by Martin Finch

Created on: January 07, 2009

HOW TO WRITE A MARKETING PLAN

A Structured Approach to Strategy, Objectives and Tactics.

From high level business vision statement down to tactical level promotional activity, the marketing plan is one of the key documents needed for every business.The marketing plan's strategic purpose is to document where the business wants to go and how it is going to get there. At the tactical level it details what promotional tools will be deployed to achieve its stated objectives and bring to life its defined strategies.

Here is a structure that will fit for most, if not all, marketing plans:

Vision

By definition a vision must be visionary. It is about the "what" not the "why" or the "how". It should be over at least a five year horizon and is concerned with the big picture about where the business wants to be. It should be brief one short sentence will do.

Mission

The mission is about the "why" the reason the business exists. It should inform all stakeholders in the business employees, shareholders and customers exactly what the purpose of the business is.

Target Audiences

Sometimes referred to as stakeholders but basically all of the groups of individuals that the business reacts with or wants to react with in the future. The different audiences should be clearly defined in terms of their size, socio-economic profile, geographic location and purchasing behaviour (if appropriate).

Objectives

Objectives often get confused with strategies. Objectives are the "what"; strategies are the "how". Objectives should contain precise statements of intent in terms of the business growth and profits that will accrue as a result of the marketing plan being implemented. The SMART method of writing objectives is a good discipline to adopt: Specific; Measurable; Achievable; Realistic; Timebound.

Strategies

There can be any number of strategies to support the objectives but ideally there should be no more than five or six. The strategies will define what broad actions are going to be taken to achieve the objectives. It is useful to allocate the strategies to each particular target audience.

Product Pricing

What price will the consumer pay for the product(s) or service(s)? What is the sales margin?

Product Distribution

Where will the consumer buy the product(s) or service(s)?

Promotional Plan

This is where the nuts and bolts of the plan are outlined. The promotional plan cannot stand alone; it has to be borne out of the marketing plan to enable it to have its proper context. The promotional tools that are

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