HOW TO WRITE A MARKETING PLAN
How to Write a Marketing Plan
What is a Marketing Plan
A marketing plan provides direction for your marketing activities. Marketing plans need not be long or cost a lot to put together.
Think of it as a road map, with detailed directions on how to get to your destination. Sure there may be a few bumps in the road, perhaps a diversion or two, but if the marketing plan is carefully researched, thoughtfully considered and evaluated, it will help the organization achieve its goals. The marketing plan details what you want to accomplish with your marketing strategy and helps you meet your objectives.
The marketing plan:

• Allows the organization to look internally in order to fully understand the impact and results of past marketing decisions.
• Allows the organization to look externally in order to fully understand the market in which it chooses to compete.
• Sets future goals and provides direction for future marketing efforts that everyone in the organization should understand and support.
• Is a key component in obtaining funding to pursue new initiatives.

A marketing plan includes these elements:

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Summary and Introduction
Marketing Objectives
Situation Analysis
Target Markets
Strategies
Tracking and Evaluation

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How do I begin? Where do I start?
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. It should be a synopsis of what you have done, what you plan to do, and how you are going to get there.
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 important points.