Marketing Plan: What It Is and How to Make It Marketing Plan

Let's take a look at what a simple example of a marketing plan created using a template in Google Sheets might look like. It describes the main tasks that need to be solved to achieve a specific marketing goal — the launch of a new product line.

And this is what a marketing plan can look like with a detailed description of the steps that need to be taken within the framework of specific activities.

Types of Marketing Plans

Let's consider the main types of marketing plans.

By time

Depending on the timing of marketing planning, the following subtypes of plans are distinguished:

• Short-term (up to 1 year) – these types of marketing plans focus on solving current problems – increasing sales, attracting new customers, promoting specific products and lines. They usually include a detailed description of each marketing event and fix clear deadlines for their implementation. Short-term plans are flexible and allow you to easily respond to market changes;
• Medium-term (for 2-5 years) are used to achieve intermediate goals that help in the implementation of long-term plans. This can be an increase in customer loyalty, business scaling and market expansion, an increase in product sales, and the launch of new products. Medium-term plans take into account forecasts for changes in the market situation in the coming years, but in an unstable economic situation, they need to be regularly adjusted;
• Long-term (for 5-10 years) – marketing plans of this type are used in strategic planning and determine the global goals of the company – increasing market share, developing business infrastructure, introducing innovative technologies, development and research. A long-term plan is a roadmap that determines how the company will develop in the next decade. However, it requires constant monitoring and adjustment, since the market situation is subject to constant changes, which affects the goals, objectives and priorities of the business.

By goals

Let's consider what types of marketing plans exist in terms of tasks and goals:

• Goals in digital marketing – this includes everything related to the company's online presence – for example, SEO promotion, SMM, social media management and audience engagement, launching online marketing campaigns, website traffic, applications and targeted actions;
• Sales goals – This group includes marketing plans to increase revenue and sales volumes. This can be an increase in sales in e-commerce and at offline retail outlets, an increase in the average check or the number of repeat purchases, the extension of the client's LTV, the attraction of new customers;
• Customer loyalty goals – marketing plans for this subtype are related to the audience's attitude towards the brand and are most often aimed at increasing awareness and engagement. Such marketing plans may include promotions, bonus and loyalty programs, special projects, participation of the company in various events;
• Image goals – marketing plans of this group relate to the company's reputation and public opinion about it. To achieve these goals, they use publications in print and electronic media, work with the rating in social networks and on reviews, collect feedback and take it into account in the company's further development strategy;
• Business expansion goals include everything related to the development of the company, for example, scaling, development and launch of new products and lines, opening new branches, expanding the geography of sales, attracting new partners and investors.

Marketing plan templates

Marketers use the following templates (models) of marketing plans in business.

Standard template

Standard templates are created using Excel or Google Sheets. They are versatile, and also easily adapt to the needs of any company and the specifics of its advertising strategy.

Here's what a standard marketing plan includes:

• type of event, its purpose;
• tasks for pre-project analysis and its results;
• budget;
• Time;
• tools for achieving goals and steps to organize the event;
• responsible persons;
• metrics for evaluating the result;
• Results of the event.

Using this template, it is convenient to plan specific advertising activities in the short term, which has clear deadlines and a standard step-by-step implementation plan. You can add or remove sections as needed.

Template SOStAC

SOSTAC is a marketing planning model that was developed by expert Paul Smith. It includes the following components:

• Situation analysis — study of the state of affairs in the market, analysis of the target audience and competitors;
• Objectives are the result that the company wants to achieve by drawing up a marketing plan;
• Strategy is the development of a strategy that will lead to the achievement of goals;
• Tactics is the choice of tools and methods for the implementation of the strategy;
• Action - Approve a list of steps to achieve a goal.
• Control is the selection of metrics by which the effectiveness of the strategy will be evaluated and the decision to make adjustments will be made.

Allan Deeb's one-page template is a method for developing a marketing plan that covers three stages of sales:

• before the purchase — working with potential customers and increasing loyalty and awareness: analyzing the target audience, choosing channels for transmitting advertising messages, drawing up an advertising strategy, creating ads and creatives;
• during the purchase — building a sales funnel and converting contacts into real applications: stimulating interested customers to take a targeted action — to buy a product or order a service;
• After the purchase, work with customer retention and stimulation of repeat requests: loyalty programs, the use of dynamic remarketing, mailings to "hot" databases.

Kelly Cloth Template (4P+4W)

Kelly Odell's template is a marketing plan that describes the 4 main components of sales:

• Product — the promoted product or line;
• Price — the price at which they will be sold;
• Place — a place of sale and communication channels;
• Production — promotion methods.

It also answers 4 questions that describe these components: What, Why, When, How. For a more detailed disclosure of the marketing plan, you can add other questions.

The Hunt ladder marketing plan template includes 5 stages that the client goes through before buying.

Model Kellera

Keller's brand equity model is a tool that helps companies build strong brands. Here's what a marketing plan for this model includes:

• brand identity – creating brand awareness among customers and distinguishing it from competitors;
• the meaning of the brand is the quality of the product and the emotional perception of the brand;
• feedback — the reaction of customers after the purchase: logical judgments and feelings;
• Resonance is the level of brand loyalty.

Customer Journey Map

A customer journey map, or CJM (Customer Journey Map), is a marketing plan that visualizes a consumer's interaction with a company. It takes into account the client's emotions and thoughts from the moment they first encounter the brand and throughout the entire cooperation with it. The main task when developing a marketing plan is to trace the customer's journey and understand how it can be used to promote the brand.

Structure of a marketing plan

Let's consider what a marketing plan consists of:

• analysis of the market and target audience – research of market trends and demand, competitors and their strategies, drawing up a portrait of the target audience;
• goal setting – defining specific and measurable goals, setting deadlines for achieving goals;
• description of strategies – selection of the main directions of marketing activities, determination of key performance indicators (KPI);
• description of ways to solve the tasks - development of marketing campaigns, determination of communication channels with the target audience, planning events;
• appointment of responsible persons – determination of employees responsible for the implementation of the plan, distribution of tasks between them;
• Timeline/deadline — setting deadlines for each task and stage of the plan and monitoring their compliance;
• budget determination – assessment of costs for the implementation of the plan, determination of sources of financing;
• Performance assessment – regular monitoring and analysis of the results of marketing activities, making adjustments to the plan if necessary.

Developing a marketing plan: step-by-step instructions

Let's consider how to draw up a marketing plan step by step:

• Step 1: Collection of information – analysis of the market and the internal situation in the company;
• Step 2: Strategy development – setting goals and objectives and finding ways to achieve them;
• Step 3: Planning – drawing up a detailed action plan to achieve goals;
• Step 4: Cost accounting – budgeting and forecasting payback periods;
• Step 5: Performance Analysis – tracking metrics during the implementation of the plan;
• Step 6: Adjustment – Making changes based on the results of the analytics.

Resume

A marketing plan is not just a list of promotional activities, it is a roadmap that paves the way for a company to achieve its goals. It allows you to structure information about the implementation of the strategy, optimize costs, and facilitate the process of analyzing the effectiveness of advertising campaigns. In strategic marketing planning, you can use templates that can be adapted to suit your business.