The birth of a new company or business that wants to compete effectively requires the creation of a business plan that we can also call a marketing plan in which to include the best strategies to guarantee its success in the market.
A good business plan must include several points that are fundamental, operational marketing requires that the strategist create the plans or strategies that will then be put into practice.
Companies usually include the following elements in their plan:
- Identify the business mission Carry out external and internal analysis about the business Define general objectives based on the results of external and internal studies or analyzes Identify the ideal strategies, this is strategic marketing Put the plans into practice, that is operational marketing Review and control results.
The basic concepts must be taken into account to understand market research. I present a summary of the factors to take into account, which are:
Universe or population
The universe or population is the set of all the units from which a sample is taken for research, this universe can be finite (if all its elements can be known) or infinite (if we cannot know all its elements).
The elements of the population are individual units that constitute or form a population. To carry out market studies, companies use different methods according to their needs and these are:
- Sampling: a sample of the population is taken, it is a portion of the population that is collected for analysis purposes, the sample must be representative of said population The survey: is an investigation in which the information is obtained from a population called sample, that is, the people we take as a representative sample of the entire set of individuals obtain information from them by conducting a survey. Probing: it is a non-probabilistic procedure aimed at obtaining information on a specific topic. Sample: it is a list of all the units of the population or universe taken into account for the market studies.
The most used information collection methods are: the interview, the questionnaire, the observation, the survey and the tests.
Analysis of the internal situation and the environment
Internally, when making decisions, the company or business must consider:
- The technological innovation it possesses and the legality of the business. Operation costs. Quality of management and employees. Marketing: quality of the product or service, promotion, distribution, brands, etc. The clients. The financing capacity.
Analysis of the external situation
- The consumer: segments, motivations and unmet needs Competition: identity, actions, strategic objectives, culture, structural cost, strengths and weaknesses Analysis of the sector: attractiveness, key factors for success, size, distribution channels, trends, unmet needs, social groups and their organization, etc.
In market studies prior to the creation of a marketing or business plan, if they prefer to call a smaller plan, the use of SWOT-type studies (disadvantages, threats, strength and opportunity) is common.
