Do you want to start a marketing consulting company and need to write a plan? If YES, here is a sample marketing consulting business plan template & feasibility report.
If you are marketing inclined and you are looking for a consulting business to start, then one of your options is to start a marketing consulting business. The fact that everyone in business has a product or services to sell makes this line of business viable.
The truth is that this industry is highly profitable because every business would want to increase sales. Your level of profitability is dependent on your ability to come up with workable solutions to marketing challenges for various businesses.
Below is a sample marketing consulting company business plan template that can help you to write your own with little or no difficulty.
A Sample Marketing Consulting Business Plan Template
1. Industry Overview
Firms in the Marketing Consultants industry provide operating advice and assistance to businesses and other organizations on marketing issues, such as developing marketing objectives and policies, sales forecasting, new product development and pricing, licensing and franchise planning and strategies.
Some of the niche areas in this industry that a marketing consulting firm may specialize on are marketing strategy and market development consulting services, sales management, development consulting services, strategic management consulting services and other marketing management consulting and implementation services.
If you keep a close watch of happening in the industry, you will notice that the industry has experienced slow growth over the past five years. As corporate profit began to rise, businesses emerged from their cost-conscious slump and began to develop new products and increase investment.
This alone, however, was not enough to jolt the industry back into growth. Instead, gains in research and development (R&D) expenditure prompted renewed industry growth.
Major advertising agencies have also increasingly acquired market consulting companies to pursue value-added services in this complementary industry. Furthermore, the industry has observed the rise of do-it-yourself market research through increased non- employer activity.
Statistics has it that in the united states of America, the industry is worth $55 billion, with an estimated growth rate of 4.5 percent between 2014 and 2019.
There are about 218,657 registered and licensed market consulting firms in the United States and they are responsible for directly employing about 412,039 people. It is important to point at that in this industry, no firm can boast of having a lion share of the available market in the United States.
A recent report published by IBISWorld shows that over the five years to 2019, the industry has benefited from rising corporate profitability and increasing advertising expenditure, which have resulted in higher demand for advisory services.
With an improving economy, clients are spending more on advertising, especially through new digital channels. As a result, many companies have sought the expertise of marketing consultants to help them navigate the world of online advertising and sales.
Strong demand has translated into steady industry revenue growth at an annualized rate of 4.4 percent to $55.3 billion. Starting a marketing consulting firm is one good business to start if you have the expertise and capacity to reach out to your target market and you know how to produce results for your clients.
2. Executive Summary
J P Logan® Marketing Consulting Firm, LLP is a licensed marketing consulting firm that will be located in the heart of Nassau – Suffolk, New York. We have been able to sign a long term lease contract for a standard corner-piece facility that is highly suitable for the kind of business we want to operate.
J P Logan® Marketing Consulting Firm, LLP is in marketing consultants industry to provide operating advice and assistance to businesses and other organizations on marketing issues.
We are geared towards providing our clients with cost savings, accelerated marketing development timelines and result oriented service offerings. We are well trained and equipped to service the market segments that require the services we will be offering.
At J P Logan® Marketing Consulting Firm, LLP, our clients’ overall best interest would always come first, and everything we do will be guided by our values and professional ethics. We will ensure that we hire professional and certified marketing consultants and researchers with various skills set who are passionate in helping our clients achieve their business goals within record time.
J P Logan® Marketing Consulting Firm, LLP will at all times demonstrate her commitment to sustainability, both individually and as a marketing consulting firm, by actively participating in our communities and integrating sustainable business practices wherever possible.
We will ensure that we hold ourselves accountable to the highest standards by meeting our clients’ needs precisely and completely.
J P Logan® Marketing Consulting Firm, LLP is owned and managed by Jacob Prince Logan. Prince Logan is going to be the Chief Consultant of the organization. He is a qualified (BSc, MSc and MBA) and certified marketing consultant with over 25 years’ experience working for some of the leading brands in marketing consultant industry in the United States of America.
His skills revolve around Research, Analysis, Marketing Strategy, Customer Service, Client Relationships, Familiarity With Media Channels, Writing, Public Speaking, Interpersonal Communication, Attention to Detail, Organization, Planning, Self-Starter, Multi-Tasking, Innovative, Creative, Time Management, Financial Skills, Leadership, and People Management.
3. Our Products and Services
J P Logan® Marketing Consulting Firm, LLP is in the marketing consulting business to offer varieties of services. Our intention of starting our firm is to become one of the leading brands in the industry and to also make profits and we will do all that is permitted by the law in the US to achieve our aim and business goal.
These are the marketing consulting services that J P Logan® Marketing Consulting Firm, LLP will be offering;
- Marketing strategy and market development consulting services
- Sales management and development consulting services
- Strategic management consulting services
- Customer services management consulting services
- Marketing research and public opinion polling services
- Other marketing management consulting and implementation services
4. Our Mission and Vision Statement
- Our vision is to establish a standard marketing consulting firm whose services and brand will not only be accepted in the United States of America, but also in other parts of the world.
- Our mission is to provide professional and highly creative, result – oriented marketing consulting services and other related services that will assist businesses in promoting their brands all over the globe. We want to build a marketing consulting firm that can favorably compete with other leading brands in the industry.
Our Business Structure
J P Logan® Marketing Consulting Firm, LLP is will be built on a solid foundation. From the outset, we have decided to recruit only qualified professionals to various job positions in our organization. We hope to leverage on their expertise to build our marketing consulting business to be well accepted in Nassau – Suffolk – New York and the whole of the United States.
When hiring, we will look out for applicants that are not just qualified and experienced, but honest, customer centric and are ready to help us build a prosperous business that will benefit all our stakeholders.
As a matter of fact, profit-sharing arrangement will be made available to all our management staff and it will be based on their performance for a period of five years or more. In view of the above, we have decided to hire qualified and competent hands to occupy the following positions;
- Chief Consultant/Chief Executive Officer
- Marketing Consultant
- Office Administrator
- Accountant
- Marketing Executives
- Client Service Executive
5. Job Roles and Responsibilities
Chief Researcher/Chief Executive Officer:
- Increases management’s effectiveness by recruiting, selecting, orienting, training, coaching, counseling, and disciplining managers; communicating values, strategies, and objectives; assigning accountabilities; planning, monitoring, and appraising job results
- Creating, communicating, and implementing the organization’s vision, mission, and overall direction – i.e. leading the development and implementation of the overall organization’s strategy.
- Responsible for fixing prices and signing business deals
- Responsible for providing direction for the business
- Responsible for signing checks and documents on behalf of the company
- Evaluates the success of the organization
Marketing Consultant
- Responsible for providing marketing expertise to clients
- Researches industries, markets, demographics, trends, sales results, and other data related to the client’s products or services
- Analyses details of competitor offerings, including specifications, market share, pricing, and promotional materials
- Creates detailed reports with research findings and analysis to inform marketing strategies
- Provides written documents and verbal presentations for each client to guide the creation of new marketing plans and strategies
- Recommends specific marketing approaches and spending budgets to achieve the client’s desired sales goals
- Assists marketing managers and directors in coming up with focused branding, positioning, and marketing tools for each product or service
- Works within the client’s budget to produce effective promotional materials and advertising opportunities
- Tracks sales and feedback and adjusts marketing strategies as necessary
- Establishes marketing tracking methods to help each client evaluate performance overtime
Office Administrator
- Responsible for overseeing the smooth running of HR and administrative tasks for the organization
- Regularly hold meetings with key stakeholders to review the effectiveness of the organizations’ Policies, Procedures and Processes
- Maintains office supplies by checking stocks; placing and expediting orders; evaluating new products.
- Ensures operation of equipment by completing preventive maintenance requirements; calling for repairs.
- Defining job positions for recruitment and managing interviewing process
- Carrying out induction for new team members
- Responsible for training, evaluation and assessment of employees
- Responsible for arranging travel, meetings and appointments
- Oversee the smooth running of the daily activities for the organization.
Marketing Executive
- Identify, prioritize, and reach out to new clients, and business opportunities et al
- Identifies development opportunities; follows up on development leads and contacts
- Writing winning proposal documents, negotiate fees and rates in line with organizations’ policy
- Responsible for handling business research, market surveys and feasibility studies for clients
- Responsible for supervising implementation, advocate for the customer’s needs, and communicate with clients
- Document all customer contact and information
- Represent the organization in strategic meetings
- Help increase sales and growth for the organization
Accountant
- Responsible for preparing financial reports, budgets, and financial statements for the organization
- Provides managements with financial analyses, development budgets, and accounting report
- Responsible for financial forecasting and risks analysis.
- Performs cash management, general ledger accounting, and financial reporting for one or more properties.
- Responsible for developing and managing financial systems and policies
- Responsible for administering payrolls
- Ensuring compliance with taxation legislation
- Handles all financial transactions for the organization
- Serves as internal auditor for the organization.
Client Service Executive
- Welcomes clients and visitors by greeting them in person or on the telephone; answering or directing inquiries.
- Ensures that all contacts with clients (e-mail, walk-In center, SMS or phone) provides the client with a personalized customer service experience of the highest level
- Through interaction with clients on the phone, uses every opportunity to build client’s interest in the company’s products and services
- Manages administrative duties assigned by the principal partners in an effective and timely manner
- Consistently stays abreast of any new information on the organizations’ products, promotional campaigns etc. to ensure accurate and helpful information is supplied to clients when they make enquiries
- Receives parcels/documents for the organization.
6. SWOT Analysis
J P Logan® Marketing Consulting Firm, LLP is set to become one of the leading marketing consulting companies in Nassau – Suffolk, New York. We want our marketing consulting firm to be the number one choice of all organizations. We know that if we are going to achieve the goals that we have set for our business, we must ensure that we build our business on a solid foundation.
Even though our Chief Consulting (owner) has a robust experience in marketing consulting industry, we still went ahead to hire the services of business consultants that are specialized in setting up new businesses to help our organization conduct detailed SWOT analysis and to also provide professional support in helping us structure our business to become a leader in the marketing consultants industry.
This is the summary of the SWOT analysis that was conducted for J P Logan® Marketing Consulting Firm, LLP;
- Strength:
Our core strength lies in our ability to quickly adopt new technology, access to skilled and flexible workforce and provision of relevant results. Also, we have a team that are considered experts in the industry, a team with excellent qualifications and experience in the market research industry.
Aside from the synergy that exists in our carefully selected team members and our strong online presence, J P Logan® Marketing Consulting Firm, LLP is well positioned in a community with the right demography and we know we will attract loads of clients from the first day we open our doors for business.
- Weakness:
As a new market consulting company in Nassau – Suffolk – New York, it might take some time for our organization to break into the market and gain acceptance especially from top profile clients in the industry; that is perhaps our major weakness.
- Opportunities:
Trends in total mainstream media advertising, particularly in radio, TV, newspapers and magazines, have a direct effect on this industry. As companies increase their investment in advertising, they are more likely to increase their use of marketing consultants.
Total advertising expenditure is expected to rise in 2019, representing a potential opportunity for the industry. Strong growth in advertising expenditure will boost the industry. The opportunities that are available to market research companies are unlimited considering the fact that the marketing consultants industry is a dynamic industry.
Every organization that has products and services to sell would always look for marketing strategies that will help them reach out to their target market, hence the need for the services of marketing consulting companies.
- Threat:
The business sentiment index acts as a gauge for the overall level of confidence businesses across the economy have in macroeconomic conditions. As the index increases, businesses’ outlook on the economy is seen as improving, which leads them to invest in marketing consultants.
In 2019, the business sentiment index is expected to slightly decrease, posing a threat to the industry. Another threat that may likely confront us is the arrival of a marketing consulting firm in same location where our target market exists and who may want to adopt same Business model like us.
7. MARKET ANALYSIS
- Market Trends
The growing trend which makes it easier for people to spend more time on the internet especially on social media networking sites is a major boost in the revenue generated by marketing consulting companies.
It is not common to find players in this industry generating an increasing amount of advertising revenue per user by developing targeted advertising tools to measure the effectiveness of advertising and marketing. This has indeed changed the way organizations interact with customers.
A substantial percentage of consumer interactions and profiling are now being carried out online and on social media platforms with higher visibility. Another common trend in marketing consultants industry is that most marketing research firms no longer settle for clients within the location where their physical office is located, but also from any part of the world.
The truth is that with the advent of the internet, it is now easier for a marketing consulting firm to work for clients in any part of the world. A marketing consulting firm can be located in the United States of America and have their biggest client in United Arab Emirates or in China, many thanks to the power of the internet which has brought the world closer to us.
Lastly, the marketing consultants industry will continue to evolve due to the advancement of computer technology and software applications designs.
8. Our Target Market
J P Logan® Marketing Consulting Firm, LLP is in business to service a wide range of customers in Nassau – Suffolk – New York and all across the United States of America. We will ensure that we target both private companies and government organizations.
The fact that we are going to open our doors to a wide range of customers does not in any way stop us from abiding by the rules and regulations governing marketing consultants industry in the United States. In view of that, we have created strategies that will enable us reach out to various corporate organizations and individuals who we know can’t afford to do without our services.
Below is a list of the people and organizations that we will market our services to;
- Banks, Insurance Companies and other related Financial Institutions
- Blue Chips Companies
- Manufacturers and Distributors
- Real Estate Owners, Developers, and Contractors
- Research and Development Companies
- The Government (Public Sector)
- Schools (High Schools, Colleges and Universities)
- Hotels
- Sport Organizations
- Religious Organizations
- Political Parties
- Television Stations
- Branding and Advertising agencies
- Aspiring celebrities
- Entrepreneurs and Startups
Our Competitive Advantage
Aside from the competitions that exist amongst various marketing consulting companies, they also compete against marketing research companies, branding companies and social media marketing companies that are also into market research.
To be highly competitive in marketing consultants industry means that you should be able to provide ground breaking research and provide solutions at all times.
J P Logan® Marketing Consulting Firm, LLP is coming into the market to favorably compete in the industry. We will ensure our pricing policy is appropriate, plus the fact that we have a good reputation and also economies of scale. Our staff are well groomed in all aspects of market research and all our employees are trained to provide customized customer service to all our clients.
Lastly, all our employees will be well taken care of, and their welfare package will be among the best within our category in the industry. It will enable them to be more than willing to build the business with us and help deliver our set goals and objectives.
9. SALES AND MARKETING STRATEGY
- Sources of Income
J P Logan® Marketing Consulting Firm, LLP will ensure that we do all we can to maximize the business by generating income from every legal means within the scope of our industry. Below are the sources we intend exploring to generate income for J P Logan® Marketing Consulting Firm, LLP;
- Marketing strategy and market development consulting services
- Sales management and development consulting services
- Strategic management consulting services
- Customer services management consulting services
- Marketing research and public opinion polling services
- Other marketing management consulting and implementation service
10. Sales Forecast
One thing is certain, there would always be corporate organization, entrepreneurs and businesses et al who would need the services of marketing consulting firms to help them increase sales.
We are well positioned to take on the available market in the industry and we are quite optimistic that we will meet our set target of generating enough income/profits from the first six months of operation and grow our marketing consulting firm to enviable heights.
We have been able to examine the marketing consulting space, we have analyzed our chances in the industry and we have been able to come up with the following sales forecast. Below are the sales projection for J P Logan® Marketing Consulting Firm, LLP, it is based on the location of our business and the wide range of our marketing consulting services and target market;
- First Fiscal Year (FY1): $200,000
- Second Fiscal Year (FY2): $500,000
- Third Fiscal Year (FY3): $750,000
N.B: This projection was done based on what is obtainable in the industry and with the assumption that there won’t be any major economic meltdown and there won’t be any major competitor offering same services as we do within same location. Please note that the above projection might be lower and at the same time it might be higher.
- Marketing Strategy and Sales Strategy
The marketing and sales strategy adopted by J P Logan® Marketing Consulting Firm, LLP will be based on generating long-term personalized relationships with customers. In order to achieve that, we will ensure that we offer all – round marketing consulting services at affordable prices compared to what is obtainable in and around Nassau – Suffolk.
All our employees will be well trained and equipped to provide excellent and knowledgeable marketing consulting services and customer service.
We know that if we are consistent with offering high quality and result oriented marketing consulting services, we will increase the number of our customers by more than 25 percent for the first year and then more than 40 percent subsequently.
Before choosing a location for our marketing consulting firm, we conducted a thorough market survey and feasibility studies in order for us to penetrate the available market and become the preferred choice for organizations in Nassau – Suffolk.
We hired experts who have good understanding of the marketing consultants industry to help us develop marketing strategies that will help us achieve our business goal of winning a larger percentage of the available market in and around Nassau – Suffolk – New York.
In summary, J P Logan® Marketing Consulting Firm, LLP will adopt the following sales and marketing approach to win customers over;
- Introduce our marketing consulting firm by sending introductory letters alongside our brochure to individuals, corporate organizations, religious organizations and other key stakeholders all across the United States of America.
- Promptness in bidding for marketing consulting contracts from the government and other cooperate organizations
- Advertise our business in relevant business magazines, newspapers, TV and radio stations
- List our business on yellow pages’ ads (local directories)
- Attend relevant international and local expos, seminars, and business fairs et al
- Create different packages for different category of clients in order to work with their budgets
- Leverage on the internet to promote our business
- Engage direct marketing approach
- Encourage word of mouth marketing from loyal and satisfied clients
11. Publicity and Advertising Strategy
We are in the marketing consulting business -to become one of the market leaders and also to maximize profits hence we are going to explore all available means to promote our company.
J P Logan® Marketing Consulting Firm, LLP has a long – term plan of working for clients all across the United States which is why we will deliberately build our brand to be well accepted in Nassau – Suffolk – New York before venturing out. Here are the platforms we intend leveraging on to promote and advertise J P Logan® Marketing Consulting Firm, LLP;
- Place adverts on both print (community – based newspapers and magazines) and electronic media platforms
- Sponsor relevant community research programs
- Leverage on the internet and social media platforms like; Instagram, Facebook, twitter, YouTube, Google + et al to promote our brand
- Install our billboards in strategic locations all around Nassau – Suffolk – New York
- Distribute our fliers and handbills in target areas
- Ensure that all our workers wear our branded shirts and all our vehicles are well branded with our company’s logo et al.
12. Our Pricing Strategy
Generally, consulting services are billed on flat fees on a weekly or monthly basis as it applies. As a result of this, J P Logan® Marketing Consulting Firm, LLP will charge our clients flat fees except for few occasions where there will be need for us to charge special clients on hourly basis.
At J P Logan® Marketing Consulting Firm, LLP we will keep our fees below the average market rate for all of our clients by keeping our overhead low and by collecting payment in advance.
- Payment Options
The payment policy adopted by J P Logan® Marketing Consulting Firm, LLP is all inclusive because we are quite aware that different customers prefer different payment options as it suits them but at the same time, we will ensure that we abide by the financial rules and regulation of the United States of America. Here are the payment options that J P Logan® Marketing Consulting Firm, LLP will make available to her clients;
- Payment via bank transfer
- Payment with cash
- Payment via credit cards
- Payment via online bank transfer
- Payment via check
- Payment via mobile money transfer
In view of the above, we have chosen banking platforms that will enable our client make payment for our services without any stress on their part.
13. Our Startup Expenditure (Budget)
If you are looking towards starting a marketing consulting firm, then you should be ready to raise enough capital to cover some of the basic expenditure that you are going to incur.
Even though it is cost effective to start a marketing consulting firm, you will need money to secure a standard facility, acquire relevant software apps and pay your workforce and pay bills for a while until the revenue you generate from the business becomes enough to pay them.
The items listed below are the basics that we would need when starting our marketing consulting firm in the United States, although costs might vary slightly;
- The total fee for registering the Business in the United States – $750.
- Legal expenses for obtaining licenses and permits – $1,500.
- Marketing promotion expenses for the grand opening of J P Logan® Marketing Consulting Firm, LLP in the amount of $3,500 and as well as flyer printing (2,000 flyers at $0.04 per copy) for the total amount of – $3,580.
- The cost for hiring Business Consultant – $2,500.
- The cost for computer software (Accounting Software, Payroll Software, CRM Software, Microsoft Office, and QuickBooks Pro et al) – $7,000
- Insurance (general liability, workers’ compensation and property casualty) coverage at a total premium – $3,400.
- The cost for payment of rent for 12 months at $1.76 per square feet in the total amount of – $105,600.
- The cost for facility remodeling (construction of racks and shelves) – $20,000.
- Other start-up expenses including stationery ($500) and phone and utility deposits – ($2,500).
- Operational cost for the first 3 months (salaries of employees, payments of bills et al) – $500,000
- The cost for the purchase of furniture and gadgets (Computers, Printers, Telephone, TVs, tables and chairs et al) – $4,000.
- The cost of launching a website – $700
- Miscellaneous – $10,000
We would need an estimate of two hundred thousand dollars ($200,000) to successfully set up our marketing consulting business in Nassau – Suffolk – New York. P
Generating Funds/Startup Capital for J P Logan® Marketing Consulting Firm, LLP.
J P Logan® Marketing Consulting Firm, LLP is owned and managed by Jacob Prince Logan. He decided to restrict the sourcing of the startup capital for the business to just three major sources.
- Generate part of the startup capital from personal savings
- Source for soft loans from family members and friends
- Apply for loan from the bank
N.B: We have been able to generate about $50,000 (Personal savings $30,000 and soft loan from family members $20,000) and we are at the final stages of obtaining a loan facility of $150,000 from our bank. All the papers and documents have been duly signed and submitted, the loan has been approved and any moment from now our account will be credited.
14. Sustainability and Expansion Strategy
The future of a business lies in the number of loyal customers that they have, the capacity and competence of their employees, their investment strategy and business structure. If all these factors are missing from a company, then it won’t be too long before the business closes shop.
One of our major goals of starting J P Logan® Marketing Consulting Firm, LLP is to build a business that will survive off its own cash flow without injecting finance from external sources once the business is officially running.
We know that one of the ways of gaining approval and winning customers over is to offer our marketing consulting services a little bit cheaper than what is obtainable in the market and we are prepared to survive on lower profit margin for a while.
J P Logan® Marketing Consulting Firm, LLP will make sure that the right foundation, structures and processes are put in place to ensure that our staff welfare are well taken of. Our organizations’ corporate culture is designed to drive our business to greater heights and training and retraining of our workforce is at the top burner.
As a matter of fact, profit-sharing arrangement will be made available to all our management staff and it will be based on their performance for a period of three years or more. We know that if this is put in place, we will be able to successfully hire and retain the best hands we can get in the industry; they will be more committed to help us build the business of our dreams.
Check List/Milestone
- Business Name Availability Check: Completed
- Business Registration: Completed
- Opening of Corporate Bank Accounts: Completed
- Securing Point of Sales (POS) Machines: Completed
- Opening Mobile Money Accounts: Completed
- Opening Online Payment Platforms: Completed
- Application and Obtaining Tax Payer’s ID: In Progress
- Application for business license and permit: Completed
- Purchase of Insurance for the Business: Completed
- Leasing of facility and remodeling the facility: In Progress
- Conducting Feasibility Studies: Completed
- Generating capital from family members: Completed
- Applications for loan from the bank: In Progress
- Writing of Business Plan: Completed
- Drafting of Employee’s Handbook: Completed
- Drafting of Contract Documents and other relevant Legal Documents: In Progress
- Design of The Company’s Logo: Completed
- Printing of Promotional Materials: In Progress
- Recruitment of employees: In Progress
- Purchase of the needed furniture, racks, shelves, computers, electronic appliances, office appliances and CCTV: In progress
- Creating Official Website for the Company: In Progress
- Creating Awareness for the business both online and around the community: In Progress
- Health and Safety and Fire Safety Arrangement (License): Secured
- Compilation of our list of marketing consulting areas that will be our strong emphasis: Completed
- Establishing business relationship with corporate organizations, businesses and other key stakeholders in the United States of America: In Progress.