The first step in developing a product marketing plan is getting organized: have a clear understanding of what your product is and who will want to buy it. Learn about the potential target audiences as well as the competition that will offer similar products at a similar price. Decide what makes your product better, and then write all this information down clearly so you can refer to it later. Your overall product marketing plan will include these elements as well as a budget and potential outlets for distributing the message about your new product.
Once you have determined the strengths and weaknesses of your product in relation to other similar products, you should develop a product marketing plan that outlines how you will bring your strengths forward and diminish your weaknesses. This will take careful consideration and planning, and you will need to do a fair amount of research into existing markets to find out what your target audience is spending money on and how often they spend. You will tailor your product marketing plan to these trends to ensure your product matches the needs of potential customers.
Be sure to write a detailed budget for your product marketing plan, and take note of where money will be spent and how. Some of the common costs associated with product marketing include packaging; advertising in radio, television, and magazines; giveaways and promotional items; and employee salaries associated with marketing and advertising. The budget should include incidental costs as well that may come up during the process of developing the product marketing plan. Such costs may include making copies, postage and other delivery charges, web hosting and design, and more.
One of the most important considerations you will need to include in the plan is the cost of your product. This decision will be made based on manufacturing costs, the price of similar products offered by your competition, and your sales projections and long-term goals. You will need to figure out how much a customer is willing to pay for your product as well as how many products you will need to sell at that price point to break even or make a profit. Pricing your product too high may put off potential customers, while pricing it too low may undervalue your product and make it difficult to build a profit. Remember that raising your prices after the initial purchase price has been set will be more difficult than dropping the price if it is too high.
