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What a good marketing plan will include


Every good business has plans- plans for the future, for the present, for finances, for emergencies and for marketing.But putting one of these plans down on paper can be a bit tricky.What should you include?What should it look like?How long should it be?What kinds of things should you discuss?You're in luck.Here are the answers to these questions of what a good marketing plan will include.

First of all, let's talk about a writing a business plan.Every good business plan is made up of a few basic parts: objectives; description of the business; make-up of the company; products or services; production plan; market research and analysis; marketing strategy; management; financial strategy; and budget.Within each of these general topics are more specific ones, one of which we are discussing today- marketing.A good marketing plan should look something like this:


I. Summary
a.Objectives
b. Description of the business
c. Marketing research and analysis
d. Marketing strategy

Within each of these general topics, there should be more detail.For example, you might have something like this:

III.Marketing research and analysis
a. description of the target market
b. description of the market survey
c.analysis of current and potential customers
d. analysis of the competition

This example would serve to fully inform you, your employees and/or coworkers on what you learned from your marketing research, which would in turn prepare you for the more specific (to your company) marketing goals.You can also include more specific details under each sub detail of the main topic.

But before you can even begin writing your marketing plan, you must assess the product or service you're trying to market.Take a step back and look at it with a critical eye (if necessary, have an objective opinion help you with this step).What's unique about your product or service?What can you offer your customers?Do you know who your customer is?Will your product or service be able to meet your customer's needs and wants?

Now, a good marketing plan should clearly and specifically state your marketing strategy.This includes your marketing budget and your marketing goals for the year.So before you actually write the marketing plan, you should sit down and determine what your budget and your goals are.Including all of this information will help you plan for the year to come and achieve your goals instead of ending up in the hole.

Next, you must do a little research.You should get a bit of background data, including financial and sales reports on similar products or services to your own.You should find out about your target group and your competition.To do this, you may need to survey current customers or conduct market research on potential customers.

Now it's time to specifically spell out your company goals as much as possible.These goals should be set high, but not so high as to prove unreachable.If you need to, have someone help you determine what a reasonable goal is for your company.It's easy to aim to high when setting goals, which can be disastrous for company morale when you fall flat on your face.Be sure to brainstorm with your employees and coworkers when you're setting your goals.They may have valuable advice that can really help you make the right decisions.

Create a timeline of when you want things to happen in your marketing plan.For example, perhaps you want to have new customers identified by the end of the first quarter of the year.You should write that down on your marketing plan.Or if you want to have a particular product advertised for a particular period of time, you should include that on your marketing plan.

Submit your plan to your supervisors and start tackling your goals!

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