Do you know what is the marketing plan ...... !!?

Marketing Plan Definition

A marketing plan is a business document written for the purpose of describing the current market position of a business and its marketing strategy for the period covered by the marketing plan. Marketing plans usually cover a period of 1-5 years.

Purpose of a Marketing Plan

The purpose of a marketing plan is to clearly show what steps or actions will be taken to achieve the plan goals. For example, a marketing plan might have a strategy to increase the organization's market share by ten percent. The plan would then outline the goals that need to be achieved to reach a ten percent increase in market share.

Marketing Plan Outline

The plan should be based on where the organization needs to be at some point in the future. Below are the most important things to consider when developing a marketing plan:

• Market Research: Collect and organize data about the market the organization is currently in. Look at market dynamics, patterns, customers, and the current sales volume for the industry as a whole.
• Competition: The marketing plan should describe the organization's competition. The plan should describe in detail how the organization will stand out from its competition, and what it will do to become a market leader.
• Market Plan Strategies: Develop the marketing and promotion strategies that the organization will use. Strategies to consider are such things as advertising, direct marketing, training programs, trade shows, website, etc.
• Marketing Plan Budget: The strategies can be limited based on the budget. Top managers need to review what they hope to accomplish with the marketing plan, review their current financial situation, and then allocate funding for the marketing plan
• Marketing Goals: The marketing plan should include quantifiable marketing goals. For example, one goal might be to increase your client base by 500 over a 6-month period.
• Monitor the Marketing Plan Results: At some point the marketing plan should call for analyzing the current position of the organization. The organization needs to identify the strategies that are working and those that are not working.