What is the overall purpose of a marketing plan?

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Hi there,

Here is all you need to know about a marketing plan:

A Marketing Plan is a written document that details the actions necessary to achieve a specified marketing objective(s). It can be for a product or service, a brand, or a product line. It can cover one year (referred to as an annual marketing plan), or cover up to 5 years.

A marketing plan may be part of an overall business plan. Solid marketing strategy is the foundation of a well-written marketing plan. While a marketing plan contains a list of actions, a marketing plan without a sound strategic foundation is of little use.

In general terms, it must:

-describe and explain the current situation
-specify the expected results (objectives)
-identify the resources that will be needed (including financing, time, and skills)
-describe the actions that will need to be taken to achieve the objective(s)
-devise a method of monitoring results and adjusting the plan where necessary

Practical presentation
There are many formats for marketing plans and every company does it a little differently, but the outline that follows is a very complete format. Using this format will produce a 30 to 40 page plan. Many companies prefer an abridged format that would yield a 10 to 20 page plan.

1. Title page
2. Executive Summary
3. Current Situation - Macroenvironment
economy
legal
government
technology
ecological
sociocultural
supply chain
4. Current Situation - Market Analysis
market definition
market size
market segmentation
industry structure and strategic groupings
Porter 5 forces analysis
competition and market share
competitors' strengths and weaknesses
market trends
5. Current Situation - Consumer Analysis
nature of the buying decision
participants
demographics
psychographics
buyer motivation and expectations
loyalty segments
6. Current Situation - Internal
company resources
financial
people
time
skills
objectives
mission statement and vision statement
corporate objectives
financial objective
marketing objectives
long term objectives
corporate culture
7. Summary of Situation Analysis
external threats
external opportunities
internal strengths
internal weaknesses
key success factors in the industry
our sustainable competitive advantage
8. Marketing research
information requirements
research methodology
research results
9. Marketing Strategy - Product
product mix
product strengths and weaknesses
perceptual mapping
product life cycle management and new product development
10. Brand name, brand image, and brand equity
the augmented product
product portfolio analysis
B.C.G. Analysis
contribution margin analysis
G.E. Multi Factoral analysis
Quality Function Deployment
11. Marketing Strategy - Market share objectives
by products,
by customer segments,
by geographical markets
12. Marketing Strategy - Price
pricing objectives
pricing method (eg.: cost plus, demand based, or competitor indexing)
pricing strategy (eg.: skimming, or penetration)
discounts and allowances
price elasticity and customer sensitivity
price zoning ...