.

Who will my product supplier be? How do I find them? What is their reputation? What are their policies for returns, shipping etc? Do they service international buyers? How will their service affect my customer satisfaction rating?

10) The Financial Investment
Do I plan to run my business part-time and do I have funds to start up this business? Do I plan to run my business full-time and do I have sufficient funds to start up this business as well as sustain my family without a job? How long can I work at my business before needing to make a profit? Do I have an understanding of the hidden costs of a new business? What if it takes much longer to make a profit – how long can I go before money becomes a problem? What if I fail – can I afford to lose my investment?

11) The Potential Revenue
Can I make some estimation of what I will make in a 3-month, 6-month, and 1 year timeframe? What is the value of measuring my potential success? What do I plan to do if my business takes off - will I expand to other products? What are my revenue goals for these time periods?

12) The Risk and Your Risk Tolerance
Do I fully understand all the risks – both financial and personal? Am I prepared to handle the ongoing commitments – both financial and personal and how will I make this work?

13) The Steps to Launch
Once I have my product idea, do I have a step-by-step launch plan? How do I go about it?

14) The Market Forecast

Will my product sell in the current economic climate? Is this a need-to-have product that will always have buyers?

15) The Steps Required to Build and Develop the Business

Do I have short and long term goals for my business? How do I plan to measure my success based on these goals? Do I have a plan for expansion?

Following a Marketing Plan and continuing to update your plan as the business is built, will provide a clear understanding of the areas that are working and what needs to be fixed.

Without something written down, there is no record which you can refer back to. This is critical as time goes by and you need to remember the steps you have taken to get to where you are.

Every business has successes and set-backs. Your working version of a Marketing Plan will provide that all-important guide to your ebusiness success.