Guideline of Wirting A Marketing Plan

The Marketing Plan is a highly detailed, heavily researched and, well written report that many inside and outside the organization will evaluate. It is an essential document for both large corporate marketing departments and for startup companies. 

Essentially the Marketing Plan

• forces the marketing personnel to look internally in order to fully understand the results of past marketing decisions.
• forces the marketing personnel to look externally in order to fully understand the market in which they operate.
• sets future goals and provides direction for future marketing efforts that everyone within the organization should understand and support.
• is a key component in obtaining funding to pursue new initiatives.

The Marketing Plan is undertaken for the following reasons:

• as part of the yearly planning process within the marketing functional area.
• for a specialized strategy to introduce something new, such as new product planning, entering new markets, or trying a new strategy to fix an existing problem.
• as a component within an overall business plan, such as a new business proposal to the financial community.

There are many ways to develop and format a marketing plan. The approach recommended here is to present a 7-part plan that includes

• Mission Statement
• Business Description

1. Executive Summary
2. Objectives
3. Situation Analysis
4. Marketing Strategy
5. Implementation
6. Assessment
7. Critical Issues and Resolutions

to be continued...