SIMPLE MARKETING PLAN GUIDE & TEMPLATE

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INTRODUCTION

Fundamental to the success of any marketing effort is a strategic plan that clearly outlines the company’s goals, supporting activities, and specific metrics to gauge progress.

This simple guide discusses the most important components of a marketing strategy. It will aid you in assessing your market (i.e the “3Cs” – company, customers, competitors) and creating a plan for responding to these market dynamics in order to achieve your objectives (i.e. the “4Ps” – People, Product, Placement, Promotion).

Your new business, product, idea, or endeavor exists in order to fill unmet (and often unspoken) consumer needs. With our template you can clearly define those needs and develop a step-by-step action plan for positioning your company to solve them.

OVERVIEW

A short summary of the market dynamics including important industry trends and key customer and competitive insights.

MARKET DYNAMICS

The steps you will take in order to meet the brand objectives set (i.e. this will summarize your company’s 4Ps).

STRATEGIC VISION

A brief outline of your goals and prioritized areas of focus (as a direct response to the market dynamics you have specified).

BRAND OBJECTIVES

An executive summary, or overview, provides a high-level explanation of your marketing plan elements

MARKET

Provide a thorough overview of the industry your company operates in

MARKET Show size of industry and growth over time

Year

Size

($M

)

MARKET Use a timeline to highlight relevant industry milestones

2011 2015 2014 2013 2012

Milestone 1 Milestone 3

Milestone 2 Milestone 4

MARKET Break the industry down into core trends or categories

CONSUMER

Specify who you're targeting and the most important details around their

desires, behaviors, and unmet needs

CONSUMER Develop personas or buyer profiles to help understand your core consumer segments

Persona 1 Name Persona 2 Name Persona 3 Name

Insert tagline that summarizes persona 1

Insert tagline that summarizes persona 2

Insert tagline that summarizes persona 3

CONSUMER Demographics and other quantitative stats will assist in targeting core groups

Income Gender Age

CONSUMER Use qualitative insights to uncover interests, activities, behaviors, needs, and desires

Personality Interests Activities

o  Insert Personality o  Insert Personality o  Insert Personality o  Insert Personality

o  Insert Interests o  Insert Interests o  Insert Interests o  Insert Interests

o  Insert Activities o  Insert Activities o  Insert Activities o  Insert Activities

Behaviors Needs Desires

o  Insert Personality o  Insert Personality o  Insert Personality o  Insert Personality

o  Insert Interests o  Insert Interests o  Insert Interests o  Insert Interests

o  Insert Activities o  Insert Activities o  Insert Activities o  Insert Activities

COMPETITORS

Determine the key players in the market and compare your company to identify competitive advantages

COMPETITORS Create a competitive array by identifying metrics to score yourself and your competitors against

You Competitor 1 Competitor 2 Competitor 3

Insert Comparison Point

Insert Comparison Point

Insert Comparison Point

Insert Comparison Point

Insert Comparison Point

TOTAL

Note: score on a scale (e.g. 1-low, 2-med, 3-high) across specific strategic success measures then sum to analyze total results

COMPETITORS Conduct a SWOT analysis to find your competitive advantages (and disadvantages)

o  Insert Strength o  Insert Strength o  Insert Strength o  Insert Strength

o  Insert Opportunity o  Insert Opportunity o  Insert Opportunity o  Insert Opportunity

Helpful

Strengths

Opportunities

o  Insert Weakness o  Insert Weakness o  Insert Weakness o  Insert Weakness

o  Insert Threat o  Insert Threat o  Insert Threat o  Insert Threat

Harmful

Weaknesses

Threats

INTE

RN

AL

FOR

CES

EX

TER

NA

L FO

RC

ES

STRATEGY

Outline an action plan to achieve your goals given market dynamics

STRATEGY Use a positioning map to showcase your product or service in relation to others

High Price

Low Price

Low

Qu

alit

y

Hig

h Q

ua

lity

  Target Position

  Compe-titor

  Compe-titor

Product 1

High Price

Low Price

Low

Qu

alit

y

Hig

h Q

ua

lity

  Target Position

  Compe-titor

  Compe-titor

Product 2

  Current Position

  Current Position

STRATEGY Outline product placement and distribution channels

Describe where customer can find product

Channel 1

Describe where customer can find product

Channel 2

Describe where customer can find product

Channel 3

Describe where customer can find product

Channel 4

STRATEGY Understand the consumer journey or “path to purchase” and use to define your promotional activities

Awareness Education Consideration Purchase Loyalty Advocacy

Insert Key Channel

Insert Key Channel

Insert Key Channel

Insert Key Channel

Insert Key Channel

Insert Key Channel

Insert Key Activity

Insert Key Activity

Insert Key Activity

Insert Key Activity

Insert Key Activity

Insert Key Activity

Insert Key Metric

Insert Key Metric

Insert Key Metric

Insert Key Metric

Insert Key Metric

Insert Key Metric

STRATEGY Don’t forget to consider all stakeholders who impact the purchasing and use of product

Influencer

Buyer

User Summarize who the most important influencers are and how to target them

Summarize who is actually making the purchases and how to target them

Summarize who the end user is and how

to target them

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