PREPARING A MARKETING PLAN
John P. Camey, Ph.D.
INTRODUCTION
One of the requirements for this class is the preparation of a marketing plan. Specific
details of the assignment will be provided in class or in the course syllabus. The purpose
of this document is to provide you with guidelines for preparing a marketing plan. You
should be aware that there is no ‘ONE WAY’ to do a marketing plan, however, all
marketing plans have certain elements in common. While the outline provided here does
not have to be followed precisely, most of the elements listed would normally be
addressed in a thorough marketing plan. There are many resources available that provide
detailed instruction, guidance, and assistance in preparing a marketing plan. Some of
them will be identified in these instructions, many will not. You should feel free to
acquire and use any of these. As you work on your plan (whether individually or in a
group) you should be aware that planning is something of a competitive exercise. When
all the plans are submitted, one or two will clearly be better than the others because the
planners were more thoughtful and creative and also because more attention was paid to
detail, appearance, and presentation.
WHAT IS A MARKTING PLAN?
One definition of a marketing plan states that, “A marketing plan is a written document
containing the guidelines for the business unit’s marketing programs and allocations over
the planning period.” (Lehman and Winer 2002) The marketing plan can and should be
an essential document for organizational success. A well thought out marketing plan
should:
•
act as a road map.
•
assist in management control and implementation of strategy.
•
inform new participants of their roles in implementing the plan and reaching
objectives.
•
assist in helping to obtain resources for implementation.
•
stimulate thinking and better use of limited resources.
•
help in the organization and assignment of responsibilities, tasks, and timing.
•
help you become aware of problems, opportunities, and threats in the future
(Cohen 2001)
The marketing plan is an operational document that is created at the business level of the
organization. The plan may address a multiple year time horizon but it should be
reviewed and updated on an annual basis. Plans tend to fall into one of two categories: a
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new product/service introduction plan or an annual marketing plan that addresses
products and/or services that are already in your company portfolio.
MARKETING PLAN FORMAT
The format outline provided here is drawn from a variety of sources that are identified
throughout this document. Your plan should incorporate, or at least address, all of these
elements. If there are elements that are clearly not applicable they may be omitted, but
you would probably want to address their absence in some way. Additional elements,
which add to the quality of your plan, may be added at your discretion.
I.
Cover Page
a. The cover page should identify the entity for which the plan is prepared,
the author(s), and the date of the plan.
b. It creates the first impression of your plan for the reader. Remember: You
never get a second chance to make a first impression.
II.
Executive Summary (This should briefly summarize the plan for the reader.)
a. It is typically one to three pages but shorter is better.
b. It is usually written last.
III.
Table of Contents
a. The TOC should make it easy for the reader to go directly to the sections
they are interested in.
b. Entries in the TOC should be clear.
IV.
Situation Analysis (Use an introductory paragraph to describe what you will
accomplish in this section.)
a. Market Summary (An introductory paragraph should summarize this
section. It may be all that is read.)
i. Market Description and Attributes
1. Geographic
2. Demographic
3. Psychographics
4. Behavioral
ii. Market Needs
1. What is the need you seek to fill?
2. What value are you providing?
iii. Market Trends
1. What factors are changing for the business or market?
2. What new trends have we observed that can be taken
advantage of?
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iv. Market Growth
1. Is the market expanding, shrinking, or flat?
2. You should be able to cite external data here.
b. SWOT Analysis (You could describe briefly what this section is used for.)
i. Strengths
1. Internal factors that add value and describe positive
tangible and intangible attributes
ii. Weaknesses
1. Internal factors that detract from our competitive position.
iii. Opportunities
1. External factors in the market or environment from which
we can benefit.
iv. Threats
1. External factors, usually beyond our control that represent
potential (or actual) threats to the successful
implementation of your plan.
c. Competition
i. Describe your major competitors in terms that most influence
revenues.
d. Product or Service Offering
i. List and describe the product(s) and/or service(s) that you offer.
ii. As you identify them, think in terms of customer needs and
benefits.
e. Critical Issues and Keys to Success
i. Identifying more than three or four priorities is usually less
effective.
ii. Draw from the SWOT analysis
f. Historical Review
i. Briefly summarize past marketing activities and resulting trends
g. Macroenvironment
i. Consider broad macro trends that may affect your success.
ii. Should consider (but not necessarily address) the following
environmental factors:
1. Demographic
2. Economic
3. Technological
4. Political/Legal
5. Social/Cultural
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h. Channels of Distribution
i. How will you deliver your product or service?
ii. A product oriented plan may require much greater detail than a
service oriented plan.
V.
Marketing Strategy (A brief paragraph might summarize your approach to
strategy.)
a. Mission Statement
i. This should provide focus for you plan.
ii. Should define the business you are in.
b. Marketing Objectives
i. Set specific objectives
ii. Objectives should be concrete and measurable
iii. Think about sales, market share, market positioning, image,
awareness, and other objectives.
iv. Remember, marketing objectives are often very different from
financial objectives.
c. Financial Objectives
i. Usually easier to specify and measure than marketing objectives
ii. As with all objectives they should be concrete and measurable.
d. Target Markets
i. This section should address segmentation strategies.
ii. It should then discuss selection of target markets.
e. Positioning Statement
i. Example: For [target market description] who [target market need],
[this product] [how it meets the need]. Unlike [key competition], it
[most important distinguishing feature].
f. Marketing Mix (A brief paragraph should summarize the topics that
follow.)
i. Product or Service Mix
1. Describe the products/services that are offered.
ii. Price
1. Outline pricing strategy.
2. Perhaps what your value proposition is.
iii. Promotion
1. Describe promotion strategy
2. This is strategy. Specifics would be covered in a detailed
promotion plan
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iv. Distribution (Place)
1. Will you focus on a particular area or means of
distribution?
2. In the case of a service, this will be limited.
v. Marketing Research
1. Describe planned research.
2. Describe ongoing research needs.
VI.
Financials (A brief paragraph should summarize this section. You should
include as many of the following elements as you can. Remember, if you
leave it out because you could not do it and another group accomplishes it, it
makes your plan look worse.)
a. Break-even Analysis
b. Sales Forecast (Summarize)
i. By Manager
ii. By Segment
iii. By Program
c. Expense Forecast (Summarize)
i. By Manager
ii. By Segment
iii. By Program
d. Net Marketing Contribution and Profitability
i. Show me the numbers.
VII.
Implementation and Control (Summarize)
a. Implementation plan
i. Provide timetables and milestones.
b. Marketing Organization
i. Describe the sales and marketing organization.
ii. Organizational charts look good here.
iii. Delineate responsibilities
c. Contingency Planning
i. This section should address the question, “What do we do if things
don’t work out?”
ii. Try to think of what could go wrong and how you would handle it.
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VIII.
Appendices and Supporting Information
a. Attach any and all appropriate supporting documents.
MARKETING PLAN RESOURCES
As noted earlier there are many good resources where you may find assistance in
preparing your marketing plan. These are just a few of them.
Textbooks: Most good Marketing Management or Marketing Strategy texts will discuss
marketing planning and what should be included in a marketing plan. They will vary in
detail from text to text. You might look at Marketing Management by Philip Kotler
(2000) or Market-Based Management by Roger J. Best (2000).
Trade Books: Every bookstore has numerous books on how to prepare a marketing plan.
I have been very pleased with “The Marketing Plan,” by William A. Cohen. (2001) It is
currently in the third edition but any edition would be useful. It uses a nice step-by-step
approach and has several sample plans to look at.
Software: One easy to use package is Marketing PlanPro by Palo Alto Software. (2002)
The software leads you through templates and prompts you for the right information.
Groups have sometimes found this to be a difficult approach since everything has to be
typed into one computer. You cannot piece it together. There are other software
planning packages but I am not familiar with them.
Online: A variety of marketing planning resources can be found on the Internet.
Of course, if you choose to use additional outside resources you will have to acquire them
for yourself. Many of them may be available through the library. Some of them can be
expensive ($80 - $100 for software) but if you are working in a group you may find it is
possible to cost-share.
GRADING THE MARKETING PLAN
Your marketing plan will be scored according to the following criteria.
The major sections of the plan (Situation Analysis, Marketing Strategy, Financials,
Implementation and Control) will be worth 20 points each for a total of 80 points.
Evaluation of these sections will be based on completeness, thoroughness, and quality of
analysis and conclusions.
The minor sections (Cover Page, Executive Summary, Table of Contents, Appendices
and Supporting Information) will be allocated 10 points total. These sections will be
evaluated primarily on completeness and thoroughness.
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A final 10 points will be allocated to the overall paper. This evaluation will be based on
the professional quality of your work. It will include appearance, spelling, grammar,
layout and all of the many minor elements that can make a good piece of work seem bad.
References
Best, R. J. (2000). Market-Based Management. Upper Saddle River, NJ, Prentice-Hall.
Cohen, W. A. (2001). The Marketing Plan. New York, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Kotler, P. (2000). Marketing Management. Upper Saddle River, NJ, Prentice-Hall.
Lehman, D. R. and R. S. Winer (2002). Analysis for Marketing Planning. New York,
McGraw-Hill.
Palo Alto Software (2002). Marketing Plan Pro. Palo Alto, CA, Palo Alto Software.
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