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Marketing plan

A Marketing Plan is a written document that details the actions necessary to achieve a specified marketing objective(s). It can be for a product or service, a brand, or a product line. It can cover one year (referred to as an annual marketing plan), or cover up to 5 years. A marketing plan may be part of an overall business plan. In general terms, it must:

describe and explain the current situation  specify the expected results (objectives)  identify the resources that will be needed (including financing, time, and skills)  describe the actions that will need to be taken to achieve the objective(s)  devise a method of monitoring results and adjusting the plan where necessary

There are many formats for marketing plans and every company does it a little different, but the outline that follows is a very complete format. Using this format will produce a 30 to 40 page plan. Many companies prefer an abridged format that would yield a 10 to 20 page plan.

Title page  Executive Summary  Current Situation - Macroenvironment      economy      government      legal      technology      ecological      sociocultural      supply chain  Current Situation - Market Analysis      market definition     market size      market segmentation      industry structure and strategic groupings      Porter 5 forces analysis      competition and market share      competitors' strengths and weaknesses     market trends   Current Situation - Consumer Analysis     nature of the buying decision      participants      demographics      psychographics      buyer motivation and expectations     loyalty segments  Current Situation - Internal      nature of the buying decision   financial    people    time    skills       objectives    mission statement and vision statement    corporate objectives    financial objective   marketing objectives    long term objectives       corporate culture  Summary of Situation Analysis     external threats     external opportunities      internal strengths     internal weaknesses     internal weaknesses     key success factors in the industry      our sustainable competitive advantage  Marketing research     information requirements      research methodology      research results Marketing Strategy - Productv     Marketing Strategy - Product      product mix      product strengths and weaknesses   perceptual mapping      product life cycle management and new product development     Brand name, brand image, and brand equity     the augmented product      product portfolio analysis    B.C.G. Analysis    contribution margin analysis    G.E. Multi Factoral analysis    Quality Function Deployment  Marketing Strategy - Market share objectives     by products,     by customer segments,     by geographical markets  Marketing Strategy - Price      pricing objectives       pricing method (eg.: cost plus, demand based, or competitor indexing)      pricing strategy (eg.: skimming, or penetration)       discounts and allowances       price elasticity and customer sensitivity       price zoning       break even analysis at various prices  Marketing Strategy - Promotion      promotional goals       promotional mix       advertising reach, frequency, flights, theme, and media       sales force requirements, techniques, and management       sales promotion       publicity and public relations       electronic promotion (eg.: Web, or telephone)  Marketing Strategy - Distribution      geographical coverage       distribution channels       physical distribution and logistics      electronic distribution  Implementation      personnel requirements   assign responsibilities    give incentives    training on selling methods      financial requirements       management information systems requirements       month-by-month agenda   pert or critical path analysis       monitoring results and benchmarks       adjustment mechanism       contingencies (What if's)  Financial Summary      assumptions       pro-forma monthly income statement       contribution margin analysis      breakeven analysis       Monte Carlo analysis Appendix       pictures and specifications of the new product       results from research already completed

See also: marketing, marketing management