If you don't have a plan, it's a fair bet that creating one would save you time and money in the long run. Creating a plan helps you:

• identify your target market succinctly

• develop effective strategies

• assess competition & create strategies to compete more effectively

• make better advertising decisions

• write more effective advertising copy

• seize PR opportunities

• stretch marketing dollars

• avoid costly mistakes

• better train sales staff

• find opportunities to save money

1. First of all, read everything you can get on marketing so the terms used here are familiar. Power Marketing for Small Business provides a detailed overview of each aspect of marketing with definitions that you may find helpful.
2. Be sure to understand that creating a plan is a dynamic process. What you create today should be refined on a regular basis, as new market data becomes available.
3. Complete all the questions in this form. If you do not have the answers, do thorough research to get them -- don't just pass them by.
4. Note the questions that you have a difficult time answering. Can you implement methods by which the data it asks for will be readily at your fingertips when you review your plan and update it?

Review your plan monthly and refine if necessary. Remember, that even if you do everything absolutely right, your work quickly, and take an aggressive approach, it will still take you 6 months to a year to see the real fruits of your planning and implementation.

Note: If your products and services cater to distinctly different market segments, then you may need a separate marketing plan for each product or segment.

1. Describe your product or service

2. Does your organization offer a single product/service or a bundle of products/services? Explain.

3. What is the price or price range of your products or services?

4. How does your product or service work?

6. Does the product/service require components that aren’t included? If yes, list:

1. In column 1, list all the individual products and services you offer.

2. In column 2, under "current," indicate your current sales in units as well as by dollar volume.

3. In columns 3, 4, and 5, make your projections as to how sales will go in both units and in dollar volume for the next three years.

1. Where are your sales, effectiveness, and competitiveness now? Where do you want to be in "x" number of years?

2. Sales - Now?

3. Sales - In _____years?

4. Effectiveness - Now?

5. Effectiveness - In _____years?

6. Competitiveness - Now?

7. Competitiveness - In ____years?

What are the legal constraints affecting our organization’s strategy?

To what extent does government regulation restrict our flexibility in making marketing or business decisions?

What requirements do we have to meet?

What political or legal developments are looming that will strengthen or weaken our plan?

What threats or opportunities does technological progress hold in store for us?

How well do we keep up with technology?

What broad cultural shifts are occurring that may affect our organization?

What consequences will demographic, geographic, or psychographic shifts have for our organization?

Are any changes foreseeable in resource availability?

How will any of the above environmental factors impact on our short-term strategy?

Long-term strategy?

Assumptions?

Total Available Market:

Served Available Market:

Is the market for this product or service increasing or decreasing in size? Explain why.

Who are your major competitors?

What is your assessment of their apparent goals and strategies relative to their pricing?

What is your assessment of their apparent goals and strategies relative to their distribution?

What is your assessment of their apparent goals and strategies relative to their communication with their customers and prospects?

What is your assessment of their apparent goals and strategies relative to their strengths?

What is your assessment of their apparent goals and strategies relative to their weaknesses?

What is the financial performance of each of your competitors?

Do we have an established marketing research function? If not, what needs to be done to establish such a function?

Do we conduct regular, systematic market analyses? If not, how will you implement such research?

Do we subscribe to any regular market data service? If not, which should you subscribe to?

Do we test and retest carefully before we introduce a new product?

Are all of our major strategy decisions based on solidly researched facts? If not, why not?

How carefully do we examine and how aggressively do we cope with problems, difficulties, challenges, and threats to our organization?

How quickly can (and do) we react to market changes that require a change in strategy?

How do we identify and capitalize on opportunities in our marketplace?

What care is given to the determination of gaps in customer needs and wants?

Do we develop clearly stated short-term and long-term market objectives?

What objectives are most important?

Are our objectives measurable and achievable?

Do we have a formal annual business or marketing planning procedure?

Do we use management by objectives (MBO)?

How effectively do we segment our target market?

Do we allocate sufficient/excessive resources to carry out our strategies?

How effective is the communication between departments? Are we working together in a cohesive environment, or do egos or other problems prevent open communication?

Is our business/marketing plan truly followed or just filed away?

Do we continuously monitor our environment to determine the adequacy of our plan and its strategies?

Do we compare planned and actual figures periodically and take appropriate measures if they differ significantly?

Do we study systematically the contribution and effectiveness of various activities within our organization?

How effectively are our plans being monitored currently?

What changes may be needed now to assure control of our new strategy plans — for individual products as well as for entire departments or organizational units?

How capable and dedicated are our personnel?

Is there a need for additional training, incentives, supervision, or evaluation?

Are our job responsibilities structured to best serve the needs of different strategy areas?

Does everyone in our entire organization recognize, embrace, and practice the marketing concept and positioning statement?

What new products can you develop to more fully serve each of your market segments?

What potentially new markets should you explore to determine their viability within your marketing strategy?

What makes your product or service unique in your marketplace?

What is your unique positioning statement (USP)?

Marketing Communications Strategies

What media reaches each of your target market segments?

List each market segment

A.

B.

C.

D.

E.

List media available within each segment

A.

B.

C.

D.

E.

Strategy for achieving regular communication contact with each market segment.

Sales Strategies

What sales approach will your staff take (ie. telemarketing for leads, cold calling door to door, etc.)

What sales tools will enhance your staff’s sales performance?

What training, incentives and management will it take to accomplish your goals?

Distribution Strategies

What existing distribution channels are in place?

How can existing distribution channels be made more profitable?

What opportunities are available for additional distribution channels?

List necessary resources to accomplish your goals.

Computers/software

Personnel

Capital

Other equipment

Other

Create a spreadsheet that details the income, capital, sales projections and other factors involved in putting your marketing plan to work.

Excel template available.