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UNIQUE. SPECIFIC. TARGETED. Marketing plans help guide not only what to say, but when, how, where and why to say it. By Ari Kaufman
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n its most common form, a marketing plan serves as a guide for achieving business initiatives on a set timeline. Generally, an effective plan consists of items like an analysis of a company’s target audience, its competitors and the overall market. This analysis helps a work group determine the best strategy for achieving their goals. The plan’s length and detail depend on the company's size and the scope of the actual marketing project. Before writing a marketing plan, it’s a good idea to conduct
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thorough market research and assemble a team with complementary skills in marketing strategy, content creation, and data analysis. A PLAN’S PURPOSE Michelle Henderson is CEO of BadCat Digital. She believes the purpose of a marketing plan can vary, as well as how often it should be updated. “So many people hear the word ‘marketing’ and think the word ‘advertising,’ ” Henderson said. “While advertising is a part of marketing, so many other things
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impact our marketing efforts.” According to Henderson, organizations should ask themselves questions like: How does our organization’s pricing or products fit into the competitive landscape? What are our core values, and how do our communication channels show those values? Who is our core audience, and what do they like about what we have to offer? What communication channels should we be using (e.g. websites, Instagram, networking, podcasts)?
“Marketing plans define all this and more and should be addressed annually in conjunction with your business plan and budgeting,” Henderson said. Brittney Goebel, a creative specialist at North Creative Co., believes marketing plans should be created annually, at the beginning of a business year, and referred to regularly throughout the year, in order to keep things on track. “In my experience, businesses often forget to align marketing and business goals,” Goebel said. “Your marketing