by Steve Choate for the Buyer Presentation blog series

One important element of your buyer presentation is your business-to-consumer (B2C) marketing plan. Your demonstration of a well-thought-out, strategic plan to build demand and draw in customers will let buyers know that you have done your research and are dedicating resources to drive consumers into their stores.

As you begin to define this portion of your marketing plan, make sure you understand your product inside and out. Be able to answer these questions:

• Why is your product special?
• What makes your product different from competing products?
• What are the similarities between your products and competing products?
• Do you have more products in the line, and if so, why?

Once you’ve reinforced your product knowledge and competitive intelligence, you need to tailor your consumer marketing programs so they resonate with your target audience. First, you must define your target audiences and their preferences, including how they gather information. Each target audience may require a separate marketing approach. If your target audience crosses generations, for instance, each group may seek information in different ways. Your tactics for reaching Baby Boomers will vary from how you approach Millennials and Gen-Xers. Each group has their own “language” and you need to build your marketing campaigns to reach these different “ears.”

In defining your target audience don’t forget to make the distinction of who you are selling to and who is the final user of your product if they are not one in the same. Many items are purchased by someone other than the final user. Some examples would be products a caregiver might buy, such as incontinence supplies, or oral care products purchased by parents to be used by the whole family, or baby care items.

When you are selling to someone other than or in addition to the user, you need to understand what attributes of your product will attract them and the final user to buy your product. You’ll also need to be clear about how the user will actually consume your product so you can factor all of this into your messaging.

Now, onto messaging. After you’ve determined what your marketing budget will be for your brand, rank the priority of your target audiences in terms of where you expect the biggest revenue opportunities. Establish what your ROI will be for each group and set your priorities accordingly. Most likely, you cannot reach all of your target groups at the same time, so you’ll need to allocate funds accordingly.

In part two of this post I will discuss developing and measuring your marketing campaign.