How to Write a Marketing Plan
How to Write a Marketing Plan
A marketing plan is a detailed roadmap that outlines all your marketing strategies, tactics, activities, costs and projected results over a period of time. The plan keeps your entire team focused on specific goals – it’s a critical resource for your entire company.
A good marketing plan typically includes:
* Financial goals
* Positioning strategy
* Brand strategy
* Product/service overview
* Detailed goals by product, distribution channel &/or customer segment
* Sales plan * Major marketing campaigns
* Detailed budget
* Dates to review progress
It takes time to develop a solid plan, but it’s important because it ties all of your activities to tangible goals.
Start with your annual goals
Build your entire marketing plan to achieve the goals that you define:
* Quantitative (numeric) goals such as total revenue, profit, number of customers, units sold, and breakdowns by product or channel as needed.
* Strategic goals -- for example, you may want to expand into a new market with a new distribution channel, or you may need to reposition your brand to reflect a change in your business.
Highlight your competitive position, value proposition and brand strategy
* Your positioning strategy defines how you’ll differentiate your offering from your competitors.
* Your value proposition defines the primary value you deliver: operational efficiency, product leadership or customer intimacy.
* Your brand strategy defines what you stand for and how you’ll communicate with the market.
Outline any plans for your products & services
If you need to do anything to strengthen your product line and better deliver on your value proposition, address those issues in your plan.
Outline your major marketing campaigns
You don’t need to list every campaign -- just outline your major promotional plans for the year. You’ll need to set your budget too, so the more planning you do now, the better. Your plans should include:
* The top three campaigns you’ll run to generate leads, nurture customers, close, and/or market to existing customers
* The media you’ll use (for example, email, online, print, telemarketing, trade shows, publicity, etc.)
* Tools, technologies or resources you’ll need – for example, a new website, an email service provider, a new piece of software
* Your ROI and other financial goals
Develop your tactical sales plan
* The number of sales reps you’ll need and the markets they’ll target
* Whether you’ll need to hire, train, or develop new compensation plans
* Top priority markets, industries or customer segments; if you have a list of key prospects, include them
* Your plan for managing current customers
* Plans for launching any new distribution channels and driving revenue through existing channels
Develop a budget
Budgeting can be a difficult process. Many companies just estimate or base their budget on last year. An estimate is better than nothing, but if you’ve defined your major campaigns and needs, you can develop better numbers.
You can also use ROI to determine the appropriate total budget for your marketing efforts.
Revisit your plan regularly
The planning process itself is incredibly valuable, but if you don't review the plan regularly, it’s easy to lose focus. Continually revisit the plan and measure your progress.
When you’ve finished your plan, it’s time to execute. You may need to create new messages, literature, website or other tools and processes for your campaigns, but after that, focus on generating and managing your customers. Email us at info@marketingmo.com and we'll send you a free marketing plan template to help you get started.
How to Write a Marketing Plan - To learn more about this author, visit Jim Sagar's Website.
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Most businesspeople agree that good planning is essential for success. Even so, it’s surprising how many companies don’t create a thorough plan to generate and manage their customers.
A marketing plan is a detailed roadmap that outlines all your marketing strategies, tactics, activities, costs and projected results over a period of time. The plan keeps your entire team focused on specific goals – it’s a critical resource for your entire company.
A good marketing plan typically includes:
* Financial goals
* Positioning strategy
* Brand strategy
* Product/service overview
* Detailed goals by product, distribution channel &/or customer segment
* Sales plan * Major marketing campaigns
* Detailed budget
* Dates to review progress
It takes time to develop a solid plan, but it’s important because it ties all of your activities to tangible goals.
Start with your annual goals
Build your entire marketing plan to achieve the goals that you define:
* Quantitative (numeric) goals such as total revenue, profit, number of customers, units sold, and breakdowns by product or channel as needed.
* Strategic goals -- for example, you may want to expand into a new market with a new distribution channel, or you may need to reposition your brand to reflect a change in your business.
Highlight your competitive position, value proposition and brand strategy
* Your positioning strategy defines how you’ll differentiate your offering from your competitors.
* Your value proposition defines the primary value you deliver: operational efficiency, product leadership or customer intimacy.
* Your brand strategy defines what you stand for and how you’ll communicate with the market.
Outline any plans for your products & services
If you need to do anything to strengthen your product line and better deliver on your value proposition, address those issues in your plan.
Outline your major marketing campaigns
You don’t need to list every campaign -- just outline your major promotional plans for the year. You’ll need to set your budget too, so the more planning you do now, the better. Your plans should include:
* The top three campaigns you’ll run to generate leads, nurture customers, close, and/or market to existing customers
* The media you’ll use (for example, email, online, print, telemarketing, trade shows, publicity, etc.)
* Tools, technologies or resources you’ll need – for example, a new website, an email service provider, a new piece of software
* Your ROI and other financial goals
Develop your tactical sales plan
* The number of sales reps you’ll need and the markets they’ll target
* Whether you’ll need to hire, train, or develop new compensation plans
* Top priority markets, industries or customer segments; if you have a list of key prospects, include them
* Your plan for managing current customers
* Plans for launching any new distribution channels and driving revenue through existing channels
Develop a budget
Budgeting can be a difficult process. Many companies just estimate or base their budget on last year. An estimate is better than nothing, but if you’ve defined your major campaigns and needs, you can develop better numbers.
You can also use ROI to determine the appropriate total budget for your marketing efforts.
Revisit your plan regularly
The planning process itself is incredibly valuable, but if you don't review the plan regularly, it’s easy to lose focus. Continually revisit the plan and measure your progress.
When you’ve finished your plan, it’s time to execute. You may need to create new messages, literature, website or other tools and processes for your campaigns, but after that, focus on generating and managing your customers. Email us at info@marketingmo.com and we'll send you a free marketing plan template to help you get started.
How to Write a Marketing Plan - To learn more about this author, visit Jim Sagar's Website.
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David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
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Leanne Hoagland-SmithAre your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website |
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John PowerJohn Power, founder of Biltmore Franchise Consulting, has extensive experience developing and marketing franchises and business opportunities. He has been in and around franchising for over twenty years. From 1980 through 1990 he conceptualized, organized, and developed the American Video Association. He grew AVA to 2,000 national members, before selling the company it 1990. It was later merged into another home video marketing company. From 2000 to 2005 he worked as a contract marketing and human resources consultant to several local and national companies. In 2005 Mr. Power began working as a franchise development consultant on a full-time basis. Since that time he has helped more than three dozen companies initiate and develop their franchising program. He notes that there are many companies interested in developing a franchise program, and who need his specialized assistance. Mr. Power is a “hands-on” franchise consultant. He said, “I am the ‘nuts and bolts’ person who tends to the details for my clients.” Mr. Power holds a B.S. degree with a major in Marketing. See: www.biltmorefranchise.com You may contact Mr. Power at: jpower@biltmorefranchise.co - Visit John Power's Website |
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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Jeff FosterWebBizIdeas.com is a Minneapolis website design company founded to help people start an internet business by providing them with website, business, and internet resources that help foster the growth of successful online businesses and develop innovative Internet business ideas. We specialize in internet consulting & internet marketing. - Visit Jeff Foster's Website |
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Stephanie RobeyStephanie Robey is President and CoFounder of Pivot Positive, LLC - an Internet marketing business focused on helping people start work at home ventures. Previously, she was employed at The Search Agency with over 20 years experience in graphic design and 10 years experience in online marketing. She was responsible for launching the Conversion Path Optimization (CPO) unit where she and her team have conducted hundreds of optimization tests for online companies across multiple verticals. She is a successful entrepreneur having started and sold 2 companies and remains on the board of directors of the third, PhotoSpin.com Stephanie began her career in the direct marketing realm creating and producing direct mail for many of the major cable television companies and directly attributes her understanding of Internet marketing to those early offline experiences. Stephanie is a graduate of San Diego State University with a BFA in Graphic Arts and also holds an Executive MBA from the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University. Read Steph's Blog Meet Steph and Dave Sign up for our Free 7-Day BootCamp: Self Employed & Rich - Visit Stephanie Robey's Website |
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Joe DagerJoe Dager is President of Business901, a progressive coaching company providing no-nonsense direction in areas such as Lean Six Sigma Marketing and organized referral marketing. What others say: In the past 20 years, Joe and I have collaborated on many difficult issues. Joe’s ability to combine his expertise with “out of the box” thinking is unsurpassed. He has always delivered quickly, cost effectively and with ingenuity. A brilliant mind that is always a pleasure to work with.” - James R. If you want to learn more about Business901, start a conversation with us. We can be found @ Web/Blog: Business901.com Web/Blog: FundingYourNonprofit.com LinkedIn Profile Follow me on Twitter - Visit Joe Dager's Website |
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Jay Kubassek(Jay's Full Bio: EvanCarmichael.com/jaykubassek) In five years, Canadian-born entrepreneur Jay Kubassek went from selling mufflers at a Midas franchise to revolutionizing Internet marketing with the 2004 launch of CarbonCopyPRO, a online marketing education company, now worth over $20 million with customers in over 160 countries.
As an independent film producer, his upstart film fund Aliquot Films is currently producing a films with Spike Lee and Abel Fererra (starring Ethan Hawke and Dennis Hopper.)
Jay's entrepreneurial spirit is irrepressible. He’s the owner of five companies, a professional speaker and trainer, international real estate developer/investor, extreme sport enthusiast and emerging philanthropist. Jay resides in NYC with his wife Jamie, son Milo and dog Cooper. Visit Jay's official website: www.JayKubassek.com - Visit Jay Kubassek's Website |
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