Marketing plans for telecommunications companies take account of company size, product range and target market. Telecommunication companies provide a range of services to businesses and consumers, including fixed and mobile network services, telecommunications equipment and solutions that integrate voice, data, video and Internet applications. A marketing plan for telecommunications includes information on trends in the industry, key market sectors, growth opportunities, competitive threats, product development and channels to market.

Review market research to identify trends that indicate growth opportunities. Commission independent market research or subscribe to reports from industry analysts, such as Forrester, Gartner or IDC. The growth of mobile broadband, for example, opens opportunities for delivering advanced services such as mobile Internet and mobile collaboration. Assess the strengths and weaknesses of competitors. Review analysts’ profiles of companies in your sectors and analyze information on competitors’ websites. Monitor customer comments and product reviews on social networking sites to assess attitudes to competitors.

Focus on growth sectors in business and consumer markets. Identify specific opportunities in different business market sectors where your company has competitive strengths. Offer solutions tailored to vertical market sectors, such as financial services, defense, manufacturing or government. Segment business customers by size into enterprise or small and medium business sectors. Identify opportunities to offer network access as well as products and services to wholesale customers such as online video publishers, content providers and Internet service providers.

Develop new products and services that meet customer needs and add value to your network. Take advantage of multi-service Internet Protocol networks to offer a wide range of data, voice, video and Internet services on the same network. Use the multi-service capability and broad portfolio to earn more revenue per customer. Identify suitable alliances with other technology companies to add complementary products or services, such as installation, systems integration or maintenance.

Plan advertising and marketing campaigns to enter new market sectors or increase penetration in existing sectors. Deliver products and services through channels that match target sectors. Put programs in place to strengthen relationships with important enterprise customers. Maximize consumer sales opportunities by providing marketing and training support to retail partners.

Develop your marketing communications plan: create advertising and direct marketing campaigns to generate sales leads and increase your customer base. Develop programs to maintain regular communications with key decision makers in customer companies. Prepare plans to support the launch of new products.