MARKETING PLAN There are three kind of marketing strategies: - direct sales: this is done when a customer base exists, where we can directly reach out to our customers usually by phone, by email or through direct personal contact. - direct marketing: there is a straight communication to the customer (or potential customer; this can be used on contact information from a database) with advertising techniques such as SMS, email, interactive consumer websites, online display ads, fliers, catalogue distribution, promotional letters, and outdoor advertising. - mass marketing: Is the technique of trying to spread a marketing message, to anyone and everyone who is willing to listen, through big audience media such as radio, television, internet, etc. For our application, we are going to use two different marketing strategies: The strategy to adopt is a mass marketing strategy. We will try to reach to our niche through mass marketing channels, mainly the internet. There are many ways to proceed: - Getting our app into the iPhone app store. In later stages the app will be available on independent app stores such as GetJar, Handango, and Amazon etc. WWe will create some YouTube video’s where we will demonstrate our application. Besides YouTube, we will create Facebook and Twitter accounts and use LinkedIn as a communication channel. - Making an app-specific web site. We will also promote our app through our firm’s website. - Setting up search marketing campaigns through search providers such as Google, Yahoo and Bing. - Reaching out to bloggers such as TechCrunch, TheNextWeb, Mashable, VentureBeat, TUAW etc. - Participating in events: exhibitions, meet-ups, conferences etc.…in the electronics and automation world. - Placing an advertisement or an article in a specialized magazine. - Blog: create a blog where we will write regularly about the issues that our product covers or might be a solution for. - Social Media Profiles: create social media profiles so we can spread the word about our blog posts, our landing page and website, and also write about the category and related content of our app. It is also important to follow and connect with influential people of the niche market (bloggers, reviewers, writers etc.) - Tech Blogs: once the beta testing is finished and the app is ready for launch and bug-free, we want to prepare a press release of our product idea and start getting in touch with blogs such as Mashable, TechCrunch, TheNextWeb, FastCoDesign, Ars Technica, etc. A press release will contain a short description of the app and its key benefits, some screenshots, links to videos, links to user testimonials and reviews and a link to the website which includes our contact information. - Forums: we want to be as active as possible in forums dealing with I/O circuit boards, DIY home automation solutions etc. and try to integrate with our response a link back to our app’s web site. Business plan for the mobile application 'WhizzBit' - App Store Marketing: we will try to grab the attention of the online audience by having a catchy app icon. App stores require us to mention keywords that we feel our customers will use to search for our application so the selection has to be done wisely. Our app description is also important, it is our selling pitch. It should be short, explain key benefits and highlight the cool features. - App Review Websites: as a large audience reads online reviews before downloading an app, we need to prepare a press release and send it to app review sites. As our app is a paid app,
Apple gives 50 promotional codes that let this precise number of people download our application for free. We will send these together with the press release. - Tech Blog: If the tech blogs did not cover our app in the pre-launch phase, we have another reason to write to them, informing them of the launch. If our app does well, this is yet another reason to write to them informing them about the statistics and how well the product has been received on the market. - Ratings and Reviews: we will encourage our customers to review and rate our application. The more the ratings, the more chances of it being downloaded from the App Store. All feedback, positive and negative, must be quickly responded to. app. - Classic Media channels: Channels like CNN, Fox news, BBC, New York Times and many other News Channels, offer every week the oportunity to tech start ups to expose their product for free during Tech News shows TV. This is an oppotunity for developers to show their products. - Tech Conventions: Everymoth exist Tech conventions to show new improvements in technology. Many of these shows are in big cities like New York, Las Vegas, Miami, London, etc.