The document provides guidance on writing an effective marketing plan. It recommends beginning with an executive summary that overviews the key points of the plan. The plan should include an external and internal analysis, marketing objectives, a marketing strategy, planned tactics, an implementation schedule, budget, and controls for monitoring progress. An example is given of how a digital PR agency developed and implemented its own marketing plan through research, defining its strategy and target market, and planning specific tactics. The tips stress setting clear and measurable targets, linking objectives to strategy, and making one person responsible for overseeing the plan.

1. Writing a marketing plan
Table of contents
Write a marketing plan 2
Introduction 2
Marketing plan summary and introduction 2
External and internal analysis for your marketing
plan 3
Your marketing objectives 3
Marketing strategy for your marketing plan 4
Plan your marketing tactics 4
Implementation of your marketing plan 5
Tips for writing a marketing plan 6
Here's how I developed and implemented a
marketing plan 6
Related guides on businesslink.gov.uk 8
Related web sites you might find useful 8
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2. Write a marketing plan
Subjects covered in this guide
Introduction
Introduction
Marketing is a key part of business success.
Marketing plan summary and introduction You need to decide which customers to
target. You need to work out how you will
External and internal analysis for your reach and win new customers. You need to
marketing plan make sure that you keep existing customers
happy. And you need to keep reviewing and
Your marketing objectives improving everything you do to stay ahead
of the competition.
Marketing strategy for your marketing plan
Your marketing plan should be the reference
Plan your marketing tactics
document you use as a basis to execute
Implementation of your marketing plan your marketing strategy. It sets out clear
objectives and explains how you will achieve
Tips for writing a marketing plan them. Perhaps most importantly it looks at
how you can ensure that your plan becomes
Here's how I developed and implemented a reality.
marketing plan
Remember that marketing in itself will not
Related guides on businesslink.gov.uk guarantee sales, but by adopting a
well-researched and coherent plan, you
Related web sites you might find useful
have a much better chance of building
long-term, profitable relationships.
This guide outlines the key areas to look at
You can find this guide by navigating to: and what to include in an effective marketing
plan.
Home > Sales and marketing > Marketing >
Write a marketing plan
Marketing plan summary and
introduction
Your marketing plan should start with an
executive summary. The summary gives a
quick overview of the main points of the
plan.
Although the executive summary appears at
the beginning of the plan, you should write it
last. Writing the summary is a good
opportunity to check that your plan makes
sense and that you haven't missed any
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3. Write a marketing plan
attitudes and lifestyles, and the
important points. ageing population
• Technological factors such as new
Business strategy materials and growing use of the
internet
It's a good idea to introduce the main body
of the plan with a reminder of your overall
business strategy, including: You also need to understand your own
internal strengths and weaknesses. For
example, the main strengths of a new
• what your business is about (your business might be an original product and
business mission) enthusiastic employees. The main
• your key business objectives weaknesses might be the lack of an existing
• your broad strategy for achieving customer base and limited financial
those objectives resources.
This helps to ensure that your marketing A SWOT analysis combines the external
plan, your marketing strategy and your and internal analysis to summarise your
overall business strategy all work together. Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and
For example, suppose your business Threats. You need to look for opportunities
strategy is based on providing premium that play to your strengths. You also need to
quality products and service. Your marketing decide what to do about threats to your
strategy and plan will need to take this into business and how you can overcome
account, targeting customers who important weaknesses.
appreciate quality, promoting your product in
ways that help build the right image and so
on. For example, your SWOT analysis might
help you identify the most promising
customers to target. You might decide to
External and internal analysis for look at ways of using the internet to reach
customers. And you might start to
your marketing plan investigate ways of raising additional
investment to overcome your financial
Understanding the environment your weakness.
business operates in is a key part of
planning and will allow you to discern the
threats and opportunities associated with You can find out more about strategic
your area of business. A PEST analysis analysis in our guide on how to review your
helps you to identify the main opportunities business performance.
and threats in your market:
• Political and legal changes such as
Your marketing objectives
new regulations Your marketing objectives should be based
• Economic factors such as interest on understanding your strengths and
rates, exchange rates and consumer weaknesses, and the business environment
confidence you operate in. They should also be linked
• Social factors such as changing to your overall business strategy.
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4. Write a marketing plan
For example, suppose your business probably break it down into different
objectives include increasing sales by 10 segments - groups of similar customers. For
per cent over the next year. Your marketing example, you can break the business
objectives might include targeting a market down into businesses operating in
promising new market segment to help the same sector and/or of a similar size. For
achieve this growth. more information, see our guide on how to
segment your customers.
For more information on how to identify the
best opportunities, see the page in this For each segment, you need to look at what
guide on external and internal analysis for customers want, what you can offer and
your marketing plan. what the competition is like. You want to
identify segments where you have a
Objectives should always be SMART: competitive advantage. At the same time,
you should assess whether you can expect
high enough returns to make the segment
• Specific - for example, you might set worthwhile.
an objective of getting ten new
customers.
• Measurable - whatever your Often, the most promising segments are
objective is, you need to be able to those where you have existing customers.
check whether you have reached it See what you can do to expand sales to
or not when you review your plan. these customers. If you are targeting new
• Achievable - you must have the customers, you need to be sure that you
resources you need to achieve the have the resources to reach them
objective. The key resources are effectively.
usually people and money.
• Realistic - targets should stretch Once you have decided what your target
you, not de-motivate you because market is, you also need to decide how you
they are unreasonable. will position yourself in it. For example, you
• Time-bound - you should set a might offer a high quality product at a
deadline for achieving the objective. premium price or a flexible local service.
For example, you might aim to get Some businesses try to build a strong brand
ten new customers within the next 12 and image to help them stand out. Whatever
months. your strategy, you need to differentiate
yourself from the competition to encourage
customers to choose your business first.
Marketing strategy for your
marketing plan See our guide on how to create your
marketing strategy.
Your marketing plan is how you put your
marketing strategy into practice. It should
therefore be a practical reflection of your Plan your marketing tactics
strategy.
Once you have decided what your
If you understand the market well, you can marketing objectives are, and your strategy
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5. Write a marketing plan
business. Even the quality of
for meeting them, you need to plan how you paperwork, such as invoices, makes
will make the strategy a reality. a difference.
Many businesses find it helpful to think in
terms of the four Ps: Implementation of your marketing
plan
• Product - what your product offers
that your customers value, and Your marketing plan must do more than just
whether/how you should change your say what you want to happen. It must
product to meet customer needs. describe each step required to make sure
• Pricing - for example, you might aim that it happens.
simply to match the competition, or
charge a premium price for a quality The plan should therefore include a
product and service. You might have schedule of key tasks. This sets out what
to choose either to make relatively will be done, and by when. Refer to the
few high margin sales, or sell more schedule as often as possible to avoid
but with lower unit profits. Remember losing sight of your objectives under the
that some customers may seek a low daily workload.
price to meet their budgets, while
others may view a low price as an
indication of quality levels. It should also assess what resources you
• Place - how and where you sell. This need. For example, you might need to think
may include using different about what brochures you need, and
distribution channels. For example, whether they need to be available for digital
you might sell over the internet or sell distribution (by email or from your website).
through retailers. You might also need to look at how much
• Promotion - how you reach your time it takes to sell to customers and
customers and potential customers. whether you have enough salespeople.
For example, you might use
advertising, PR, direct mail and The cost of everything in the plan needs to
personal selling. be included in a budget. If your finances are
limited, your plan will need to take that into
For a more comprehensive approach, you account. Don't spread your marketing
can extend this to seven Ps: activities too thinly - it is better to
concentrate your resources to make the
most of your budget. You may also want to
• People - for example, you need to link your marketing budget to your sales
ensure that your employees have the forecast. See our guide on how to forecast
right training. and plan your sales.
• Processes - the right processes will
ensure that you offer a consistent
Control
service that suits your customers.
• Physical evidence - the appearance As well as setting out the schedule, the plan
of your employees and premises can needs to say how it will be controlled. You
affect how customers see your need an individual who takes responsibility
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6. Write a marketing plan
for pushing things along. A good schedule together. For example, if you have limited
and budget should make it easy to monitor cashflow you should avoid seeking large
progress. When things fall behind schedule, orders from customers who demand
or costs overrun, you need to be ready to do extended credit or that will involve you in
something about it and to adapt your plan heavy, up-front costs.
accordingly.
Remember to focus on your long-term
From time to time, you need to stand back strategy. Reducing customer service might
and ask whether the plan is working. What boost short-term profits, but next year you
can you learn from your mistakes? How can might not have any customers left.
you use what you know to make a better
plan for the future? Make it happen
A plan will not happen by itself. You need to
Tips for writing a marketing plan make someone responsible for monitoring
progress and chasing up overdue activities.
It is important for a marketing plan to: Reviewing progress will also help you learn
from your mistakes so that you can improve
• set clear, realistic and measurable your plans for the future.
targets - for example, increasing
sales by 10 per cent
• include deadlines for meeting targets Here's how I developed and
• provide a budget for each marketing implemented a marketing plan
activity
• specify who is responsible for each Andrew Smith
activity
Escherman - Opens in a new window
Make sure you think through each of your Andrew's top tips:
objectives logically. For example, you might
set a target for the number of new enquiries. • "Keep your prospective customer top
But if you don't provide the resources and of mind when planning any marketing
training to follow up these enquiries and turn activity."
them into sales, you will have increased • "Incorporate the online environment
costs without any benefits. into your marketing mix. These days,
it's a necessity, not an optional
extra."
Link to your strategy
• "Make the most of free research
Assess the business environment to identify resources."
the opportunities and threats that you face.
Look for where you can capitalise on your Escherman is a digital public relations (PR)
strengths or where you need to overcome a and marketing consultancy based in
weakness. Richmond, Surrey which launched in
January 2008. Owner Andrew Smith
All parts of your business must work identified a gap in the market for
measurable, integrated digital PR and
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7. Write a marketing plan
marketing programmes that combine new styled themselves as digital communications
techniques such as web analytics and social experts."
media with traditional PR content
development skills. Here Andrew describes Define overall strategy
how he devised the company's own "Because I'd researched thoroughly, the
marketing plan. marketing strategy to some extent wrote
itself. The perceived value of the business'
What I did offering was clear from talking to potential
clients. However, I had to be realistic about
Research and analyse the volume of business the company could
"When I first had the idea of starting the cope with in its first year. I was confident of
company, I had over 20 years experience in gaining clients, but didn't want to risk
PR, primarily promoting technology under-servicing because of limited
companies. I had a shrewd idea that there resources. It was therefore clear that the
was a gap in the market for the kind of PR marketing strategy should focus on higher
service I intended to offer. The proposed margins and lower volumes.
business strategy was to bring together
innovative online PR solutions under one "I identified a select handful of potential
roof and offer highly accountable results that customers and included topline financial
would have a measurable impact on objectives based on an analysis of fee
customer sales. The initial step in writing the income throughout the industry. I also
marketing plan was research and addressed the resourcing issue by planning
SWOT/PEST analysis. to outsource certain marketing activities,
such as document preparation."
"First, I analysed the current position of Plan tactics and implement them
existing PR agencies against the wider
economic, technological and social "I planned marketing tactics to support the
background. This confirmed that traditional strategy, including detailed pricing and how
'non-digital' agencies were in decline, with to publicise the business to the defined
only one third making a profit. target market. Obviously a website and
online presence was essential. Because we
"I also talked to search marketing agencies would be selling ourselves on our ability to
(at the time the most advanced area of reach the media and consumers in
digital solutions) to get a glimpse of how innovative ways, we had to practice what we
other new methods I intended to base the preached. In particular I looked at ways to
agency around might evolve. On top of all exploit my LinkedIn profile and the website's
that, I talked to potential customers, blog so as to maximise the possibility of
including ex-clients and industry leaders, to being picked up in internet searches carried
ascertain their current PR and marketing out by potential customers.
needs.
"Another key tactic was to identify a series
"Last, but not least, I undertook competitor of networking events that I would attend to
analysis, looking closely at the operation spread the word about the company. We
and cost bases of other PR agencies that also planned for growth by instigating
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8. Write a marketing plan
e-marketing plan | Prepare a business
dialogue with other, non-competitive PR plan | Know your customers' needs |
agencies with a view to partnering with Understand your competitors | Market
them. Marketing our services as a seamless research and market reports | Review
add-on to their own is already proving your business performance | Reach your
successful and provides a valuable customers effectively | Sales &
additional route to market. marketing: the basics | Segment your
customers | Branding: the basics |
"We revisit the marketing plan regularly and Selling and promotion overseas | Identify
monitor our progress against a set of Key and sell more to your most valuable
Performance Indicators to keep us customers | Generate business from
focussed. The proof of the pudding is that your e-marketing plan | Price your
we met our annual target in the first six product or service | Here's how I
months of being in business." developed and implemented an
e-marketing plan | Here's how I got my
What I'd do differently great new product in front of customers |
Here's how I increased my sales through
Set a deadline advertising | Here's how Web 2.0
technology benefited my business (Flash
"While it's crucial to research thoroughly video) |
when preparing a marketing plan, I probably
spent too long agonising over every possible
outcome. Setting a firmer deadline for Related web sites you might find
writing the plan might have speeded up the
implementation." useful
Accept that not everything will work Marketing e-course on the learndirect
business website - Opens in a new
"When it came to implementing the plan, window
parts of it didn't work as expected and had
to be adapted as we went along. Accepting
the element of risk and having confidence in Marketing planning tool on the Chartered
your idea at the planning stage is ultimately Institute of Marketing website - Opens in
more useful than striving to produce the a new window
'perfect' plan."
Download a marketing tactics guide from
the Chartered Institute of Marketing
website (PDF, 190K) - Opens in a new
Related guides on window
businesslink.gov.uk
Download a guide to researching your
Manage your personal list of starting-up market from the Institute of Directors
tasks with our Business start-up website (PDF, 132K) - Opens in a new
organiser | Create your marketing window
strategy | Forecast and plan your sales |
Advertising: the basics | PR: the basics |
Direct marketing: the basics | Develop an
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