Question

Topic: Strategy

New Strategy Plan For 30 Products

Posted by lmoussa on 1/16/2017 at 10:34 PM ET 250 Points
Hi All,

I have to write a marketing strategy plan for 30 products that the company offers all in different industries. I am finding it difficult placing all the products in one strategy document. Not sure if I do one per product, per division, per market, per industry etc.

Thanks
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RESPONSES

  • Posted by Jay Hamilton-Roth on 1/17/2017 at 7:54 AM Member
    Beside the fact that the company is offering all 30 products, what do these products have in common? Similar niche? Similar pricing? Are they related in function or service? Is there a natural progression for use? If there are already 30 products being offered, what's the purpose of writing a strategy document now? What's changed in the marketplace for the company?
  • Posted by Peter (henna gaijin) on 1/17/2017 at 11:37 AM Accepted
    Optimal from a marketing perspective would be to group or separate them into products that target specific markets or channels. This lets you focus on products as a group going to the same customers. For example, if you are a company that works with canvas, you would make a marketing plan for the car cover products separate from the plan for the patio awning products.

    The reality, though, gets more confusing. Often you have products that are not large sellers, so wouldn't justify a marketing plan on their own. And you have products that themselves would go to multiple segments, so could go with separate plans (say if the patio awning business was sold both as individual packaged products through big box retailers, but was also sold as a customized product through high end installers - you would market these differently, so could possibly be best to have separate plans). And it could get confusing within the company from people who don;t look at the different markets to be looking at all these different plans, so they may push internally for plans based on something easier for them to understand (based on plant or manufacturing line or material or the like).

    So, in general, this is no one answer that is right. You need to figure out what plan differentiation you need to do that helps you (or others who are working on this) to get the most benefit from the plan (determining what to do to grow products, implementing those changes, and reporting to higher ups).
  • Posted by mgoodman on 1/17/2017 at 12:58 PM Accepted
    The answer to your question lies in clearly identifying the customer/consumer benefit you are addressing for each market segment. Marketing plans are not for PRODUCTS. They are for consumers/customers. The products are tools for delivering the BENEFITS your target audiences want.

    Start with the most obvious customers and the benefit that means the most to the customers in that segment. Build the marketing plan for that segment, including the product or products that directly address that important need.

    Then move on to another segment and do the same for it. If a specific product fits in two different segments (as an element of your strategy for delivering the benefit), that's fine. But don't force-fit it. The marketing plan is about customer benefit segments, not about your products or technology.
  • Posted by lmoussa on 1/18/2017 at 7:34 PM Author
    The 30 products are in different target markets however there are two clearly defined industry's that they are sold in, the plan is to understand who individually are the markets per product.
    I have been able to separate out the two industries print and packaging and developing a strategy plan within the industry for each product underneath these two areas.
    It becomes difficult because the owners of the business keep on changing what the product offering is within the business too.
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