Behind every great marketing campaign is a solidly written and well-executed marketing plan. But what is a marketing plan really? Is it a template or a list of marketing short- and long-term goals? Does it work like a blueprint of a company or a product’s marketing structure? Read on to find out the answers below. Accomplish your marketing goals with much less effort with the help of TikTokstorm.
What Is a Marketing Plan? | Give Yourself a Head Start with This Information
What Is a Marketing Plan?
What is a marketing plan? It is a properly organized, documented roadmap to improving the success of a brand or product. A large corporation can create marketing plans hundreds of pages long while a small business can write a few sheets. The length doesn’t matter. What does matter is that it performs its job.
Marketing plans typically cover a full year of advertising. Anyone involved in the marketing planning should receive them. They can refer to it regularly and even suggest changes as new opportunities arise.
Consider your marketing plan an essential document you save from year to year as well. It can be a reference when you perform a marketing audit or develop future marketing strategies.
Why Is a Marketing Plan Important?
It is the marketing plan that allows a business to meet the needs of its target customers. It also plays a significant role in the company’s future growth. With it, you can:
- Identify the target market and figure out how the product or service meets its needs
- Understand the competition’s strengths and weaknesses
- Set measurable goals and milestones for marketing assets
- Map out channels and other strategic tools to reach the target audience
- Properly allocate resources and create a marketing budget
- Manage the performance of the marketing efforts
The plan is a step-by-step guide to achieving business goals. It will serve as a rallying point for the team too, helping them commit to a strategy and feel confident in it.
How Is a Marketing Plan Organized?
Managing all this information can be tricky, so the organization is crucial. Often, the full marketing plan is put into a binder with tabs that break it down into sections. It’s a setup that makes the plan accessible and easy to use.
You should also create a tab for performance tracking and load the binder up with monthly reports as the year progresses. Analytics is the key to seeing how well the program works.
What Goes into a Marketing Plan?
It’s essential to find a format that fits the needs of your business. Some of the information you can include are the following:
- Research – This is data that looks at the market to identify trends and forecasts for the industry.
- Competition – Knowing how the competitors think helps you figure out ways to make the brand or product stand out.
- Marketing Strategies – Do you plan to give away USB drives as gifts? You have many options available. Your choice will depend on many factors. For example, a key-shaped USB is great for realtors. Meanwhile, if you’re attending events, you can offer USB brochures. What marketing channels will you use, and how will you track them?
- Marketing Budget – How much can you afford to spend, and how will you allocate those funds?
- Marketing Goals – What does the company hope to achieve with its marketing plan? Are they both measurable and obtainable?
- Monitoring – These are weekly, monthly, and yearly reports to support the successes or explain what doesn’t work.
How to Set Up a Marketing Plan
The actual setup can vary. Its organization is more essential. There are many templates available for marketing plans, but a basic one may look something like this:
Section One: The Business Details
- Title page
- Table of contents
- Marketing or Executive summary
Section Two: Vision
- Vision statement
- Marketing target that includes demographic profiles and personas
- Core marketing strategy and unique selling proposition
- Goals
Section Three: Finances
- Marketing budget
- Sales forecasts
Section Four: The Market
- Product/services list
- Market position
- Product Pricing and positioning strategy
- Growth potential
- Key customers
- Detailed competition information
Section Five: Marketing Strategy
- Promotions tactics
- Online marketing plan including SEO, keyword strategies, content marketing, and paid ads
- Social media structure
Section Six: Sales Strategy
- Sales techniques
- Distribution channels
- Conversion strategies
- Potential partnerships
- Referral strategies
- Methods for retaining customers
- Marketing activities
Section Seven: The Future
- Future pricing strategies
- Financial projections
This is a basic template that may not work for every business type. Shape your marketing plan in a way that works efficiently for your company. There may be a lot of trial and error involved before you can come up with the right format.
What is a marketing plan and what are its phases? Watch this video from McGraw-Hill Higher Education:
What is a marketing plan? Its definition can vary among companies. One thing is for sure: you need it to define your marketing objectives and strategies to reach them. It takes work to create a marketing plan, but it’s time well spent. After a few years, you can look through them and get a valuable perspective of your overall business and know what works and what doesn’t as the company grows.
What is a marketing plan for you? How do you define it? Share your thoughts below.
