AN INTRODUCTION TO

MARKETING BASICS

SMALL BUSINESS INFORMATION SERIES

July 2011 Edition

Housing Industry Association

July 2011 Edition

I HIA

members:
Have direct access to practical advice and professional assistance including the latest information on technical, regulatory and business matters; Receive the latest market information on consumer trends, new products and materials; and Benefit from increased business opportunities through skills development, access to a wide industry network and being actively promoted Australia-wide as being the best in the business by their industry association.

For further information on the benefits of HIA membership or how you can join HIA, go to hia.com.au or call HIA on 1300 650 620.
The content of this guide as provided by Housing Industry Association Limited (HIA) is practical information of a general nature only for those who are operating, or who have decided to commence, a small business. The information provided is neither financial nor investment advice, and participants should make their own judgment on the application of this information to their own personal circumstances, if necessary, after obtaining accountancy or other professional advice. HIA will not be liable for any loss or damage arising from the actions of any individual based on or relying on any of the information provided in this guide.

AN INTRODUCTION TO MARKETING BASICS

How this guide can help you run your building business
This guide is written for those members who are new to marketing. It introduces you to the concept of marketing, providing a general overview of what is involved. It contains 3 sections, being: What is marketing and why it is important? How do I market my product? Where do I start? As you can imagine, there is much more to marketing than is explained in this guide.
This is why HIA has decided to produce a marketing mini-series of guides, the titles of which relate directly to the contents of this introductory guide.

AN INTRODUCTION TO

MARKETING ON A SHOESTRING

MARKETING STRATEGIES
AN INTRODUCTION TO

AN INTRODUCTION TO

BRANDING YOUR BUSINESS

SMALL BUSINESS INFORMATION SERIES

SMALL BUSINESS INFORMATION SERIES

SMALL BUSINESS INFORMATION SERIES

August 2010 Edition

Housing Industry Association

>

September 2010 Edition

Housing Industry Association

>

January 2011 Edition

Housing Industry Association

>

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Housing Industry Association Limited ABN 99 004 631 752

AN INTRODUCTION TO MARKETING BASICS [JULY 2011]

Previous marketing titles from this introductory series include:

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What is it?

What is marketing and why is it important?

Marketing refers to your businesss ability to communicate with its potential customers in such a way so as to make them: > aware of your business and its product; and > want to buy your businesss product (instead of someone elses product).

The success of a businesss marketing activities will depend upon its ability to communicate well with its customers (both potential and actual). Chances are, your business wont be the only one offering the same type of product for sale. There will be other businesses2 offering the same type of product for sale to the same pool of potential customers.

Your business Competitor A Competitor B

Potential Customers

AN INTRODUCTION TO MARKETING BASICS [JULY 2011]

If you and your competitors are all offering the same type of product, what will make a potential customer choose to buy the product from your business instead of from one of your competitors? The answer to this question is successful marketing.

1 Your potential customers are described as being your businesss market. Thats how we get the term marketing. 2 These other businesses are described as being your businesss competition.

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How HIA can help

How do I market my product?

To market a product successfully, you need to: > plan it; > do it; and > review it. Larger businesses prefer to engage a marketing consultant or even have an entire marketing team on staff, but not every business is in a position to do that. So, to help you along the way, we are producing a marketing mini-series of guides for each of these stages, starting with the Plan It mini-series. A diagram showing how these guides relate to the contents of this part of the guide is shown on page 7.

Plan It

The planning phase consists of 3 parts, being: > Part 1 Understanding your Business Environment. > Part 2 Working out whats Best for your Business. > Part 3 Creating a Marketing Strategy.

Part 1 Understanding your Business Environment

To fully understand your business environment, you need to look at your: > Internal business environment; and > External business environment Your internal business environment To understand your internal business environment, you will need to know about the 4 Ps of marketing, which are: > Product what your business will offer (or is offering) to sell to the market. > Price how much it will charge for that product. > Placement how it will get its product out to the market. > Promotion how it will raise awareness in the marketplace of its product.

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AN INTRODUCTION TO MARKETING BASICS [JULY 2011]

Plan It

Your external business environment To understand your external business environment, you will need to know about: > Customer analysis; > Competitor analysis; > Target market analysis; and > PESTLE analysis, where PESTLE stands for Political, Economic, Socio-cultural, Technological, Legal and Environmental factors.

Part 2 Working out whats Best for your Business

This refers to conducting a SWOT analysis, where SWOT stands for: > Strengths. > Weaknesses. > Opportunities. > Threats. You would have already conducted a partial SWOT analysis from your PESTLE analysis.

Part 3 Creating a Marketing Strategy

Now you understand your business environment and how it relates to and affects your business, you will need to work out which marketing strategy is best for your business. These guides will focus on those generic strategies that are based on Porters Five Forces (building on content of previous guides) being:
AN INTRODUCTION TO MARKETING BASICS [JULY 2011]

> Cost leadership where your product is similar to those being produced by your competitors, but is being sold at a lower price (to get a larger market share); > Differentiation where your product is different from those being produced by your competitors, and your marketing efforts revolve around these differences; or > Focus where you have a very narrow target market and you adapt either of the above strategies to best suit that market.

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Housing Industry Association Limited ABN 99 004 631 752

Plan It

A diagram showing how the Plan It mini-series of guides relate to this part of the guide, is shown below.

Part 1 Understanding your Business Environment

Internal Business Environment

The 4 Ps of Marketing

Customer Analysis External Business Environment The Plan It mini-series Part 2 Working out whats Best for your Business SWOT Analysis Competitor Analysis Target Market Analysis PESTLE Analysis

Part 3 Choosing a Marketing Strategy

Porters 5 Forces

Do It

This mini-series of guides will focus on how to promote your product (promotion being one of the 4 Ps). It will build upon the content of the The 4 Ps of marketing promotion mini-guide in the Plan It mini-series, looking at how promotional content and media (such as advertising, direct marketing and networking) is being used by businesses operating in the residential building industry.

Review It

Titles will cover subjects such as: > How to measure your marketing efforts > How to work out your marketing ROI (Return on Investment).

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AN INTRODUCTION TO MARKETING BASICS [JULY 2011]

This mini-series of guides will assume that youve already created a marketing strategy and put your plan into action and will focus on showing you how you can check whether or not your marketing goals and objectives are being met.

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Youre not alone

Where do I start?

Weve outlined the process thats involved in marketing and understandably, you may be feeling a bit overwhelmed. However, there is no need to be, as HIA has got you covered. Weve given you an indication of which publications to look out for to help you with your marketing efforts. But, thats not all.

Weve put together a simple list of various things for you to think about (in the form of a questionnaire) to help you prepare for your marketing journey. That list is contained in Appendix A and starts on the next page.

Notes:

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AN INTRODUCTION TO MARKETING BASICS [JULY 2011]

APPENDIX A
Worksheet of questions

Understand your market

> Who is your market?

> What appeals to them?

> What do they want?

> What do they need?

> What price are they willing to pay?

> How does their product compare with yours?

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AN INTRODUCTION TO MARKETING BASICS [JULY 2011]

> Who is your competition?

APPENDIX A
Worksheet of questions

Know your business

> If your business were a person, how would you describe him or her? (write a list of qualities) > > > > > > > > > > Which of these are your businesss best qualities? > > > > Which of these are your businesss worst qualities? > > > > Which of these qualities would your potential customers find the most appealing (and why)?

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AN INTRODUCTION TO MARKETING BASICS [JULY 2011]

APPENDIX A
Worksheet of questions

Know your product

> Describe your product

> Describe what you think are its best features

> Describe what your potential clients would think are the best features (and why)

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AN INTRODUCTION TO MARKETING BASICS [JULY 2011]

> Why would a potential customer buy your product instead of someone elses?

SMALL BUSINESS INFORMATION SERIES: AN INTRODUCTION TO MARKETING BASICS

For more information, you can contact HIA by phone: 1300 650 620 or by email: enquiries@hia.com.au