Marketing plan template
Use this template to guide you through writing your own marketing action plan.
Introduction:
What are the main objectives you want your marketing action plan to achieve for your business (ie, more sales, more customers, greater market share, etc - try to be specific)?
1. Your market
1.1 Who are your customers?
Answer the following questions:
- Who are your existing customers?
- What are their needs?
- What motivates them to buy your offer?
- Can you separate your customers into different groups of people with different needs or motivations?
- Are there people who aren't currently customers but could benefit from your product or service?
1.2 Who are your competitors?
Answer the following questions Who are your competitors (NB, think about your direct competitors - ie, businesses who are selling a similar offer: and your indirect competitors - ie, businesses with a totally different offer but who are competing for the same customers)?
Why might your customers or potential customers choose a competitors' their product or service over yours? Are there opportunities for you to be involved in marketing activities you don't already engage in? What are our strengths?
Answer the following questions: What could we improve on?
Answer the following questions:
- Are there any aspects of your product or service which are weak?
- Have your customers complained about any aspect of your offer?
- What are the strengths of your product or service(ie, high quality, unique, cost-effective, etc)?
- How does your product or service compare to your competitors'?
4 Your marketing strategy and action plan
4.1 Target customers
Answer the following questions:
- Who are your target customers (choose existing and potential customers identified above)?
- What do you know about them (ie, where do they live? What age/gender are they? What sort of income do they earn? What other products do they buy)?
- Where are they likely to find out about your product or service?
- How do they prefer to buy your product or service (eg, face-to-face, online, etc)?
- Which are the most profitable customers?