Components of a Marketing Plan

Your Marketing Plan Made Easy

Everyone knows that a business plan is one of the most important documents a business owner needs. But as entrepreneurs, it’s easy to get caught up in the day to day and neglect marketing. Some people include a marketing plan as a very small component of their business plans, but there is actually much to consider. Even if you have been in business a while, it’s important to have an annual marketing plan. The marketing plan is a component of your strategic business and operational plan. It’s an action plan that helps to guide your initial start-up marketing and promotion as well as to sustain your business long-term. It also helps guide your marketing activities for the upcoming, month, year, or longer.

What are the basic components of a marketing plan?

To get you started, here are what I consider the essentials of a good marketing plan:  

• Description of your Business (summarize in paragraph or two)
• Description of your Products/Services and Pricing
• Target Audience
  – Segmentation: Primary and secondary
  – Demographics (Ex. females, boomers, Indianapolis metro, older homes)
  – Psychographics (Ex. enjoy shopping and shop at home TV, gardening, decorating, dining out, travel, etc.)
• SWOT Analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats)
• Competitive Analysis
  – Primary and secondary
  – Unique differentiators of competitors
  – Product/service offering
  – Location served
  – Market share
  – Pricing
  – Known advertising and marketing messages
• Your Unique Selling Proposition (USP) – your “niche” 
• Your business Focus and Positioning (for pricing, product, communications, sales)
• List of Proposed Marketing/Advertising Activities (the Marketing Mix – the best place to advertise based on your target audience and industry)
• Outline of details and the costs associated with each marketing activity
• Costs of the media buys, creative (having someone create the ad) and printing, if necessary
• Percentage of budget spent on each advertising vehicle/method
• Marketing calendar to outline your activities over the course of the month/year
• Specification of how you’ll evaluate / track results of your marketing efforts
• Sales/Marketing Goals (projections, revenue goals for the month/year/5-year, etc.)
• Marketing Budget (work backward from your estimated sales/revenue goal)

Your marketing plan is an evolving document, so take the time to review it at least quarterly and update it at least annually. Good luck, and let me know if I can be of assistance as you create your marketing plan.