A marketing plan lays out who your target customers are, how you will reach them and what you will do to retain them. This is your roadmap, your strategy to market and grow your organization in the short- and long-term.
Strategic planning can make or break your overall success. And although 
your business plan may be stellar, your marketing plan requires just as much energy. A properly crafted marketing strategy should deliver the results you want while supporting your consumers’ wants, needs and desires. You need to consider the specific marketing objectives that will help you reach overall business goals. While the two go hand in hand, they should be strategized as separate plans of action.
Before you get started, lay out a deadline, budget and team. Don’t do this alone and don’t draw it out so it never gets completed. It doesn’t have to be overly complicated either-it just needs a laser focus on how best to reach your target market. When you’re ready, consider some of the following essential elements in any effective marketing plan.
- Competitive Analysis: Conduct market research so you know where you stand. Get a clear understanding of where you’re positioned within the marketplace to understand where you can make the most impact.
- Unique Selling Proposition: This short and sweet section should define how you stand out among the competition. Look at your strengths and weaknesses by performing a S.W.O.T. analysis too.
- Target Customers: Get detailed here. Define demographic profiles, interests and needs in relation to your product or services. The more thorough you are, the better your strategy will become.
- Distribution Plan: We call this the Buying Cycle, but this is where you think about the consumer journey. How will customers buy from you? What are the different phases they have to go through to get there?
- Marketing Tactics: You might want to break this section down into a variety of sections including digital, content and in-person depending on your business. Get specific here and include examples so you can start implementing your strategy right out of the gate.
Feeling a bit overwhelmed? There are a number of templates out there, but the right marketing plan should be extremely personalized to your organization and current or previous efforts. Plus, it should take more than just plugging and chugging some phrases into a formula.
PR Unscripted has the expertise necessary to create an effective marketing plan for your business. We’re even available to help you implement it after the fact. Just let us know what you’re looking for and we can get a plan in place to start reaching your target customers!
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