by James Richardson

Created on: August 22, 2008

In developing a professional marketing plan, the first step is research. You need to ask, "What do I want to achieve for the company through marketing efforts?" Researching your target market(s), how they can be effectively reached, what your budget is-these are all things that will need to be considered. If marketing research is something you've never done before or it sounds a bit intimidating, I suggest reading a book on the subject, looking into software programs designed for the purpose, or even consulting with a firm that specializes in marketing research.

With the research complete, the actual plan should have four parts:
* Objectives
* Strategies
* Tactics
* Evaluation

Objectives need to be clearly defined and measureable. You're asking in quantifiable terms, "What do I want to see changed though this marketing plan?" An example of a good objective is: increase sales 15% over the second quarter. The more defined the objective, the better, because this gives you a concrete benchmark to evaluate your plan's effectiveness. Objectives can also be something like: to raise consumer awareness of our product by 15% over the next six weeks. You'll likely have several objectives in your marketing plan.

Your strategies generally require a little less attention then the objectives, but this is an important part just the same. Strategies tell what communication devices you are going to employ in order to reach your objectives. Strategies answer the "how?" question in a marketing plan. How are you going to raise sales 15%? Will it be a mix advertising and promotions? A direct mail campaign? These are questions strategies seek to answer.

Tactics are the physical details of what you're going to do; they are the implantation phase. To reach your sales objective of a 15% increase, let's say you decide on a direct mail campaign with promotionals attached. The tactics phase would involve planning the direct mail piece with your creative directors (either in house or outside agency) who will shape its look and feel as well as copy considerations. Then you would decide what the promotional asset would be. Is the direct mailer going to contain a discount coupon? A sweepstakes entry blank? With this done, implantation means actually sending the direct mail out. Filling in the fine details and implementing the plan is what the tactics phase is all about. This is the action phase!

So now the tactics have been implemented and the specified time frame for the marketing plan is drawing to a close. You are now in the evaluation phase. Research will more than likely be necessary here. Each objective needs to be evaluated to determine if the strategies and tactics employed to meet it were a success. Did you raise sales 15% during the second quarter? Answers to these questions will determine how well the plan worked. From the evaluation phase, you can decide what adjustments need to be made. Ultimately, data collected during evaluation will determine the course of future efforts.

This guide gives you a road map to designing professional marketing plans. Major marketing agencies and corporations know that the objectives, strategies, tactics, evaluation model often works best in designing marketing plans. Of course, the best plan needs to be backed up with solid research. Only you know the exact needs and unique operating situation that your business is in. You may determine some of the facets of this plan are not applicable to your marketing goals. However, using this model as a guide in developing your marketing plan ensures that you will have prepared a professional, attainable plan that will achieve results.

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