home Audience 1 Marketing plan for company development example. How to create an effective marketing promotion plan for your product, service, company

Marketing plan for company development example. How to create an effective marketing promotion plan for your product, service, company

Let's consider the marketing plan of Lux LLC as an integral part of the production (internal) business plan, developed to plan the production of executive-class business souvenirs (desk sets, ...) with the customer’s branding.

The business plan for the production of new products was carried out taking into account the results of market research and on the basis of the marketing plan. Let's consider the marketing plan of Lux LLC.

Preamble:

1. Purpose:

The marketing action plan for LLC “Lux” is intended to implement the strategy of LLC “Lux” for the introduction into production of executive class business souvenirs (desk writing sets, .....).

2. Purpose of the plan:

The plan is aimed at increasing the total sales volume of Lux LLC products for 2002 as a whole by 30% compared to 2001 (in comparable prices) and provides for an increase in quarterly sales volumes compared to the corresponding periods of 2001. based on available data on the state of the market in the Southern Federal District and current trends in demand for advertising and souvenir products.

3. Brief description of the contents of the plan (summary):

3.1. Product and Technology Analysis

Product analysis activities are aimed at maintaining and developing the competitiveness of the enterprise's products. The selection of activities is provided taking into account the long-term orientation of the enterprise towards target consumer markets.

It is planned to carry out a number of technological and organizational measures aimed at improving the quality and technical level of products, reducing the lead time of orders, and reducing inventories.

3.2. Consumer Analysis

The main attention is expected to be paid to the 3 main groups of consumers today, those with the greatest solvency and the most pronounced need for business gifts: small commercial and industrial enterprises; machine-building enterprises; administrative bodies.

For these consumer groups, it is expected to build special relationships, as well as search for new consumers, for which it is necessary to clarify and update existing databases, group data, improve the technology for working with consumers when placing an order, including the relevant provisions in the staff job description.

3.3. Competitor analysis

It is expected to determine the circle of potential competitors of Lux LLC, their strengths and weaknesses. Clarify prices for competitors’ products, the degree of competition for individual product items.

3.4. Price policy

Based on an analysis of the cost structure of Lux LLC products, competitors’ prices and the amount of profit for each product item, develop a unified system of selling prices and discounts.

The main types of advertising for 2002 are expected to be mailing with obligatory calls to the most important consumers. Take part in the exhibition “Advertising 2002”. Prepare product catalogs. Prepare a number of publications in the newspaper “Gorod N”, “Evening Rostov”, in specialized publications on the profile of consumers.

Marketing activities for 2002:

Tables 3 and 4 show the marketing activities of Lux LLC for 2002. All products of the enterprise are divided into assortment groups indicated in the table. Targets for the growth of such types of assortment as leather accessories (purses, business card holders, key holders, organizers, folders), writing sets, leather briefcases are set at 30% compared to 2001.

The average percentage increase is also assumed to be 30%. The sales volume of the remaining types of assortment is planned to remain at the same level, gradually making the transition to the production of elite business gifts, ensuring that the sales volume of these types of products amounts to 75% of total sales.

Table 3.

Indicators of sales growth when implementing the marketing plan

Name of assortment group			Deviation, + -
Quantity, pcs.	Amount, rub.	Quantity, pcs.	Amount, rub.	Quantity, pcs.	Amount, rub.
In actual prices	In comparable prices
1. Leather accessories
2. Key rings
3. Lighters
4. Writing sets

6. Printing products
7. Briefcases


10. Desk clock

The goal of marketing is to determine the needs and demands of consumers, establish a system of consumer preferences (what consumers prefer more, what less, what they pay attention to first, what second, etc.), find out where and how consumers will buy the product, how they will learn about its advantages and simply its existence (i.e., determine which forms and methods of promoting goods and services on the market are best to use), why they will give preference to your product when compared with competitors' products, etc. Therefore, the concept of “marketing” in a broad sense is not limited to studying only consumer demand, but also determines how to conduct a campaign to promote new products on the market, build an advertising strategy, etc.

Table 4.

Activities according to the marketing plan

	Events	Period of execution	Executor	Price
	Product Analysis
Expansion of the nomenclature		Marketing department
Selection of suppliers
Introduction of hot stamping with color change
Introduction of laser engraving
Improving the quality of tampons
	Consumer Analysis
Purchasing the “Business Card” database
Clarification of the database of regular customers 2000-2001.
Conducting an analysis of payments for various consumer groups for 2000-2001.
The same with regard to assortment groups
Identification of target consumer groups and development of recommendations for marketing strategy in each target segment
Inventory of intermediary companies
Analyze prospective consumers based on press materials	During a year
	Price policy
Perform an analysis of the price level in comparison with competitors for various types of products	March, June, September, December
Perform an analysis of 2002 sales volume by product type	March, June, September, December
Adjustment of pricing policy	Of necessity
	Competitors
Make lists of competitors
Make a list of the strengths and weaknesses of competitors in comparison with Lux LLC
Collect information on the regional activities of competitors	During a year

Cooperation with Versiya LLC to fulfill orders for full-color printing	January June	Production Department

	During a year	Marketing department

	During a year

Posting advertisements	2 times a month

Production of souvenirs with the symbols of Lux LLC		Production Department

Preparation and publication of the catalog

A good plan is half done!
Jewish wisdom

Marketing plan

Jim Rohn always said: Never start your day unless you already have it planned out on paper! And this has become the rule of all successful business people.

I, in turn, slightly paraphrased the rule of the great psychologist, and I always recommend to my clients: never start marketing unless you have a regular marketing plan. Otherwise, you risk being left without clients and without money!

It is important to understand that marketing is not about individual gimmicks, gimmicks and tools!

Marketing is a daily painstaking systematic work. And if you want your marketing to be effective, it needs to be planned carefully.

A marketing calendar will help you with this, which will display a marketing plan with specific goals, expected results and a set budget. Creating it is not as difficult as it seems at first glance. You will only need to complete 7 steps.

Let's look at each of them.

Note: At the end of the article there is a link to a marketing calendar template that you can download to your computer and start using in your work.

#1 - Selecting planning tools

You can plan in different ways.

Some people do it the old fashioned way, maybe use a notepad. Some people find it more convenient to use Excel. And some will prefer specialized software.

In fact, it doesn't matter which method you choose. The main thing is the created marketing plan.

There are several free, simple, but no less effective ways to create and maintain a marketing calendar:

Google docs. Online Excel spreadsheets that allow multiple users to work in them at once. Great for team work.
Evernote. An online notepad that is also great for team work. On the plus side, you can save and organize any notes regarding your marketing plan. The downside is that all calculations will need to be done manually.
Trello. Another cool tool for teamwork. Allows you to pull documents from Google docs and create cards with tasks and subtasks, as well as assign responsibility.

If you want to use specialized professional software, I recommend paying attention to the following applications:

No. 2 - Drawing up a sales plan

The key task of marketing in absolutely any company (except for charitable ones) is to fulfill the sales plan and obtain the planned profit. And you should always remember this!

We will not dwell on the topic of sales planning now, but you must know exactly what financial indicators you want to achieve in each month.

This will determine both your marketing budget and the marketing channels you use.

Planning methods

There are three main planning methods:

top-down planning
bottom-up planning
Goals down-plans up planning

In the first case, the company's management independently sets goals and develops plans for its sales department.

In the second case, the sales department develops its own goals and plans, which are sent to management for approval.

In the third case, the company's management develops goals and indicators for distribution development. Based on this data, the sales department draws up a plan, as well as a list of resources necessary to implement the plan. Plans and resources are reviewed and approved by management.

As practice shows, the third method is the most effective.

Although, unfortunately, most distribution companies work according to the first method.

Typically, the sales plan goes down from the business owner to the commercial director, from the commercial director to the head of the sales department, from the head of the department to the senior manager (or supervisor) to the sales managers. Of course, this chain may change depending on the structure of the sales department in the company, but the principle of planning remains unchanged.

Why is this happening?

The answer is quite simple: senior management always acts as an investor.

At the same time, having information about the average interest rate on deposits, management expects its business to grow at least 2 times more than the average rate. Otherwise, a deposit is a more attractive and profitable investment.

Lower-level managers almost never think about the cost of money, so senior management rarely trusts them with planning.

What usually happens in top-down planning?

In most cases, top-down planning encourages shifting responsibility and the development of protest thinking among sales managers. That is, having seen their sales plan for the month, managers begin to look for reasons and arguments why this plan is overestimated and unfulfilled. They perceive any increase in the plan not as an opportunity to increase their income, but as a desire by management to reduce their salary.

But the root of the problem lies elsewhere: the manager is just comparing last month’s sales plan with the current plan.

If the current plan figure is higher, the manager perceives it as a whim of management, and nothing more. And he continues to work carelessly, without thinking about what is needed to fulfill the plan.

Believe me, only a few managers with this approach to planning try to figure out how they can increase sales. They will always expect that since management sets plans, they should provide resources for implementation, and also tell them how to implement the plan.

Moreover, if any measure proposed by management turns out to be ineffective, it will automatically turn into an alibi for the manager as to why he did not fulfill the plan. Naturally, after this the manager will demand adjustments to the plan.

Therefore, I consider this approach to planning ineffective.

On the other hand, if planning is left entirely to managers, there is a high probability that managers will simply underestimate their performance. Which, in turn, will naturally not be liked by management, and they will pass on their plan to the sales department.

To avoid eternal problems with planning, the “goals down, plan up” method is used.

How planning is effective Goals down - plans up

It is important to note that this approach to planning is closely intertwined with the company’s development strategy. It involves the involvement of each sales manager in the process of sales planning for the year (with sales distribution for each month) for each product group.

Thus, each manager independently sets an annual sales plan, which is then approved by management.

Here are just a few pros in favor of the Goals Down-Plans Up method:

Managers independently analyze monthly sales for key product groups over the past 2 years.

Thus, they clearly understand the presence of seasonality in sales and can determine the coefficient of seasonal growth and decline. Which will certainly help to more accurately predict sales for the next year.

Managers analyze indicators of quantitative and qualitative distribution. Which, in turn, allows you to analyze:

The number of retail outlets that do not have a top assortment. Introducing the best-selling items into these outlets will definitely increase the average order, and, accordingly, sales.
Assortment matrices for each client. This analysis is very important for distribution companies, but very few managers do it.

Firstly, this analysis helps identify high-turnover positions. These are the ones you should focus on when launching marketing activities.

Secondly, it shows low-turnover items that affect the overall assortment turnover rate. After all, it is based on the overall turnover of the assortment that customers demand deferred payment.

For the manager, the priority task is to rotate low-turnover items, which in turn affects the improvement of the overall assortment turnover rate and allows for additional sales.

“Like to like” sales.

This indicator is also very important for the correct preparation of a strategic plan.

For example, in March last year, the manager worked with 100 retail outlets, the sales volume of which amounted to 100,000 USD. In March of this year, an additional 10 retail outlets opened on the manager’s territory. At the same time, sales volume to all 110 retail outlets amounted to 110,000 USD. Knowing that these 10 retail outlets made a purchase of $20,000, we see that sales for the same customer base fell by $10,000.

Thus, despite the overall visible increase in sales compared to the same period of the previous year, the “like to like” analysis shows its decline.

For the manager, this is an opportunity to understand the reasons for the decline, as well as determine the potential for sales growth.

Managers plan the necessary resources for sales growth.

Knowing the potential and needs of their clients, managers can create a list of effective activities aimed at increasing sales and distribution indicators. Having data on the effectiveness of previous promotions, the manager can correctly predict in which month it is better to hold events and what kind of increase they will give in sales.

Based on this data, the manager can also draw up an approximate marketing budget for the year, which will help management evaluate the effectiveness of investments in sales development.

Planning elements

The following are the main elements of planning:

Sales data for each product group for each month for the previous 2 years
This data is necessary so that the manager, firstly, can see growth or decline trends for each product group, and, secondly, can correctly make a sales forecast for each month of the next year.
Market Expectations and Trends
Market expectations can adjust sales plans, both up and down.
Information about seasonality of products
If the product has a pronounced seasonal nature, then naturally the manager needs to know how much sales grow during the season, and, accordingly, how much they fall during the off-season.
Marketing activity plan
Any marketing activity has its own performance indicators. The sales manager needs to draw up a calendar of marketing events based on the performance indicators of previous promotions in order to maximize sales growth.
The emergence of new products in the company’s assortment
Of course, new products can increase a company's sales and should be taken into account in the plan from the moment a new product appears in the company's portfolio.
Clients' business development strategy
In strategic planning, it is important for every manager to consider the development of their clients in the coming year. Opening branches (stores), entering new markets, changing owners - all these factors can influence an increase in sales, or a decrease due to the deterioration of the financial condition of clients.
Information about the planned price increase
Very often, sharp price increases have an impact on sales growth in the month when the price increase occurs, and on a further decrease in sales volumes in subsequent months. It is important for a manager to have this information in order to predict his personal sales volume as accurately as possible.

Having filled in the data, the manager receives a detailed sales plan for the year for each product group in the context of each month. A key feature of this approach to planning is that managers take into account all the factors that can affect both growth and decline in sales.

In most cases, managers find many new opportunities to increase sales and develop distribution. Also, how correctly and competently the plan is drawn up will be an indicator of the professionalism and competence of this manager.

Naturally, approval of the strategic plan will remain with senior management. It is advisable for the manager to “defend” his plan to management, as well as the amount of resources and investments required to achieve it. Then it will be much easier to make changes to the drawn up plan, since management will only have to point out factors that the sales manager might not have paid attention to.

Once the sales plan is approved, the entire company receives both its development strategy for the year and the necessary resources to achieve its goals.

To ensure that plans do not remain just numbers on paper, each sales manager needs to compare actual sales results with planned ones on a monthly basis. This will help you see deviations from the plan for each product group. Thus, each manager will be able to quickly understand the reasons for failure in any area and improve their performance.

Also, analysis of current indicators helps to assess the effectiveness of marketing activities. Based on data on actual sales, it will be possible to abandon ineffective marketing activities and reallocate the budget.

Monthly analysis will regularly show how well the annual planning was done and how effective the planned marketing activities were.

Quarterly plan adjustment

With the help of monthly analysis, the sales department will be able to understand which customers are experiencing growth or decline in sales, as well as identify the factors influencing these deviations. It is important to understand that no planning can be perfect.

No one can 100% protect themselves from aggressive actions of competitors, the emergence of new strong players in the market, the economic situation in the country, or bankruptcy of clients. Definitely, these factors must be taken into account, and changes must be made to the strategic plan once a quarter.

At the same time, when making adjustments, the manager must answer the following questions:

How long will the emerging factors affect the growth/decrease in sales?
Are there additional opportunities/risks for growth/decrease in sales volume?
How can we counteract the emerging negative factors and what investments are needed for this?
How likely is it that factors affecting sales will emerge in the near future?

No. 3 - Selecting marketing channels

Choosing marketing channels is one of the most difficult tasks.

First, you need to know exactly how each channel is performing. This will allow you to predict as accurately as possible how much sales each channel is capable of generating.

Secondly, you will need to allocate your marketing budget wisely to get the maximum effect from your marketing investments. When allocating your budget, always remember the 80/20 rule and invest the majority of it in the most effective marketing channels.

Thirdly, you will be able to correctly plan your resource costs (time, money, etc.), and determine what you can do on your own (if you are an individual entrepreneur), what your team (marketing department) can do, and what should be given away outsourced

Fourth, always add new marketing channels to your plan. Test them and measure the results. Keep effective ones in your marketing calendar; discard ineffective ones!

No. 4 - Drawing up goals for each channel and distribution of the sales plan

Not all marketing channels can immediately generate sales.

If, for example, you make a special offer to your regular customers and put it in your newsletter, you can safely expect that a certain percentage will immediately take advantage of your offer.

It all depends on the client’s readiness to buy.

Therefore, each marketing channel you decide to use should have clear and measurable goals written in addition to the expected sales target.

Each channel can have its own goals:

For a billboard, the main metric may be the number of calls to your office. Guest blogging has the number of clicks to your site. An advertising announcement placed with partners shows the number of new clients.

By analyzing the implementation of goals, you will be able to identify your problem areas in the sales and customer generation system.

Accordingly, you will need to think carefully about the steps "Like"(design, usability, content, customer focus) and "Build trust"(reviews, recommendations, evidence, value and quality of materials).

These stages are definitely the weakest links in your customer generation system. Think about what can be improved at each stage, find out the opinions of your customers, and be sure to correct mistakes.

#5 - Budget distribution

The next stage is budget distribution.

Many companies approach the formation of a marketing budget chaotically, allocating small amounts to 1-2 marketing channels.

This principle is fundamentally wrong.

Your pricing should initially include the percentage of the marketing budget that you will use monthly. You are ready to part with this amount no matter what!

Therefore, if you do not yet have a marketing budget, determine right now what % of sales (or profit) you will reinvest in marketing monthly.

Once the budget is set, your next task will be to distribute it across marketing channels. The distribution principle is very simple: choose 20% of the channels that provide 80% of sales and invest 80% of your budget in them.

15% - remaining used but less effective marketing channels
5% - new marketing channels that you have not used before

Why exactly this way?

Firstly, there are no marketing channels that are guaranteed to be equally effective for every company (otherwise, everyone would have been millionaires a long time ago :-D). Everything needs to be tested and verified.

If you don't use different marketing channels and experiment regularly, you risk never learning about those channels that could bring good profits to your company.

Secondly, there is a good folk saying: “Don’t cut the goose that lays the golden eggs.”

This means that you should never reduce the budget for the most effective marketing channels!

No. 6 - Appointment of responsible persons

Distributing and assigning areas of responsibility is the next step in creating an effective marketing plan. You must clearly understand who is responsible for what. Otherwise, you risk finding yourself in a situation where everyone is responsible for everything, and, at the same time, everyone is responsible for nothing.

If you have a marketing department, list the responsible person next to each channel. Talk to him about goals, deadlines, budget and expected sales results. Make sure your marketer understands you correctly.

If you work with partners, be sure to agree on specific actions that the partner must perform and specific deadlines (for example, an advertising post in the partner’s Facebook group should be published on Monday, July 14 at 11.30. It should be pinned to the top of all publications and hang for 3 days).

If you use any outsourced services, use the same principle.

You should always know who you can contact if any agreement is not met. Or who can you hold accountable for the results if the marketing campaign fails.

#7 - Performance Analysis

Analysis of the effectiveness of marketing channels is the final element in the marketing planning system.

You need to know how many new customers and how much sales each channel generates for you. How much does it cost you? How much does each invested unit of money bring you? What is the payback period and return on investment.

Knowing all of these metrics will help you make the most of your marketing budget.

Therefore, monthly sum up the use of each marketing channel: measure key indicators, look at sales volume and the achievement of goals, evaluate effectiveness.

Based on the findings, you will always know how and how effectively your budget is used. You will also be able to identify and abandon unprofitable and ineffective marketing channels.

Let's sum it up

A marketing plan is one of the key elements in the strategy of any company. Lack of planning very often leads to marketing investments becoming ineffective and unprofitable.

A marketing action plan allows you to competently plan sales volume, distribute it across each marketing channel, set goals and allocate a budget. And regular work on the plan allows the company to identify and invest exclusively in the most effective marketing channels.

Andy Dufresne couldn't have escaped Shawshank's toughest prison for lifers without a plan.

Since a plan is a process of achieving a goal, your business cannot do without it, in particular without marketing.

Therefore, what a marketing plan is, who it’s suitable for, and how to develop it yourself, we’ll look at it in this article.

Marketing plan– these are the future steps of marketing activities and communications aimed at achieving the company’s long-term goals, with calculations of all costs, risks and strategy.

Often company owners underestimate the effectiveness of such a plan, considering it a waste of money and time.

After all, the product is selling, there are customers and everything is fine. But it was not there. You yourself know that the market is still uncertain. Tomorrow the giant will come in and only your heels will sparkle from your clients.

Therefore, in order to prevent such a situation, and in addition to analyze the current state of your company, its capabilities, weaknesses and strengths - that’s why you need a marketing plan.

And in the picture below you can see an example of a marketing plan (looking ahead).

Example of a Marketing Plan

Plan is different from plan

Now let's move on to the most basic questions. The article will not contain a boring classification of marketing plans, only practice and examples.

And I have also prepared development templates that you can download for the convenience of drawing up your own marketing plan.

Do I need it?

Whether or not your company needs a marketing plan is, oddly enough, very simple to determine.

If you want to go with the flow of your business, and it doesn’t matter that you are being bitten by competing sharks, and you are happy with everything, then you don’t need a marketing plan. But I want to warn you that you won’t last long with such attitudes.

Therefore, if your business has goals, if you are unhappy with the development of your company, you are not satisfied with the results.

If you want growth and development, you want to control the situation, move in the right direction, then go ahead and draw up a marketing plan.

As with any business, there are pros and cons to marketing. After all, in our life everything does not happen just like that.

And now let’s take a closer look at the positive and negative aspects of the tool.

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pros

A marketing plan is the guide you use to make money.

Therefore, by understanding what your business is and how it will work, you can see how each result affects your profit.

This, of course, is to say in one phrase. And if we talk to several, it will turn out like this:

Minuses

Creating a good plan takes time and also requires investment. This is actually a short-term loss, but for businesses on a tight budget, it may be enough to close their doors.

In general, there are disadvantages. And they are closely related to the risks that can await you. And here are a few more unpleasant disadvantages:

Inaccurate results;
No guarantees;
Data obsolescence;
Additional expenses.

The most important thing is to realize that in addition to the advantages, there are disadvantages, which means you need to be prepared for them. As the saying goes, “If you want peace, prepare for war.”

And who will do it?

Well... The battle plan is developed by the commander, together with his military leaders. Therefore, without you, the business owner, it will be ineffective.

You know absolutely all the pitfalls of business, and you strive to reach heights more willingly than anyone else.

A good option would be to involve a staff member or even an external specialist, for example, in such a difficult task. Just make sure in advance of the competence of the specialists.

And I would like to draw your attention to the fact that if you are not the one doing the development itself, you will still have to approve it.

So don’t rush to close the article. You must know what elements a plan consists of and how to create it.

What should I write?

I will say right away that there is no universal marketing plan structure that will suit everyone, just like the plan itself.

It all depends on the specific situation, because every little detail influences the preparation of a plan. For example: market trends, audience, geolocation.

And even for identical companies with equal market position, the same plan will not work if they are located in different cities.

But still, I offer you a template from which you can start. Depending on the scale of your business and goals, you can add or remove items. Therefore, meet our version of the content:

Determining the overall goal of the plan;
Selection of persons responsible for the preparation and content of the plan;
the company's previous and current position in the market;
Determination of planning goals and deadlines;
Detailed development of actions to achieve goals;
Detailed budgeting for each expense item;
Taking into account risks and actions in case of unplanned situations;
Maintaining and adjusting the plan.

Beautiful, is not it?! This can be called the core of the plan; these are its main sections. Naturally, there are many more points, and naturally, we will analyze each in detail. But we will do this further.

Are there any templates?

Now we come to the most interesting part – the templates. I have prepared a marketing plan for you based on the example of different businesses, and I warn you right away that these are not accurate or detailed plans.

If you want to use them for yourself, they will definitely require adjustments.

So, download any template and in the next chapter we will develop a plan together, and they are all presented in table form, because this is the most convenient implementation option.

1. Dairy plant

The goal of the marketing plan is to introduce a new product to the Moscow market by January 2019. And our plan for this purpose will look like this.

Marketing plan for product launch

2. Children's clothing store

The goal of the marketing plan is to increase the customer base by 20% and increase the frequency of visits to the clothing store by 50% by February 2018. A sample of this version of the plan is shown in the picture below.

Marketing plan to increase the base

3. Beauty salon

The goal of the marketing plan is to double sales volume in December 2018. And again, below you can see what a plan for this goal will look like.

Marketing plan to increase sales

Step-by-step development instructions

Now we will show you how to write a marketing plan yourself using detailed examples.

I repeat once again that each plan is individual and has its own steps and tasks. Therefore, use your head and think about which steps to remove and which to add. However, you will understand this as you read the article further.

Step 1. Goal

Target

As you already know, goals are everything to us. Therefore, before writing a marketing plan, you must define its purpose.

For example, to launch a product on the market there will be one marketing plan for an enterprise, but to open a new store – a completely different one.

And you can even create a marketing plan for carrying out a promotion. And here is an example of possible goals:

Opening of a new store;
website;
Increase in revenue;
Introducing a new product to the market;
Entering a new market segment;
Capturing market share;
Take a leading position in the market;
Attract new customers;
Increase ;

And you remember about the SMART rule? That is, the goal of the plan must be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound.

By the way, this is a must, since the plan can be drawn up for a month, a year, or even several years.

For example: “Increasing profits by 37% using sales scripts in 1 year” or “Increasing online store conversion by up to 8% using usability within 5 months.”

Step 2: Columns

Columns

In this step, we’ll talk about the main header of the marketing plan, how to draw it up, and again, I repeat that for you it may be different, for example, you can add the “Contractor” column.

Task. The same action plan that you will need to do, but more on that a little later.
Deadlines. For each item in the marketing plan, you need to set a deadline; you yourself know that if there is no deadline, then the task will drag on.
Responsible person. For each item, select the appropriate person, it is he who will report to you on the completion of the task.
Document. You write down any convenient format (sketch, layout, report, graph, text), this is a kind of result of the action.
Budget. And you can’t do without it. For example, analysis can be done “for free” by a full-time marketer, but money is needed.

At this step you do not need to fill out every item. You just need to take and form the required columns in order to start filling them out in a few steps.

Step 3. Analysis

Analysis

Now let's get down to the plan itself, let's figure out how to create it. And this is perhaps the most important and mandatory step in any marketing plan.

Because the analysis can reveal the pitfalls of your business or identify new stages of development that will automatically move into the next step.

And in order to achieve any goal, you must know the business like the back of your hand.

Even if you think that you know everything about the market and customers, but if this information is not written down on paper, tabulated and analyzed, then feel free to include in your plan a full analysis of your business, which will include:

3.1 Company mission

3.3 Creating an “ideal client”

You may know your target audience, but customer analysis will never be superfluous. After all, often, focusing not on “their” consumer can drag the company down.

Therefore, part of your plan will be to create “”. It is from this that further communication and sales markets will be built.

Who are these people? Where can you find them? What do they value? These questions need to be answered. Again, we determine who is responsible and set deadlines.

3.4 Existing problems

The main thing is not to deceive yourself and look at the business with sober eyes, list all the existing problems.

For example, the most common ones are that there are few clients, advertising doesn’t work, it doesn’t work well.

In general, anything can be a problem. And here every little detail is important, since all identified problems will help in drawing up a plan for further action.

3.5 Future goals

The current situation, problems – it’s all clear. Information that is on the surface that simply needs to be collected.

But no one can know the ambitions of a leader. His plans for the future. Do they even exist?

Therefore, a “heart-to-heart conversation” with the business owner or management board must be mandatory.

After all, a business without development is not a business, but a mockery of humanity, and there is no point in marketing.

Therefore, management’s long-term goals should also be on paper and communicated to the company’s employees.

3.6 Other tests

I won’t go into detail, since everything is individual, so I’ll just give examples of analyzes that a marketing plan may include:

Business process analysis;
Market analysis;
Product analysis.

I will say this, the more you know about your business, the more accurately you will know what places to improve, where to direct it, and also what tools work for you and what doesn’t.

Step 4: Achievement Tools

Tools of Achievement

If the second step was the most important of all, it concerned analytics and gave clear answers, then this step is the most creative.

But you can’t do without calculations, and now I’ll tell you how to correctly compose the tools.

So, we take all the results that we received in step two and, based on them and all the information about the business (not forgetting about the overall goal of the plan), we determine the goals and tasks that need to be accomplished.

And also, what additional actions and costs they involve, that is, we describe all the activities.

For example, this could be: new, work with, improving the percentages of each stage, introduction, improvement, delivery speed, product quality, etc.

Is the goal to increase sales by 50%? We think about ways to achieve this indicator, how to implement and organize them, and determine the time frame.

And now I will tell you a little more about some standard points that can be taken into account in this step.

4.1 Detachment from competitors

Competitor analysis has been carried out. It is now on paper, or rather in a table. It is necessary to highlight your advantages, create a (Unique Selling Proposition), and set pricing.

That is, all communications that you plan for the next year or five must be recorded.

And another advantage of the marketing plan is that after this manipulation you will know exactly what works in your business and brings results.

Step 5. Other

Other

A ready-made plan is just part of the company's development. In addition to drafting, it must be implemented.

And even that's not all. It must be maintained and referred to every day: monitor implementation, monitor the situation on the market, in sales, in organizational matters. What will help you plan? We highlight two points.

5.1 Risks and actions

No matter how beautiful our strategy looks, there are always risks. Human factor, natural disaster, force majeure, market situation due to the release of innovative equipment. Anything can derail plans.

How to make a list of possible risks? There are even entire agencies that deal with their calculations.

And, as they say, “forewarned is forearmed.” Therefore, you need to describe in advance what to do in case of risks.

You may be identifying the wrong customer or sales segments. There is a risk of all the wrong studies we talked about.

Your task is to describe actions that will help you adapt and avoid failures.

5.2 Adjustments

Adjustments may involve risks. These are immediate changes to the plan in the event of force majeure events.

In addition, this may include some changes in legislation or that may add or change the concept of advertising campaigns.

For example, memes of the World Cup with shawarma, or waiting, they were immediately picked up by advertisers of companies.

That is, maintaining a plan is tracking trends in the market and the world as a whole. And also, the ability to implement short-term plans. In other words, it is fighting the battle.

Step 6. Summary

Ready-made marketing plan

That's it, finish! Congratulations, you now have a ready-made marketing plan in your hands, and you know how to tailor it to suit any company goal. But still remember that the plan is not a panacea for all ills, it is just your assistant.

By the way, if you have already drawn up a marketing plan and still have questions, write in the comments, we will be happy to answer them. You can also share your versions of this tool.

Briefly about the main thing

If you want to change with the market, keep up with competitors and grow, then you cannot do without a marketing plan.

As they said, these are all the same actions that you are doing now in your company, only ordered and subordinated to your own place in the development path of your business.

I would also like to note that a marketing plan is needed for businesses of absolutely any size.

And all because the plan will help your company reach a new level, eliminate all existing problems and move together, in the same direction, towards a common goal.

Alexander Kaptsov

Reading time: 11 minutes

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Forming a stable array of buyers, finding one’s niche in the market, suppressing competitors, building a good reputation - this is not a complete list of issues that entrepreneurs have to solve. Without a clear marketing plan, it is almost impossible to achieve stable demand for products, brand recognition, and a large number of loyal customers. How to correctly draw up this important document for any business?

Company marketing plan – what is it?

A company's marketing plan should be understood as detailing all its actions that are aimed at achieving its optimal position in the market. It does not affect the production and technological aspects of the functioning of the company and only affects the issues of marketing products and making a profit.

What does developing a marketing plan give a company:

Firstly , determines exactly what part of its funds will have to be spent on marketing activities.
Secondly , formulate a policy for promoting specific types of goods and services on the market.
Third , draw up a strategy and tactics for working with the target market, including the procedure for setting prices.
Fourth , certain goods, sales revenue and profit.

Important point: Since the marketing plan outlines in detail all marketing activities and expected results, it is possible to trace the effectiveness of certain approaches in the company’s activities in the market.

Types of a company's marketing plan and the purposes of their preparation

There are many criteria for classifying marketing plans, including:

Duration of validity – strategic (more than 3 years), tactical (up to 3 years), operational (up to 1 month).
Breadth of coverage – plan for turnover, sales, advertising events, market research or integrated (comprehensive plan).
Depth of development – detailed or general.
Field of activity – plan of goals, pricing policy, product policy, marketing communications, control and audit, finance, warehousing, order formation, supplies (logistics), etc.

A marketing plan is a very serious internal document, which is focused on achieving certain goals:

Maintaining the company's position in the market.
Development and implementation of a new product.
Coverage of new niches and segments (diversification), etc.

Important point: Due to such a wide range of areas for using marketing plans, it seems necessary to draw up a separate document for each goal, since the methods and tools for each goal are different.

It should be remembered that a marketing plan is not an analogue of a business plan. It covers only issues of the company's activities in the market.

Structure and content of the company's marketing plan

A marketing plan is an internal document that is used for decision-making by company management. However, it has a fairly clear structure.

Its preparation may take several months, as it requires:

Collecting information about buyers.
Studying supply and demand in the market.
Definitions of competitive advantages.
Competitor assessments, etc.

Important point: A marketing plan should be not just a “collection of facts”, but a document containing analysis, recommendations, and alternatives for the company’s further work in the market.

All 3-4 months during which the marketing plan will be formed will be spent like this: 50% of the time will be spent collecting all the necessary information, 40% on analysis and evaluation, and only 10% on creating the document itself.

In order not to make mistakes in forming a marketing plan, it is advisable to focus on the structure below:

1. Summary . This section includes a description of the main points outlined in the marketing plan. The goal must be written down here and the ways to achieve it are listed. The expected results of the plan are also stated.

Important point: Paradoxically, the first section of a marketing plan is always written last because it is a summary of the entire marketing plan.

2. Market overview and forecast . This section describes the market (size, growth opportunities, trends, features) and shows the specific behavior of consumers and competing firms in it. Here it is important to indicate how many competitors there are in the selected segment, what share they cover, as well as what are the market growth opportunities.

3. SWOT analysis and competitive advantages . This part analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of the company, threats and opportunities for its functioning.

Based on the results of compiling a SWOT analysis, the marketer must determine:

The main competitive advantage of the company.
Positioning of the product in relation to consumers (preferably with a forecast for 3-5 years in advance).
Tactical measures to take advantage of opportunities and reduce the impact of threats.
A strategy to combat competitors and increase customer loyalty.

4. Purpose and objectives of the marketing plan . A marketing plan should contribute to business development, which is why it contains business goals within the selected planning horizon (one month, one year, three years) and marketing goals for the same period of time. Only after this the objectives of marketing activities are drawn up.

5. Marketing mix (marketing mix). The core of any marketing plan is the so-called marketing mix, which for goods is based on the 5P model, and for services - on the 7P model.

Model 5P. Any marketing event is built on the basis of five components:

Product (Product) or product policy - logo and corporate identity, appearance and physical properties of the product, product range, product quality.
Price (Price) or pricing policy - wholesale and retail prices, the procedure for determining the cost of goods, discounts and promotions, price discrimination.
Place of sale (Place) or sales policy - sales of goods in markets, in stores, the basics of distribution, display of goods, inventory management and logistics.
Promotion (Promotional) or promotion policy - promotion strategy, promotional events, PR activities, event marketing, communication channels, media strategy.
People (People) – motivation and stimulation of staff, corporate culture, working with loyal customers and VIP clients, feedback.

Model 7P is complemented by two more “Ps”, namely:

Process (Process) – conditions of interaction with the client, service procedure, creation of a favorable atmosphere, speed of service provision, etc.
Physical environment (physical evidence) – setting, interior, background music, image, etc.

Thus, when developing a marketing plan, each of the above positions is worked out in detail, which allows us to form a comprehensive picture of the company’s functioning in the market.

6. Choice of company behavior in the market . This part of the marketing plan describes the company’s specific actions in the market to achieve its goal and solve identified problems.

7. Event budget . Includes a detailed list of costs for marketing activities, which can be presented in table form.

8. Risk assessment . This part describes the risks that a company may face while implementing its marketing plan.

The main stages of developing a marketing plan: an example of drawing up

Obviously, a marketing plan is a complex and complex document, which is not easy to formulate. However, even a specialist with basic knowledge in the field of marketing can do this. Where should you start?

First of all, you should collect information about the market, the selected segment, competitors, consumers, and then implement the following sequence of actions:

Stage 1 . Analysis of market trends. Identifying customer requirements for product quality, price, packaging design, and communication channels.
Stage 2 . Product analysis. Assessment of quality, price, packaging design, communication channels for an existing product.
Stage 3 . Selecting the target market. Determining the category of consumers for whom the proposed product is most suitable.
Stage 4 . Positioning and competitive advantages. Establishing the place of the company’s product in relation to competitors (average in quality, lower in price, etc.) and its advantageous aspects.
Stage 5 . Creating a strategy. Formation of promotions and special offers for the target audience, procedures for promoting the brand to the market, etc.
Stage 6 . Tactical action plan. Actions to achieve the ideal position of a product on the market.

It is advisable to give a simplified example of creating a marketing plan for a company selling freshly squeezed juices through five specialized points located in different parts of the city.

Stage 1. Analysis of market trends

Buyers want to purchase juices that are squeezed out of fruits and vegetables in their presence and sold in containers that are convenient for drinking (paper cups and plastic bottles).
Sales are carried out in recreation areas and near large offices.
The price may be higher than the cost of draft carbonated drinks and coffee, but cheaper than fresh juices offered by cafes and restaurants in the city.

Stage 2. Product analysis

The company produces fruit juices in plastic bottles and on tap.
All five sales points are located in places with large crowds of people, including near recreation areas.
The price of juices is similar to the cost of fresh juices in cafes and restaurants in the city.

Stage 3. Selecting a target market

Taking into account the properties of the product and its price, the main target audience will be working representatives of the middle class who monitor their health.

Stage 4. Positioning and competitive advantages

The company will offer customers a product of excellent quality and high value.
Natural ingredients, ease of drinking, proximity to the consumer are the main competitive advantages of the company.

Stage 5. Creating a strategy

Targeting an array of regular customers.
Retaining the audience during the cold season.

Stage 6. Tactical action plan

Formation of a cumulative points system for clients and a system of seasonal discounts.
Offer to deliver juices in plastic containers throughout the city.
Expansion of the assortment through the sale of dietary cookies and bars.

The above template should be considered as a kind of basis for drawing up a marketing plan. In fact, having such information in hand, the marketer can only distribute it into the appropriate sections.

Problems with the effectiveness of applying an organization's marketing plan

Many marketers ask a completely logical question: why do marketing plans drawn up according to all the rules not work and do not bring the desired effect?

The fact is that often quite neat and meaningful documents include such shortcomings as:

Using information from one source . When creating a marketing plan, you should use information from industry surveys, expert assessments, statistical bulletins, customer surveys, competitor reports, etc.
Overgeneralization . The document should be based on data, rather than endlessly pouring water and writing speculative assumptions unsupported by information.
Lack of flexibility . Despite its detail, the marketing plan must be flexible so that any of its parameters can be adjusted as the market situation changes.
Lack of connection with company strategy . If the company's overall strategy is to sell goods to middle-aged people, and marketing activities are aimed at teenagers and young people, the marketing plan will not bring the expected effect.
Inconsistency . If the marketing plan first considers the means of carrying out promotional activities and only then analyzes the product and customers, then the goals set will not be achieved.

Important point: The completed marketing plan should be double-checked for the above issues.

A properly drawn up marketing plan is half the success of a company in the market. With its help, you can form a clear, structured, consistent picture of the company’s occupation of a certain position in the industry and in a separate segment. It allows you to create a list of effective tactical marketing activities that will help achieve the company's goals.

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