Marketing Plan – True or False Answer Guide
1. A marketing plan is often included as part of a company’s overall business plan. True
2. Marketing plans are important only for big companies. False; marketing plans are essential to the success of
companies both big and small.
3. Marketing plans are read only by marketing team members. False; marketing plans have wide audiences,
including employees throughout the organization, potential investors, board members, etc.
4. Writing a marketing plan involves quite a bit of time and effort. True
5. Writing a marketing plan helps a company to understand its target market(s) better. True
6. Marketing goals are best if they are non-specific. False; specific marketing goals are best because they
are easier to remember and achieve.
7. Marketing plans are used to obtain funding from outside investors only. False; marketing plans can also be
used to obtain funding from within the organization, such as a portion from the yearly budget.
8. Marketing plans make it more difficult for a company to track its progress. False; marketing plans make it
easier for a company to track its progress because they provide a gauge for success.
9. Marketing-plan formats vary from business to business. True
10. The executive summary is an introduction to the marketing plan. True
11. The situation analysis is often summarized with a SWOT chart. True
12. Every marketing plan must include a section on desired target market. False; when a marketing plan is not
designed to enter a new target market or introduce a new product, it may not include a section on desired target
market.
13. Marketing strategies and objectives take up very little space in the marketing plan. False; marketing strategies
and objectives are the heart of the marketing plan and often take up 50 percent or more of the length.
14. Marketing plans detail expected expenses and profits. True
15. An appendix is a place for marketing team members to include personal notes and pictures. False; an
appendix is a place for charts, graphs, and miscellaneous materials related to the marketing plan.
Practice Test Answer Key
OBJECTIVE A
1. A marketing plan is a set of procedures or strategies for attracting the target customer to a business.
2. There are three common reasons for writing a marketing plan:
• First, the marketing plan may be included as part of the organization’s overall business plan.
• Second, the plan may be presented to upper management by the marketing team as a way to
demonstrate and solidify its goals and strategies for the upcoming year.
• Third, the marketing plan may outline the company’s intentions for introducing a new product,
entering a new target market, or trying a new marketing strategy.
3. A marketing plan has a wide audience. It may be read by marketing team members, employees in
departments throughout the company, upper management, board members, potential investors, etc.
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4. When a business creates detailed marketing plans, it allows itself the opportunity to look back and see
which strategies worked well—and which didn’t. The marketing team can build on its knowledge of the past
to create ideas and plans for the future and to avoid repeating mistakes unnecessarily.
5. In business, the customer is king. No firm achieves success unless it satisfies its customers’ needs and
wants. To do this, the business must have a deep understanding o f its target market(s). The level of
research and detail required to write a marketing plan helps the marketing team to know and understand its
target market(s) as much as it possibly can.
6. Writing a marketing plan forces the marketing team to set specific goals. When goals are put in writing,
they are easier to remember, to stick to, to measure, and to achieve.
7. Once marketing goals have been set, marketing strategies must be designed and implemented to achieve
those goals. Without a marketing plan, things can get chaotic. One member of the team may plan a television
advertising campaign, while another sets sales promotions into action, and yet another sends out direct
mail. Without coordination, these marketing strategies can compete with each other and create confusion
among customers. A marketing plan provides clear guidance on what strategies will be used and when.
8. A very important benefit of writing a marketing plan can be obtaining funding for specific products or
projects. This funding might come from within the company or from outside investors. For example, large
companies often have different marketing teams for each of their specific products. These teams might have
to “compete” to get the funding they want out of each yearly budget—and a well-written marketing plan can be
the key to obtaining it. A small business, on the other hand, might need investment dollars to get off the
ground. A marketing plan, as part of an overall business plan, is something that potential investors will want
to see before deciding whether or not to put money into the business.
9. Marketing plans provide clear direction for everyone in the organization, both inside and outside the
marketing team. All company departments are interrelated. When everyone in the organization is “in the know,”
it’s easier to stay on track.
10. It’s hard to gauge marketing effectiveness when no specific objectives have been set. A wellwritten marketing plan allows a business to track its progress in a measurable way. Being able to
demonstrate success can be essential for obtaining further funding or getting the “go ahead” to
continue with certain products or marketing strategies.
OBJECTIVE B
11. The executive summary serves as an introduction to the marketing plan. Its purpose is to allow the
reader to understand the purpose of the marketing plan. Though the executive summary may be short
compared to other sections of the marketing plan, its importance should not be underestimated. For
many readers, this is the only part of the marketing plan that they will take the time to read. Many
important decisions may be made based solely upon the information contained in the executive summary.
For this reason, the summary must clearly and concisely state the purpose of the marketing plan.
12. Situation analysis is an important and time-consuming component of a marketing plan. It covers the
following key areas:
• The company itself:
 What are the company’s overall goals?
 What is the company’s organizational culture like?
 What goods and services does the company currently produce?
 What is the company’s current financial situation?
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• Customers (target market):
 What is the size of the company’s current target market?
 What are the demographics (defining characteristics) of the current target market?
 What are the purchasing behaviors of the current target market?
• Competitors:
 What is the market position of the company’s main competitors?
 What are the strengths of the company’s main competitors?
 What are the weaknesses of the company’s main competitors?
• Partners:
 How strong are the company’s relationships with its current distributors?
 Does the company currently have any subsidiaries or joint ventures? If so, how do these
relationships affect the company’s current marketing situation?
• External factors—how are the following trends affecting the company’s current marketing
situation?
 Social and cultural
 Demographic
 Economic
 Technological
 Political and legal
13. The marketing plan should include information on the target market the company desires to reach. If
the plan is not written for a new target market or a new product, it may not need to include this
particular section.
14. The marketing objective section of the marketing plan outlines the specific marketing objectives that
the company wants to achieve. Marketing objectives serve as a foundation for achieving sales and
overall financial objectives, so setting marketing objectives is a very important task! Like any effective
goal, a marketing objective should be SMART—specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timebound.
There are many different types of marketing objectives that a company can set for itself. They can relate
to issues from target markets, to promotions, to channels of distribution, even to the research and development of new products. A marketing plan may even include different sets of objectives for different
groups within the same target market. A company may set different goals for reaching new customers,
for instance, than it does for reaching existing customers.
The marketing objectives section also mentions any issues that might affect the organization’s reaching
its goals. The plan should address how the organization will overcome these obstacles with its marketing
programs.
15. Marketing strategies and programs are the heart of the marketing plan. This is usually the longest
section of the plan, taking up 50 percent or more of the overall length. The plan’s authors may start out by
identi- fying a general marketing strategy, such as growth, stability, or market exit. The marketing
strategies and programs section then details the specific marketing activities that the plan proposes to
undertake. This includes schedules, timetables, and the assignment of responsibility for all the tasks
involved in product, price, place (distribution), and promotion.
16. The financial plans section provides details on the expected expenses and profits of the marketing
plan’s programs.
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17. In the performance and implementation section, marketers explain their expected results and
indicate how the marketing plans progress will be measured. This portion also describes potential
changes and adjustments that can be made to keep the marketing plan on track.
18. A marketing plan’s appendix includes any charts, graphs, or miscellaneous materials related to the
mar- keting plan. It might include detailed research findings that are only summarized in other parts
of the plan, samples of proposed marketing literature, press clippings, product photographs, estimates
from vendors, etc.
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