There are four main pillars for any project that we will briefly discuss, along with the most important questions you should ask before starting your business and again when writing your marketing plan. If you can't answer any of these questions, review your product or service thoroughly.


The main pillars are: (product or service, location or method of customer access, promotion and advertising, pricing).


Product or Service

Here are the three key questions regarding this:

  1. What need or desire will customers fulfill by purchasing your product or service?
  2. What features of the service or product will meet these needs or desires? List them and explain in detail.
  3. What competitive advantages distinguish your product or service from competitors? Be objective and unbiased.


Location or Method of Customer Access

Here, we refer to either the physical location or the method by which customers will access your product or service, as in tech-based projects.

  1. Where do your customers typically search for this product or service? Online, in shopping malls, in a dedicated area like a fish market or car repair workshops?
  2. What is the best distribution channel? Here we mean whether opening a branch or selling online. If opening a branch, is it on a main street or in a central market? The answer to this question will help you identify the best channels.
  3. How do your competitors distribute or deliver their services?


There is a funny story that says McDonald's invests huge amounts of money in finding the right location, while Burger King saves those funds by opening branches next to McDonald's.


Promotion or Advertising

  1. Where and when can you deliver your marketing message to your target market? Notice the "when"? "Where"? "Target market"?
  2. How do your competitors advertise and promote their products? Also, when and where?



Pricing

(Considered one of the most important marketing tasks, not accounting, as many small business owners think.)

  1. What is the value of the product or service to the customer? Notice, it’s the value, not the price. For example, the value of a book to a student before the final exam is very high. The value of water when thirsty is immeasurable. Value is different from price.
  2. Is there a common price standard for the product or service in the market?
  3. Are customers in the area very sensitive to price?
  4. How do you compare your price to your competitors’ prices?



These four points and their associated questions form the foundation of marketing. You should never start a project or offer a product or service without answering them, no matter the reason. Good luck, insha'Allah.