How to Create a Marketing Plan

Marketing Plan

Firms that are successful in marketing invariably start with a marketing plan. Giant companies have designs with hundreds of pages; tiny companies can get by with a half-dozen sheets. Put your marketing plan in a three-ring binder. Refer to it at least quarterly, but better yet every month. Leave a tab for putting in every month reports on sales/manufacturing; this will let you track performance as you follow the plan.

The plan ought to cover year. For tiny companies, this is often the best way to think about marketing. Things change, people leave, markets evolve, customers come and go. Later on they recommend making a section of your plan that addresses the medium-term future--two to years down the road. But the bulk of your plan ought to focus on the approaching year.

Who ought to see your plan? All the players in the company. Firms usually keep their marketing designs very, very private for of very different reasons: Either they are skimpy and management would be embarrassed to have them see the light of day, or they are solid and filled with information . . . which would make them very valuable to the competition.

You ought to permit yourself a couple of months to write the plan, even if it is only a few pages long. Developing the plan is the "heavy lifting" of marketing. While executing the plan has its challenges, deciding what to do and how to do it is marketing's greatest challenge. Most marketing designs kick off with the first of the year or with the opening of your fiscal year if it is different.

You cannot do a marketing plan without getting plenty of people involved. No matter what your size, get feedback from all parts of your company: finance, manufacturing, personnel, supply and so on--in addition to marketing itself. This is important because it will take all aspects of your company to make your marketing plan work. Your key people can provide realistic input on what is achievable and how your goals can be reached, and they can share any insights they have on any potential, as-yet-unrealized marketing opportunities, adding another dimension to your plan. If you are fundamentally a one-person management operation, you'll must wear all of your hats at time--but at least the meetings will be short!

What is the relationship between your marketing plan and your business plan or vision statement? Your business plan spells out what your business is about--what you do and don't do, and what your final goals are. It encompasses over marketing; it can include discussions of locations, staffing, financing, strategic alliances and so on. It includes "the vision thing," the resounding words that spell out the glorious purpose of your company in stirring language. Your business plan is the U.S. Constitution of your business: In the event you require to do something that is outside the business plan, you need to either change your mind or change the plan. Your company's business plan provides the environment in which your marketing plan must flourish. The documents must be consistent.