Company Description/Overview
Products/Services Offered
Market Analysis
Marketing and Sales Strategies
Operations and Management
Financial Plan
Appendices
A business plan has eight essential components .
The executive summary opens your business plan, but it’s the section you’ll write last . It summarizes the key points and highlights the most important aspects of your plan. Often investors and lenders will only read the executive summary; if it doesn’t capture their interest they’ll stop reading, so it’s important to make it as compelling as possible.
The components should include:
Remember that if you’re seeking capital, the executive summary could make or break your venture. Take your time and make sure it illustrates how your business is unique in the market and why you’ll succeed.
The executive summary should be no more than two pages long, so it’s important to capture the reader’s interest from the start.
In this section, you’ll detail your full company history, such as how you came up with the idea for your business and any milestones or achievements.
You’ll also include your mission and vision statements. A mission statement explains what you’d like your business to achieve, its driving force, while a vision statement lays out your long-term plan in terms of growth.
A mission statement might be “Our company aims to make life easier for business owners with intuitive payroll software”, while a vision statement could be “Our objective is to become the go-to comprehensive HR software provider for companies around the globe.”
In this section, you’ll want to list your objectives – specific short-term goals. Examples might include “complete initial product development by ‘date’” or “hire two qualified sales people” or “launch the first version of the product”.
It’s best to divide this section into subsections – company history, mission and vision, and objectives.
Here you’ll go into detail about what you’re offering, how it solves a problem in the market, and how it’s unique. Don’t be afraid to share information that is proprietary – investors and lenders are not out to steal your ideas.
Also specify how your product is developed or sourced. Are you manufacturing it or does it require technical development? Are you purchasing a product from a manufacturer or wholesaler?
You’ll also want to specify how you’ll sell your product or service. Will it be a subscription service or a one-time purchase? What is your target pricing? On what channels do you plan to sell your product or service, such as online or by direct sales in a store?
Basically, you’re describing what you’re going to sell and how you’ll make money.
The market analysis is where you’re going to spend most of your time because it involves a lot of research. You should divide it into four sections.
Research and describe exactly what’s happening in your industry, such as growth rate, market size, and current trends. Where is the industry predicted to be in 10 years? Provide links to your sources.
Detail your company’s place in the market. Will your product fit a certain niche? Is there a sub-industry your company will fit into? How will you keep up with industry changes?
Now you’ll dig into your competition. Detail your main competitors and how they differentiate themselves in the market. For example, one competitor may advertise convenience while another touts superior quality. Also highlight your competitors’ weaknesses.
Next, explain how you’ll stand out. Detail your competitive advantages and how you’ll sustain them. This section is extremely important and will be a focus for investors and lenders.
Here you’ll describe your target market and whether it’s different from your competitors’. For example, maybe you have a younger demographic in mind?
You’ll need to know more about your target market than demographics, though. You’ll want to explain the needs and wants of your ideal customers, how your offering solves their problem, and why they will choose your company.
You should also lay out where you’ll find them, where to place your marketing and where to sell your products. Learning this kind of detail requires going to the source – your potential customers. You can do online surveys or even in-person focus groups.
Your goal will be to uncover as much about these people as possible. When you start selling, you’ll want to keep learning about your customers. You may end up selling to a different target market than you originally thought, which could lead to a marketing shift.
SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, and it’s one of the more common and helpful business planning tools.
First describe all the specific strengths of your company, such as the quality of your product or some unique feature, such as the experience of your management team. Talk about the elements that will make your company successful.
Next, acknowledge and explore possible weaknesses. You can’t say “none”, because no company is perfect, especially at the start. Maybe you lack funds or face a massive competitor. Whatever it is, detail how you will surmount this hurdle.
Next, talk about the opportunities your company has in the market. Perhaps you’re going to target an underserved segment, or have a technology plan that will help you surge past the competition.
Finally, examine potential threats. It could be a competitor that might try to replicate your product or rapidly advancing technology in your industry. Again, discuss your plans to handle such threats if they come to pass.
Now it’s time to explain how you’re going to find potential customers and convert them into paying customers.
When you did your target market analysis, you should have learned a lot about your potential customers, including where to find them. This should help you determine where to advertise.
Maybe you found that your target customers favor TikTok over Instagram and decided to spend more marketing dollars on TikTok. Detail all the marketing channels you plan to use and why.
Your target market analysis should also have given you information about what kind of message will resonate with your target customers. You should understand their needs and wants and how your product solves their problem, then convey that in your marketing.
Start by creating a value proposition, which should be no more than two sentences long and answer the following questions:
An example might be “Payroll software that will handle all the payroll needs of small business owners, making life easier for less.”
Whatever your value proposition, it should be at the heart of all of your marketing.
Your sales strategy is a vision to persuade customers to buy, including where you’ll sell and how. For example, you may plan to sell only on your own website, or you may sell from both a physical location and online.
On the other hand, you may have a sales team that will make direct sales calls to potential customers, which is more common in business-to-business sales. Sales tactics are more about how you’re going to get them to buy after they reach your sales channel.
Even when selling online, you need something on your site that’s going to get them to go from a site visitor to a paying customer. By the same token, if you’re going to have a sales team making direct sales, what message are they going to deliver that will entice a sale?
It’s best for sales tactics to focus on the customer’s pain point and what value you’re bringing to the table, rather than being aggressively promotional about the greatness of your product.
Pricing is not an exact science and should depend on several factors. First, consider how you want your product or service to be perceived in the market. If your differentiator is to be the lowest price, position your company as the “discount” option.
Think Walmart, and price your products lower than the competition. If, on the other hand, you want to be the Mercedes of the market, then you’ll position your product as the luxury option.
Of course you’ll have to back this up with superior quality, but being the luxury option allows you to command higher prices. You can, of course, fall somewhere in the middle, but the point is that pricing is a matter of perception.
How you position your product in the market compared to the competition is a big factor in determining your price. Of course, you’ll have to consider your costs, as well as competitor prices. Obviously, your prices must cover your costs and allow you to make a good profit.
Whatever pricing strategy you choose, you’ll justify it in this section of your plan.
This section is the real nuts and bolts of your business – how it operates on a day-to-day basis and who is operating it. Again, this section should be divided into subsections.
Your plan of operations should be specific , detailed and mainly logistical. Who will be doing what on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis? How will the business be managed and how will quality be assured? Be sure to detail your suppliers and how and when you’ll order raw materials.
This should also include the roles that will be filled and the various processes that will be part of everyday business operations. Just consider all the critical functions that must be handled for your business to be able to operate on an ongoing basis.
If your product involves technical development, you’ll describe your tech development plan with specific goals and milestones. The plan will also include how many people will be working on this development, and what needs to be done for goals to be met.
If your company is not a technology company, you’ll describe what technologies you plan to use to run your business or make your business more efficient. It could be process automation software, payroll software, or just laptops and tablets for your staff.
Now you’ll describe who’s running the show. It may be just you when you’re starting out, so you’ll detail what your role will be and summarize your background. You’ll also go into detail about any managers that you plan to hire and when that will occur.
Essentially, you’re explaining your management structure and detailing why your strategy will enable smooth and efficient operations.
Ideally, at some point, you’ll have an organizational structure that is a hierarchy of your staff. Describe what you envision your organizational structure to be.
Detail who you’ve hired or plan to hire and for which roles. For example, you might have a developer, two sales people, and one customer service representative.
Describe each role and what qualifications are needed to perform those roles.
Now, you’ll enter the dreaded world of finance. Many entrepreneurs struggle with this part, so you might want to engage a financial professional to help. A financial plan has five key elements.
Detail in a spreadsheet every cost you’ll incur before you open your doors. This should determine how much capital you’ll need to launch your business.
Creating financial projections, like many facets of business, is not an exact science. If your company has no history, financial projections can only be an educated guess.
First, come up with realistic sales projections. How much do you expect to sell each month? Lay out at least three years of sales projections, detailing monthly sales growth for the first year, then annually thereafter.
Calculate your monthly costs, keeping in mind that some costs will grow along with sales. Once you have your numbers projected and calculated, use them to create these three key financial statements:
You’ll need monthly projected versions of each statement for the first year, then annual projections for the following two years.
The break-even point for your business is when costs and revenue are equal. Most startups operate at a loss for a period of time before they break even and start to make a profit. Your break-even analysis will project when your break-even point will occur, and will be informed by your profit and loss statement.
Lay out the funding you’ll need, when, and where you’ll get it. You’ll also explain what those funds will be used for at various points. If you’re in a high-growth industry that can attract investors, you’ll likely need various rounds of funding to launch and grow.
KPIs measure your company’s performance and can determine success. Many entrepreneurs only focus on the bottom line, but measuring specific KPIs helps find areas of improvement. Every business has certain crucial metrics.
If you sell only online, one of your key metrics might be your visitor conversion rate. You might do an analysis to learn why just one out of ten site visitors makes a purchase. Perhaps the purchase process is too complicated or your product descriptions are vague.
Learning why your conversion rate is low gives you a chance to improve it and boost sales.
In the appendices you can attach documents such as manager resumes or other documents that support your business plan.
A marketing plan, as mentioned above, is a more detailed version of the marketing strategy section of your business plan. It includes six components.
Start by detailing your short-term marketing goals. This could be “Reach 10,000 monthly site visitors by next year’” or “Acquire 500 new customers by May”. Be sure to set clear and attainable goals so your marketing team understands its targets.
You’ll want to document exactly who you’re trying to reach with your marketing. You should’ve already done a target market analysis for your business plan, and you’ll use it here.
Whatever your product or service, it needs to solve a problem in the market. So, ask yourself, what problem does my business solve? Next, consider who faces that problem.
A plumbing company, for instance, solves the problem of broken pipes. Who deals with that problem? Homeowners and property owners and managers.
Depending on your business, it may not be obvious who has the problem you’re solving. If it’s not clear, do more research. Either way, knowing who faces the problem you’re solving is just the beginning. You need to know much more about your target customers.
Now, dig into your market with some online research. Do some Google and Bing searches about your target demographic, where they shop and live, what appeals to them and so on.
Next, check out your competition to see who they’re marketing to. It may help to study their marketing through the eyes of a consumer.
What need do they fill? Who would find their marketing appealing? Where do they advertise? If their ads appear on TikTok, they’re looking to attract a younger market.
This market research should give you a general profile of your target market – but that’s not enough.
To learn more about your target market, go straight to the source. The best way to learn their needs and wants, why they’d buy your product and how they’ll use it, is to ask them via a phone or email survey.
If you’ve yet to make any sales, it’s probably best to post your survey online then promote it on social media by offering a small reward, such as a gift certificate. Just make sure you ask the right questions to get the information you’re looking for.
You can also hold in-person focus groups and offer your goods at a discount for participants.
Now it’s time to build detailed profiles of your target customers. You may have found that your product will appeal to more than one group of people. These are called customer segments, and all your segments together make up your target market.
Create descriptions of each group with all the information you’re learned. These profiles should include:
Now you can use these profiles to craft a value proposition that will serve as the foundation of all your marketing. You may need to devise more than one value proposition to target different segments.
Your value propositions should be no more than two sentences long and answer the following questions:
An example might be “Payroll software that handles all the payroll needs of small business owners, making life easier for less.”
Remember that you need to align your value proposition with the wishes of your target market.
Now you’ll layout the specific marketing activities that you plan to conduct. Your target market analysis should have told you where you’re most likely to find potential customers, so if you found out that your potential customers use TikTok, you can post and run ads there.
You’ll want to only perform the marketing activities that are most likely to reach your potential customers so that you’re not wasting marketing dollars. If getting found online is important to you, focus on search engine optimization (SEO) and social media ads.
Make the activities as specific as possible, such as “Run a TikTok ad promoting ____ for three months.”
Now, determine what these activities will cost and set a budget. When you go through this process, you may find that you need to adjust your marketing to stick to the budget you can afford.
Your marketing budget needs to align with your goals. If one of your goals is to obtain 500 new customers, which will generate $10,000 in revenue, you can’t spend more than that on marketing. You have to make sure you’re getting a good return on your investment, or at least breaking even.
Now you’ll determine your key performance indicators (KPIs) to gauge the success of your marketing.
If you sell only online, one of your key marketing metrics might be your visitor conversion rate. You might do an analysis to learn why just one out of ten site visitors makes a purchase.
Perhaps the purchase process is too complicated or your product descriptions are vague. The point is, learning why your conversion rate is low gives you a chance to improve it and boost sales.
Similarly, if you’re not getting enough site visitors, you may need to revisit your SEO strategies.
A business plan outlines the overall mission, objectives, and strategies of a business, encompassing aspects like operations, finances, and organizational structure.
In contrast, a marketing plan focuses specifically on strategies and tactics to promote products or services, detailing target audiences, promotional methods, and market positioning.
While the business plan provides a comprehensive view of the entire business, the marketing plan hones in on attracting and retaining customers.
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *
Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.
Featured resources.
Carolyn Young
Published on October 13, 2023
In the first segment of our conversation with Vinay Kevadiya, the visionary behind Upmetrics, we explored the platform’s origins and itsunique ...
Published on September 15, 2023
When you’re starting a business, a business plan is essential whether you’re going to obtain financing or not. Creating a business plan helpsyou ...
Published on September 13, 2023
Launching a business involves countless tasks, and one of the crucial early hurdles is writing a business plan. Many entrepreneurs who aren’tlooki ...
No thanks, I don't want to stay up to date on industry trends and news.
Published: August 07, 2024
One of my favorite ways to break through writer’s block, whether the assignment is a marketing plan or a short story, is simply reading more examples. (I also recommend taking a long walk; you’d be surprised.)
I can’t take you on a walk, but I can give you some examples, some inspiration, and some guidelines to get your creativity humming.
If you don’t know where to start, we’ve curated lists of marketing plans and marketing strategies to help you write a concrete plan that will produce results.
Let’s start by understanding the differences between the two.
Looking to develop a marketing plan for your business? Click here to download HubSpot's free Marketing Plan Template to get started .
Table of Contents
What is a marketing plan, marketing plan vs. business plan, how to write a marketing plan, types of marketing plans, marketing plan examples, marketing plan faqs, sample marketing plan.
Outline your company's marketing strategy in one simple, coherent plan.
All fields are required.
Click this link to access this resource at any time.
A marketing plan is a strategic road map that businesses use to organize, execute, and track their marketing strategy over a given period. Marketing plans can include different marketing strategies for various marketing teams across the company, all working toward the same business goals.
The purpose of a marketing plan is to write down strategies in an organized manner. This will help keep you on track and measure the success of your campaigns.
Your marketing plan lays out each campaign‘s mission, buyer personas, budget, tactics, and deliverables. With all this information in one place, you’ll have an easier time staying on track with a campaign, and you can figure out what works and what doesn’t.
To learn more about creating your marketing plan, keep reading or jump to the relevant section:
A marketing plan is a strategic document that outlines marketing objectives, strategies, and tactics.
A business plan is also a strategic document. But this plan covers all aspects of a company's operations, including finance, operations, and more. It can also help your business decide how to distribute resources and make decisions as your business grows.
A marketing plan is a subset of a business plan; it shows how marketing strategies and objectives can support overall business goals. And if you need an assist executing a marketing plan, might I recommend HubSpot’s marketing hub ?
A marketing strategy is the part of your marketing plan that describes how a business will accomplish a particular goal or mission.
This includes which campaigns, content, channels, and marketing software you’ll use to execute that mission and track its success.
A marketing plan contains one or more marketing strategies. It's the framework from which all your marketing strategies are created, and it helps you connect each strategy to a larger marketing operation and business goal.
For example, suppose your company is launching a new software product, and it wants customers to sign up. The marketing department needs to develop a marketing plan that'll help introduce this product to the industry and drive the desired sign-ups.
The department decides to launch a topical blog, debut a YouTube series to establish expertise, and create new X and Instagram accounts to join the conversation around this subject. All this serves to attract an audience and convert this audience into software users.
To summarize, a business' marketing plan is dedicated to introducing a new software product to the marketplace and driving sign-ups for that product. The business will execute that plan with three marketing strategies : a new industry blog, a YouTube video series, and an X account.
Of course, the business might consider these three things as one giant marketing strategy, each with its own specific content strategies. How granular you want your marketing plan to get is up to you. Nonetheless, every marketing plan goes through a particular set of steps in its creation.
Your first step in writing a marketing plan is to state your mission. Although this mission is specific to your marketing department, it should serve as your business' main mission statement.
In my experience, you want to be specific, but not too specific. You have plenty of space left in this marketing plan to elaborate on how you'll acquire new customers and accomplish this mission.
For those of you running startups or small businesses, HubSpot’s starter bundle is a great all-in-one solution — it can help you find and win customers, execute content marketing plans, and more.
If your business' mission is “to make booking travel a delightful experience,” your marketing mission might be “to attract an audience of travelers, educate them on the tourism industry, and convert them into users of our bookings platform.”
Need help building your mission statement? Download this guide for examples and templates and write the ideal mission statement.
Every good marketing plan describes how the department will track its mission‘s progress. To do so, you need to decide on your key performance indicators (KPIs) .
KPIs are individual metrics that measure the various elements of a marketing campaign. These units help you establish short-term goals within your mission and communicate your progress to business leaders.
Let's take our example of a marketing mission from the above step. If part of our mission is “to attract an audience of travelers,” we might track website visits using organic page views. In this case, “organic page views” is one KPI, and we can see our number of page views grow over time.
Also, make sure to check whether your current reporting software facilitates the KPIs you need. Some reporting tools can only measure a set of pre-defined metrics, which can cause massive headaches in particular marketing campaigns.
However, other tools, like HubSpot’s analytics software , can offer full flexibility over the KPIs you wish to track.
You can generate custom reports that reveal average website engagement rates, page visits, email, social media traffic, and more.
These KPIs will come into the conversation again in step 4.
A buyer persona is a description of who you want to attract. This can include age, sex, location, family size, and job title.
Each buyer persona should directly reflect your business' current and potential customers. All business leaders must agree on your buyer personas.
Here‘s where you’ll include the main points of your marketing and content strategy.
Because there‘s a laundry list of content types and channels available today, you must choose wisely and explain how you’ll use your content and channels in this section of your marketing plan.
When I write this section, I like to stipulate:
A marketing plan explains the marketing team's focus. It also explains what the marketing team will not focus on.
If there are other aspects of your business that you aren‘t serving in this particular plan, include them in this section. These omissions help to justify your mission, buyer personas, KPIs, and content.
You can’t please everyone in a single marketing campaign, and if your team isn’t on the hook for something, you need to make it known.
In my experience, this section is particularly important for stakeholders to help them understand why certain decisions were made.
Whether it's freelance fees, sponsorships, or a new full-time marketing hire, use these costs to develop a marketing budget and outline each expense in this section of your marketing plan.
You can establish your marketing budget with these 8 free marketing budget templates .
Part of marketing is knowing your competition. Research the key players in your industry and consider profiling each one.
Keep in mind that not every competitor will pose the same challenges to your business. For example, while one competitor might rank highly on search engines for keywords that you’re also chasing, another competitor might have a heavy footprint on a social network where you plan to launch an account.
Easily track and analyze your competitors with this collection of 10 free competitive analysis templates .
With your marketing plan fully fleshed out, it‘s time to explain who’s doing what.
I don’t like to delve too deeply into my employees’ day-to-day projects, but I know which teams and team leaders are in charge of specific content types, channels, KPIs, and more.
Now that you know why you need to build an effective marketing plan, it’s time to get to work.
Starting a plan from scratch can be overwhelming if you haven't done it before.
That’s why there are many helpful resources that can support your first steps. We’ll share some of the best guides and templates to help you build effective results-driven plans for your marketing strategies.
Ready to make your own marketing plan? Get started with this free template.
The kind of marketing plan you create will depend on your company, your industry, and your business goals. We compiled different samples to suit your needs:
This marketing plan by Visit Oxnard, a convention and visitors bureau, is packed with information: target markets, key performance indicators, selling points, personas, marketing tactics by channel, and much more.
It also articulates the organization’s strategic plans for the upcoming fiscal year, especially as it grapples with the aftereffects of the pandemic.
Lastly, it has impeccable visual appeal, with color-coded sections and strong branding elements.
This marketing plan by a nonprofit organization is an excellent example to follow if your plan will be presented to internal stakeholders at all levels of your organization.
It includes SMART marketing goals , deadlines, action steps, long-term objectives, target audiences, core marketing messages , and metrics.
The plan is detailed yet scannable. By the end of it, one can walk away with a strong understanding of the organization’s strategic direction for its upcoming marketing efforts.
Pridemore Properties’ Instagram smash hit is unexpected, to say the least. You think you’re getting a home tour that takes your figurative breath away; you get a home tour that takes the agent’s literal breath away.
Verizon’s toe-tapping, hip-shaking Totalmente (aka Total by Verizon, a contractless phone plan) ad debuted during Univision’s Spanish-language broadcast of Super Bowl LVIII. The ad reinvents the 1998 Elvis Crespo song “Suavemente,” an earworm if I’ve ever heard one, replacing the lyrics with Total by Verizon features.
Verizon Value’s CMO and VP of Marketing, Cheryl Gresham, has admitted that she didn’t know much about marketing to a majority-Latinx audience.
In an interview with Campaign Live , she said she didn’t think the idea would have gotten off the ground “if it had just been me and a lot of other people that had a background like myself in that room.”
CampaignLive wrote, “Gresham says the team opted for a creative concept that spoke to all the Latinos in the room — despite Gresham herself not understanding the connection.”
Gresham’s marketing strategy hinged on knowing her audience and, just as importantly, trusting her fellow marketers who knew how to reach that audience.
The catchy tune and the great storytelling certainly don’t hurt.
But more than that, Ogilvy and Verizon dug deep into Latinx culture — more than 25 years deep — to craft an ad that doesn’t feel like it’s just responding to the latest trend. They also tapped Venezuelan American comedian, musician, and producer Fred Armisen to direct the spot.
Marketing software that helps you drive revenue, save time and resources, and measure and optimize your investments — all on one easy-to-use platform
6 types of business plans, what are the benefits of a business plan.
The business plan and the marketing plan are both essential aspects of successful businesses. These plans not only help businesses organize their operations, but help benchmark their success or failure. Since business industries change with customer demand and the economic environment, the business plan and marketing plan must evolve throughout the lifespan of the business.
The business plan provides a wide overview of the business, which includes information on staff, operations, location, marketing and financial aspects, as well as clearly outlined missions and goals. Often used as a financial tool, the business plan provides lenders with necessary details to determine if the business is viable, financially sound and able to repay.
Although business plans are most commonly known for assisting new businesses, they should be used throughout the life of the business. Not only does it help to develop competitive strategies, the business plan can determine if the actual activity of the business matches the forecasted plans. Founders who write business plans are 2.5 times as likely to start businesses than individuals who miss this vital step, reports careers agency TopTal .
The marketing plan details the specific marketing actions that achieve the company's missions and goals. For instance, this plan identifies the price points for the products you are selling, target markets and competition. It explains how the business generates customers through advertisements, trade show participation and new referrals. By explaining how the business will overcome competitive challenges by other companies, the marketing plan is a key section within the business plan and requires detailed industry research and consideration.
Marketing plans are, by definition, strategic, reports the industry magazine Business 2 Community . They force you think about how you will get your product in front of customers, and gets you used to working with timelines and key performance metrics. Investors want to make sure you have these ducks in a row before you invest.
The business plan and marketing plan are interdependent and must be consistent with one another if you are to generate sales. The business plan identifies the goals and missions of the business, while the marketing plan explains how the business will achieve, if not exceed, those goals and missions. If the plans of the business change, the business's course of action also changes. A good marketing plan should never deviate from the objective of the business plan.
Both plans should be reviewed periodically. While the business plan can be reviewed once a year, the marketing plan should be reviewed once per quarter at the beginning of the fiscal year. Reviewing periodically ensures that the business is operating according to outlined strategies. Comparing actual versus outlined activities helps measure business success and identify any new or updated strategies that are in-tune with current economic environment.
There are no length requirements for the business plan or the marketing plan. However, both plans should be long enough to provide concise and detailed information. The benefits of marketing and business development are only realized if the information within the plans is well-researched and includes supporting evidence for facts presented. The goals, missions and strategies within these plans should be measurable and attainable, and reviewed and updated as the business evolves.
Difference between business plan & strategic plan, what are the benefits of preparing a business plan, define a business plan, what are four major types of information presented in a business plan, the importance of business plans, examples of liquor store business plans, why create a business plan, a financial plan vs. a pro-forma cash flow budget, business plan vs. business strategy, most popular.
We use essential cookies to make Venngage work. By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.
Manage Cookies
Cookies and similar technologies collect certain information about how you’re using our website. Some of them are essential, and without them you wouldn’t be able to use Venngage. But others are optional, and you get to choose whether we use them or not.
Strictly Necessary Cookies
These cookies are always on, as they’re essential for making Venngage work, and making it safe. Without these cookies, services you’ve asked for can’t be provided.
Show cookie providers
Functionality Cookies
These cookies help us provide enhanced functionality and personalisation, and remember your settings. They may be set by us or by third party providers.
Performance Cookies
These cookies help us analyze how many people are using Venngage, where they come from and how they're using it. If you opt out of these cookies, we can’t get feedback to make Venngage better for you and all our users.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies are set by our advertising partners to track your activity and show you relevant Venngage ads on other sites as you browse the internet.
Blog Marketing What is a Marketing Plan & How to Create One [with Examples]
Written by: Sara McGuire Oct 26, 2023
A marketing plan is a blueprint that outlines your strategies to attract and convert your ideal customers as a part of your customer acquisition strategy. It’s a comprehensive document that details your:
In this article, I’ll explain everything you need to know about creating a marketing plan . If you need a little extra help, there are professionally designed marketing plan templates that’ll make the process much easier. So, let’s ditch the confusion and get started!
Click to jump ahead:
How to write a marketing plan , 9 marketing plan examples to inspire your growth strategy.
A marketing plan is a report that outlines your marketing strategy for your products or services, which could be applicable for the coming year, quarter or month.
Watch this quick, 13-minute video for more details on what a marketing plan is and how to make one yourself:
Typically, a marketing plan includes:
For example, this marketing plan template provides a high-level overview of the business and competitors before diving deep into specific goals, KPIs and tactics:
Learning how to write a marketing plan forces you to think through the important steps that lead to an effective marketing strategy . And a well-defined plan will help you stay focused on your high-level marketing goals.
With Venngage’s extensive catalog of marketing plan templates, creating your marketing plan isn’t going to be hard or tedious. In fact, Venngage has plenty of helpful communications and design resources for marketers. If you’re ready to get started, sign up for Venngage for Marketers now. It’s free to register and start designing.
Whether you’re a team trying to set smarter marketing goals, a consultant trying to set your client in the right direction, or a one-person team hustling it out, Venngage for Marketers helps you get things done.
As mentioned above, the scope of your marketing plan varies depending on its purpose or the type of organization it’s for.
For example, you could look for performance marketing agency to create a marketing plan that provides an overview of a company’s entire marketing strategy:
A typical outline of a marketing plan includes:
Below you will see in details how to write each section as well as some examples of how you can design each section in a marketing plan.
Starting your marketing plan off on the right foot is important. You want to pull people into your amazing plan for marketing domination. Not bore them to tears.
One of the best ways to get people excited to read your marketing plan is with a well-written executive summary. An executive summary introduces readers to your company goals, marketing triumphs, future plans, and other important contextual facts.
Basically, you can use the Executive Summary as a primer for the rest of your marketing plan.
Include things like:
Try to keep your executive summary rather brief and to the point. You aren’t writing a novel, so try to keep it under three to four paragraphs.
Take a look at the executive summary in the marketing plan example below:
The executive summary is only two paragraphs long — short but effective.
The executive summary tells readers about the company’s growth, and how they are about to overtake one of their competitors. But there’s no mention of specific metrics or figures. That will be highlighted in the next section of the marketing plan.
An effective executive summary should have enough information to pique the reader’s interest, but not bog them down with specifics yet. That’s what the rest of your marketing plan is for!
The executive summary also sets the tone for your marketing plan. Think about what tone will fit your brand ? Friendly and humorous? Professional and reliable? Inspiring and visionary?
After you perfect your executive summary, it’s time to outline your marketing goals.
(If you’ve never set data-driven goals like this before, it would be worth reading this growth strategy guide ).
This is one of the most important parts of the entire marketing plan, so be sure to take your time and be as clear as possible. Moreover, optimizing your marketing funnel is key. Employing effective funnel software can simplify operations and provide valuable customer insights. It facilitates lead tracking, conversion rate analysis, and efficient marketing optimization .
As a rule of thumb, be as specific as possible. The folks over at VoyMedia advise that you should set goals that impact website traffic, conversions, and customer success — and to use real numbers. Complement your goals with website optimization tools (e.g., A/B testing speed with Nostra – check Nostra AI review to learn more) to further improve conversions.
Avoid outlining vague goals like:
Instead, identify key performance metrics (KPI) you want to impact and the percentage you want to increase them by.
Take a look at the goals page in the marketing plan example below:
They not only identify a specific metric in each of their goals, but they also set a timeline for when they will be increased.
The same vague goals listed earlier become much clearer when specific numbers and timelines are applied to them:
You can dive even deeper into your marketing goals if you want (generally, the more specific, the better). Here’s a marketing plan example that shows how to outline your growth goals:
Now, this may not seem like the most important part of your marketing plan, but I think it holds a ton of value.
Outlining your user personas is an important part of a marketing plan that should not be overlooked.
You should be asking not just how you can get the most visitors to your business, but how you can get the right visitors.
Who are your ideal customers? What are their goals? What are their biggest problems? How does your business solve customer problems?
Answering these questions will take lots of research, but it’s essential information to get.
Some ways to conduct user research are:
Then, you will need to compile your user data into a user persona guide.
Take a look at how detailed this user persona template is below:
Taking the time to identify specific demographic traits, habits and goals will make it easier for you to cater your marketing plan to them.
Here’s how you can create a user persona guide:
The first thing you should add is a profile picture or icon for each user persona. It can help to put a face to your personas, so they seem more real.
Next, list demographic information like:
The user persona example above uses sliding scales to identify personality traits like introversion vs. extroversion and thinking vs. feeling. Identifying what type of personality your target users tend to have an influence on the messaging you use in your marketing content.
Meanwhile, this user persona guide identifies specific challenges the user faces each day:
But if you don’t want to go into such precise detail, you can stick to basic information, like in this marketing plan example:
Most businesses will have a few different types of target users. That’s why it’s pertinent to identify and create several different user personas . That way, you can better segment your marketing campaigns and set separate goals, if necessary.
Here’s a marketing plan example with a segmented user persona guide:
The important thing is for your team or client to have a clear picture of who their target user is and how they can appeal to their specific problems.
Start creating robust user personas using Venngage’s user persona guide .
Next, on the marketing plan checklist, we have the competitor research section. This section will help you identify who your competitors are, what they’re doing, and how you could carve yourself a place alongside them in your niche — and ideally, surpass them. It’s something you can learn to do with rank tracking software .
Competitor research is also incredibly important if you are starting a blog .
Typically, your competitor research should include:
Also, take as deep a dive as you can into the strategies they use across their:
Research their strengths and weaknesses in all parts of their company, and you will find some great opportunities. Bookmark has a great guide to different marketing strategies for small businesses if you need some more information there.
You can use this simple SWOT analysis worksheet to quickly work through all parts of their strategy as well:
Click the template above to create a SWOT chart . Customize the template to your liking — no design know-how needed.
Since you have already done all the research beforehand, adding this information to your marketing plan shouldn’t be that hard.
In this marketing plan example, some high-level research is outlined for 3 competing brands:
But you could take a deeper dive into different facets of your competitors’ strategies. This marketing plan example analyses a competitor’s inbound marketing strategy :
It can also be helpful to divide your competitors into Primary and Secondary groups. For example, Apple’s primary competitor may be Dell for computers, but its secondary competitor could be a company that makes tablets.
Your most dangerous competitors may not even be in the same industry as you. Like the CEO of Netflix said, “Sleep is our competition.”
It’s pretty hard to plan for the future if you don’t know where your business stands right now.
Before we do anything at Venngage, we find the baselines so we can compare future results to something. We do it so much it’s almost like second nature now!
Setting baselines will allow you to more accurately track your progress. You will also be able to better analyze what worked and what didn’t work, so you can build a stronger strategy. It will definitely help them clearly understand your goals and strategy as well.
Here’s a marketing plan example where the baselines are visualized:
Another way to include baselines in your plan is with a simple chart, like in the marketing plan example below:
Because data can be intimidating to a lot of people, visualizing your data using charts and infographics will help demystify the information.
After pulling all the contextual information and relevant metrics into your marketing plan, it’s time to break down your marketing strategy.
Once again, it’s easier to communicate your information to your team or clients using visuals .
Mind maps are an effective way to show how a strategy with many moving parts ties together. For example, this mind map shows how the four main components of a marketing strategy interact together:
You can also use a flow chart to map out your strategy by objectives:
However you choose to visualize your strategy, your team should know exactly what they need to do. This is not the time to keep your cards close to your chest.
Your strategy section may need to take up a few pages to explain, like in the marketing plan example below:
With all of this information, even someone from the development team will understand what the marketing team is working on.
This minimalistic marketing plan example uses color blocks to make the different parts of the strategy easy to scan:
Breaking your strategy down into tasks will make it easier to tackle.
Another important way to visualize your marketing strategy is to create a project roadmap. A project roadmap visualizes the timeline of your product with individual tasks. Our roadmap maker can help you with this.
For example, this project roadmap shows how tasks on both the marketing and web design side run parallel to each other:
A simple timeline can also be used in your marketing plan:
Or a mind map, if you want to include a ton of information in a more organized way:
Even a simple “Next, Now, Later” chart can help visualize your strategy:
Close your marketing plan with a brief explanation of how you plan to track or measure your results. This will save you a lot of frustration down the line by standardizing how you track results across your team.
Like the other sections of your marketing plan, you can choose how in-depth you want to go. But there need to be some clear guidelines on how to measure the progress and results of your marketing plan.
At the bare minimum, your results tracking guidelines should specify:
But you can more add tracking guidelines to your marketing plan if you see the need to. You may also want to include a template that your team or client can follow, for client reporting , ensure that the right metrics are being tracked.
The marketing plan example below dedicates a whole page to tracking criteria:
Use a task tracker to track tasks and marketing results, and a checklist maker to note down tasks, important life events, or tracking your daily life.
Similarly, the marketing plan example below talks about tracking content marketing instead:
Marketing plan vs. marketing strategy
Although often used interchangeably, the terms “marketing plan” and “marketing strategy” do have some differences.
Simply speaking, a marketing strategy presents what the business will do in order to reach a certain goal. A marketing plan outlines the specific daily, weekly, monthly or yearly activities that the marketing strategy calls for. As a business, you can create a marketing proposal for the marketing strategies defined in your company’s marketing plan. There are various marketing proposal examples that you can look at to help with this.
A company’s extended marketing strategy can be like this:
Notice how it’s more general and doesn’t include the actual activities required to complete each strategy or the timeframe those marketing activities will take place. That kind of information is included in a marketing plan, like this marketing plan template which talks about the content strategy in detail:
Here’s a free nonprofit marketing plan example that is ideal for organizations with a comprehensive vision to share. It’s a simple plan that is incredibly effective. Not only does the plan outline the core values of the company, it also shares the ideal buyer persona.
Note how the branding is consistent throughout this example so there is no doubt which company is presenting this plan. The content plan is an added incentive for anyone viewing the document to go ahead and give the team the green light.
Two-page marketing plan samples aren’t very common, but this free template proves how effective they are. There’s a dedicated section for business goals as well as for project planning.
The milestones for the marketing campaign are clearly laid out, which is a great way to show how organized this business strategy is.
This marketing plan template is perfect for small businesses who set out to develop an overarching marketing strategy for the whole year:
Notice how this aligns pretty well with the marketing plan outline we discussed in previous sections.
In terms of specific tactics for the company’s marketing strategy, the template only discusses SEO strategy, but you can certainly expand on that section to discuss any other strategies — such as link building , that you would like to build out a complete marketing plan for.
Marketing plans, like the sample below, are a great way to highlight what your business strategy and the proposal you wan to put forward to win potential customers.
This one-page marketing plan example is great for showcasing marketing efforts in a persuasive presentation or to print out for an in-person meeting.
Note how the fact sheet breaks down the marketing budget as well as the key metrics for the organization. You can win over clients and partners with a plan like this.
This one-page sample marketing plan clearly outlines the marketing objectives for the organization. It’s a simple but effective way to share a large amount of information in a short amount of time.
What really works with this example is that includes a mission statement, key contact information alongside all the key metrics.
This press kit marketing plan template is bright and unmistakable as belonging to the Cloud Nine marketing agency . The way the brand colors are used also helps diversify the layouts for each page, making the plan easier to read.
We like the way the marketing department has outlined the important facts about the organization. The bold and large numbers draw the eye and look impressive.
Start your marketing campaign on a promising note with this marketing plan template. It’s short, sharp and to the point. The table of contents sets out the agenda, and there’s a page for the company overview and mission statement.
A complete marketing plan example, like the one below, not only breaks down the business goals to be achieved but a whole lot more. Note how the terms and conditions and payment schedule are included, which makes this one of the most comprehensive marketing plans on our list.
While both marketing plans and business plans are crucial documents for businesses, they serve distinct purposes and have different scopes. Here’s a breakdown of the key differences:
Business plan is a comprehensive document that outlines all aspects of your business, including:
Marketing plan on the other hand, dives deep into the specific strategies and tactics related to your marketing efforts. It expands on the marketing section of a business plan by detailing:
In short, business plans paint the entire business picture, while marketing plans zoom in on the specific strategies used to reach your target audience and achieve marketing goals.
Let’s take a look at several types of marketing plans you can create, along with specific examples for each.
This is a good example of a marketing plan that covers the overarching annual marketing strategy for a company:
Another good example would be this Starbucks marketing plan:
This one-page marketing plan example from coffee chain Starbucks has everything at a glance. The bold headers and subheadings make it easier to segment the sections so readers can focus on the area most relevant to them.
What we like about this example is how much it covers. From the ideal buyer persona to actional activities, as well as positioning and metrics, this marketing plan has it all.
Another marketing plan example that caught our eye is this one from Cengage. Although a bit text-heavy and traditional, it explains the various sections well. The clean layout makes this plan easy to read and absorb.
The last marketing plan example we would like to feature in this section is this one from Lush cosmetics.
It is a long one but it’s also very detailed. The plan outlines numerous areas, including the company mission, SWOT analysis , brand positioning, packaging, geographical criteria, and much more.
A content marketing plan highlights different strategies , campaigns or tactics you can use for your content to help your business reach its goals.
This one-page marketing plan example from Contently outlines a content strategy and workflow using simple colors and blocks. The bullet points detail more information but this plan can easily be understood at a glance, which makes it so effective.
For a more detailed content marketing plan example, take a look at this template which features an editorial calendar you can share with the whole team:
Your SEO marketing plan highlights what you plan to do for your SEO marketing strategy . This could include tactics for website on-page optimization , off-page optimization using AI SEO , and link building using an SEO PowerSuite backlink API for quick backlink profile checks.
This SEO marketing plan example discusses in detail the target audience of the business and the SEO plan laid out in different stages:
Your social media marketing plan presents what you’ll do to reach your marketing goal through social media. This could include tactics specific to each social media channel that you own, recommendations on developing a new channel, specific campaigns you want to run, and so on, like how B2B channels use Linkedin to generate leads with automation tools and expand their customer base; or like making use of Twitter walls that could display live Twitter feeds from Twitter in real-time on digital screens.
For B2C brands, you can target Facebook and Instagram. Gain Instagram likes to build trust for your brand’s profile and post engaging content on both platforms. Leverage AI social media tools to automate and scale your content plan..
Edit this social media marketing plan example easily with Venngage’s drag-and-drop editor:
This could cover your paid marketing strategy (which can include search ads, paid social media ads, traditional advertisements, etc.), email marketing strategy and more. Here’s an example:
Marketing plans should include:
An executive summary in a marketing plan is a brief overview of the entire document, summarizing the key points, goals, and strategies. Its main goal is to provide readers with a quick understanding of the plan’s purpose and to entice them to read further.
When a marketing plan is effective, businesses can experience increased brand visibility, higher customer engagement , improved sales and revenue, and strengthened customer loyalty.
The first section of a marketing plan is typically the “Executive Summary,” which provides a concise overview of the entire plan, including the business’s goals and the strategies to achieve them.
More marketing design guides and templates:
Discover popular designs
Infographic maker
Brochure maker
White paper online
Newsletter creator
Flyer maker
Timeline maker
Letterhead maker
Mind map maker
Ebook maker
What's the difference.
A business plan and a marketing plan are both essential documents for any organization, but they serve different purposes. A business plan outlines the overall goals, objectives, and strategies of a company, providing a comprehensive roadmap for its operations and growth. It includes sections on the company's mission, target market, products or services, financial projections, and competitive analysis. On the other hand, a marketing plan focuses specifically on the marketing activities and strategies that will be employed to promote the company's products or services. It includes sections on market research, target audience, marketing objectives, pricing, distribution channels, and promotional tactics. While a business plan provides a holistic view of the organization, a marketing plan zooms in on the marketing efforts to achieve the business goals.
Attribute | Business Plan | Marketing Plan |
---|---|---|
Definition | A document that outlines the goals and strategies of a business | A document that outlines the marketing objectives and strategies of a business |
Focus | Overall business goals and strategies | Marketing goals and strategies |
Audience | Internal stakeholders, investors, and lenders | Internal stakeholders, marketing team, and external stakeholders |
Components | Executive summary, company description, market analysis, product/service description, marketing and sales strategies, financial projections | Executive summary, market analysis, target audience, marketing objectives, marketing strategies, budget allocation |
Timeframe | Long-term (typically 3-5 years) | Short-term (typically 1 year) |
Scope | Overall business operations | Marketing activities and campaigns |
Measurement | Financial performance, market share, customer satisfaction | Marketing metrics (e.g., reach, conversion rate, ROI) |
Implementation | Guides the entire business operations | Guides marketing team and activities |
Introduction.
When it comes to running a successful business, having a well-defined plan is crucial. Two key components of this planning process are the business plan and the marketing plan. While both plans serve different purposes, they are interconnected and play vital roles in achieving business objectives. In this article, we will explore the attributes of a business plan and a marketing plan, highlighting their unique features and how they complement each other.
A business plan is a comprehensive document that outlines the overall strategy, goals, and operations of a company. It serves as a roadmap for the organization, providing a clear direction for its future growth and success. A business plan typically includes sections such as an executive summary, company description, market analysis, organizational structure, product/service offerings, financial projections, and more.
One of the primary purposes of a business plan is to secure funding from investors or financial institutions. It demonstrates the viability and profitability of the business, showcasing the potential return on investment. Additionally, a business plan helps in attracting key stakeholders, partners, and employees by providing a detailed overview of the company's mission, vision, and values.
Furthermore, a business plan acts as a strategic tool for decision-making and resource allocation. It helps the management team identify potential risks, challenges, and opportunities, allowing them to develop contingency plans and allocate resources effectively. By setting clear objectives and milestones, a business plan enables the organization to measure its progress and make necessary adjustments to stay on track.
In summary, a business plan is a comprehensive document that outlines the overall strategy, goals, and operations of a company. It serves as a roadmap, attracts investors, facilitates decision-making, and provides a framework for measuring progress.
A marketing plan, on the other hand, focuses specifically on the marketing activities and strategies of a business. It is a subset of the broader business plan and provides a detailed roadmap for reaching the target market, promoting products/services, and achieving sales objectives. A marketing plan typically includes sections such as market research, target audience analysis, competitive analysis, marketing objectives, marketing strategies, budget allocation, and evaluation metrics.
The primary goal of a marketing plan is to create awareness, generate interest, and drive customer acquisition. It outlines the marketing mix, including product, price, place, and promotion, to effectively position the offerings in the market. By conducting market research and analyzing customer behavior, a marketing plan helps identify the target audience's needs, preferences, and pain points, enabling the development of tailored marketing campaigns.
Moreover, a marketing plan provides a framework for evaluating the effectiveness of marketing initiatives. It sets specific goals and key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure the success of marketing campaigns, such as customer acquisition cost, conversion rates, brand awareness, and customer satisfaction. By regularly monitoring and analyzing these metrics, businesses can make data-driven decisions and optimize their marketing efforts for better results.
In summary, a marketing plan is a subset of the business plan that focuses on the marketing activities and strategies. It aims to create awareness, drive customer acquisition, and provides a framework for evaluating marketing initiatives.
While the business plan and marketing plan serve different purposes, they are interconnected and complement each other in several ways. Firstly, the marketing plan is derived from the business plan. The overall business strategy, goals, and target market identified in the business plan provide the foundation for developing the marketing plan. The marketing plan aligns with the broader business objectives and ensures that marketing efforts are in line with the company's vision and mission.
Secondly, the marketing plan provides valuable insights and data that inform the business plan. Through market research, customer analysis, and competitive analysis, the marketing plan helps identify market trends, customer preferences, and competitive advantages. This information is crucial for developing a robust business strategy, identifying growth opportunities, and mitigating potential risks.
Furthermore, the business plan and marketing plan work together to allocate resources effectively. The financial projections and budget allocation in the business plan are influenced by the marketing plan's objectives and strategies. For example, if the marketing plan emphasizes digital advertising and social media campaigns, the business plan may allocate a larger portion of the budget to marketing activities in those areas.
Lastly, the business plan and marketing plan are iterative documents that require regular review and updates. As market conditions change, customer preferences evolve, and new opportunities arise, both plans need to be adjusted accordingly. The marketing plan provides valuable feedback and insights to refine the business plan, ensuring that the company remains competitive and adaptable in a dynamic market environment.
In conclusion, the business plan and marketing plan are essential components of a successful business strategy. While the business plan provides a comprehensive overview of the company's overall strategy, goals, and operations, the marketing plan focuses specifically on the marketing activities and strategies. Both plans are interconnected and complement each other, with the marketing plan derived from the business plan and providing valuable insights for its development. Together, these plans enable businesses to attract investors, drive customer acquisition, allocate resources effectively, and adapt to changing market conditions. By developing and implementing well-crafted business and marketing plans, organizations can increase their chances of achieving long-term success.
Comparisons may contain inaccurate information about people, places, or facts. Please report any issues.
Understanding marketing plans, how to write a marketing plan, marketing plan vs. business plan.
James Chen, CMT is an expert trader, investment adviser, and global market strategist.
Pete Rathburn is a copy editor and fact-checker with expertise in economics and personal finance and over twenty years of experience in the classroom.
Investopedia / Zoe Hansen
A marketing plan is an operational document that outlines an advertising strategy that an organization will implement to generate leads and reach its target market . It details the outreach and PR campaigns to be undertaken and for how long, as well as the ways in which the company will measure the effect of these initiatives. It reflects a company’s overall marketing strategy.
The terms “marketing plan” and “marketing strategy” are often used interchangeably because the former is developed based on an overarching strategic framework. In some cases the strategy and the plan may be incorporated into one document, particularly for smaller companies that may only run one or two major campaigns in a year. The plan outlines marketing activities on a monthly, a quarterly, or an annual basis, while the strategy delineates the overall value proposition .
The components of a marketing plan include:
The four most important social media networks in 2023 for global marketers were, in descending order, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok.
There are a variety of marketing plans that suit different businesses and their needs. These include:
The mission and value proposition is a statement that articulates the value that a product or brand will deliver to a customer. It should appear front and center on the company website and any branding materials.
The value proposition should delineate how a product or brand solves the customer’s problem, the benefits of the product or brand, and why the customer should buy from this company and not another. The marketing plan is based on it.
Establishing your key performance indicators (KPIs) will allow you to measure the success of your marketing plan in relation to your company’s value proposition. In other words, they track the effectiveness of your marketing strategy. For example, if your goal is to engage with a certain demographic in a certain region, you can track social media impressions and website visits.
There are a number of KPIs that help you measure success including the search engine ranking, click-through rate, cost per click, return on investment (ROI), and conversion rates, which tracks the percentages of visitors to your website that make a specific action such as buying a product or becoming a newsletter subscriber.
In 2023, Facebook and Instagram were tied for having the highest ROI across social media platforms for global marketers, while YouTube fell next in line.
The marketing plan identifies the target market for a product or brand. Market research is often the basis for a target market and marketing channel decisions. For example, whether the company will advertise via social media, online ads, or regional TV.
Knowing to whom you want to sell and why is an extremely critical component of any business plan. It allows you to focus your business and measure its success. Different demographics have different tastes and needs; knowing your target market will help you market to them.
The marketing plan includes the rationale for these decisions. The plan should focus on the creation, timing, scheduling, and placement of specific campaigns and include the metrics that will measure the outcomes of your marketing efforts. For example, will you advertise on social media or TV? What time will you schedule your marketing if they are through email newsletters? The strategy may include flighting scheduling , which includes the times when you can make the most of your advertising dollars.
A marketing plan costs money. Setting a budget will allow you to create a workable plan, prevent runaway costs, and properly allocate your funds.
A marketing plan can be adjusted at any point based on the results from its metrics. If digital ads are performing better than expected, for example, the budget for a campaign can be adjusted to fund a higher-performing platform, or the company can initiate a new budget. The challenge for marketing leaders is to ensure that every platform has sufficient time to show results.
Without the correct metrics to assess the impact of outreach and marketing efforts, an organization will not know which campaigns to repeat and which to drop. In short, maintaining ineffective initiatives wastes money.
Digital marketing shows results almost immediately, whereas TV ads require rotation to realize any level of market penetration. In the traditional marketing mix model, a marketing plan would fall under the category of “promotion,” which is one of the “ four Ps ,” a term coined by Neil Borden to describe the marketing mix of product, price, promotion, and place.
A business plan is a roadmap that details how a business will operate and function in its entirety. It should cover the goals, missions , values, financials, and strategies that the business will use in day-to-day operations and the achievement of its objectives. Among its many elements are an executive summary, the products and services sold, a marketing analysis, a marketing strategy, financial planning, and a budget .
As mentioned, a business plan should include a marketing plan, which focuses on creating a strategy for creating awareness of the company’s product or service, reaching the target market, and generating sales.
Consider the following marketing plan framework that is designed to help direct marketing objectives:
A marketing plan template is a guide for writing a marketing plan. It contains all the important elements needed to create one, including its goals and KPIs, marketing channels, budget, content type, teams involved, and design.
The executive summary is a nutshell description of the marketing plan. It should contain the key findings of the market research, the company’s objectives and marketing goals, an overview of the marketing trends, the description of the product or service being marketed, information on the target market, and the plan budget.
A top-down marketing strategy is a traditional one, in which a business decides how best to sell its product or brand, and customers are then spurred to take action through advertisements, generally found on radio and/or television. It is usually determined by company executives, which is then communicated with management to delegate to employees. These employees then develop tactics to meet the strategy's objectives.
In comparison to a traditional top-down marketing strategy, a bottom-up strategy begins with employees who formulate marketing tactics based on their analysis of customer preferences and needs. This then may lead to collaboration with other employees to develop a concrete marketing plan, which is sent to executives for review.
Today’s consumer wants to relate to a product or service in a meaningful way, and a bottom-up marketing strategy seeks to achieve this through customer-centric tactics.
The cost of a marketing plan will vary based on the company, the plan’s complexity, and the length of the overall strategy. In 2023, marketing costs made up 10.1% of corporate revenues on average. The consumer packaged goods sector spent the most, at 18.5% of revenues while the mining and construction sector spent the least, at 1% of revenues.
A separate analysis shows that the cost can range anywhere from $10,000 to over $40,000 for a marketing plan.
A marketing plan is the advertising strategy that a business implements to sell its product or service. It determines the target market, how best to reach it, at what price point the product or service should be sold, and how the company will measure its efforts.
Constantly monitoring and adjusting a market plan is an important part of running a business, as it shows the most effective ways to generate sales. As the consumer landscape evolves, it is important for businesses to adapt in order to meet customer needs and better achieve their marketing objectives.
Statista. " Marketing Worldwide – Statistics and Facts ."
American Marketing Association. " What Is a Marketing Plan and How to Write One? [Easy Guide] ."
HubSpot. " The 2024 State of Marketing & Trends Report: Data from 1400+ Global Marketers ."
Deloitte. " The CMO Survey: Managing Marketing Technology, Growth and Sustainability ." Page 16.
Laire. " How Much Does a Marketing Plan Cost? "
You can’t expect the win the confidence of investors unless you prepare the right documents. Investors are highly selective when choosing businesses in which to invest. If they believe your business is poised to grow and succeed, they may offer to purchase an ownership stake in it. You’ll have an easier time winning investors’ confidence by providing them with a business plan and marketing plan. What’s the difference between these two documents exactly?
Many investors will require you to provide a business plan when seeking financing for them. Some banks require a business plan for financing as well. Whether you’re trying to obtain equity financing from an investor or debt financing from a bank, you’ll probably need to prepare a business plan.
A marketing plan, on the other hand, is a smaller and more specific document that focuses strictly on your business’s marketing activities. Marketing, of course, is the promotion of your business and its goods or services. While different businesses sell different types of goods and services, they all engage in marketing activities to attract customers. In a marketing plan, you can explain how your business intends to attract new customers through marketing activities.
You can include your marketing plan in your business plan. Alternatively, you create a separate marketing plan that’s distinguished from your business plan. Most business plans have a section for marketing. After creating a marketing plan, you can either place it in this section or use it as a separate and independent document.
Business plans and marketing plans aren’t the same. Business plans consist of multiple parts, each of which covers a specific aspect of your business. Most of them contain an executive summary, business description, goods and services and marketing section. In comparison, marketing plans only cover your business’s marketing activities.
This article was brought to you by� Intrepid Private Capital�Group �� A Global Financial Services Company. For more information on startup and business funding, or to complete a funding application, please visit our� website .
More from author, + there are no comments, cancel reply.
Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed .
Is there really a difference between a marketing strategy and a marketing plan? Are they two sides of the same marketing program coin?
While the terms are commonly used interchangeably, they’re two very different concepts in the real world. It may seem like splitting semantic hairs, but understanding the difference between marketing strategy vs. marketing plan is crucial to the success of your campaigns and your progress toward overarching business goals.
Let’s compare and contrast the concepts in greater depth so you’re prepared when it comes time to take your marketing to the next level .
A digital marketing strategy is the “why” behind your marketing. Every piece of marketing collateral you create will be informed by this documentation, which means it works hand-in-hand with your content strategy .
Basically, a marketing strategy is a reflection of your short-term and long-term business approach. This strategy should also be a distillation of your brand values, voice, mission and messaging. For example, if your business aims to scale up quickly, the strategic marketing vision you develop needs to support that objective, perhaps by focusing on consumer acquisition or ramping up your online presence.
A good marketing strategy will encompass your unique selling proposition, all that your business hopes to achieve and its brand identity.
Your marketing plan is the “how” to your strategy’s “why.” Ideally, a marketing plan should be just that — a plan of action for how you will execute your strategy to accomplish each marketing goal.
The process of creating a tactical marketing plan is about addressing the real-world steps you will take to create, promote, track and measure your campaign, programs and assets. The workflows and procedures you develop will provide a roadmap for making your strategy actionable.
To use a not-at-all-complicated metaphor, let’s say your business needs a ship to sail through your marketing campaign. That ship needs a direction in which to travel (i.e., a strategy) and the sails to power it (i.e., a plan).
Marketing strategy and plan work hand in hand, with the latter taking cues from the former. Everything laid out by your strategy should be addressed with a plan — one that defines the processes for tactical marketing.
However, the lines can be a bit blurred. Strategic planning is one oft-used phrase that can create confusion. In reality, strategic planning is just high-quality planning informed by a thorough marketing strategy.
Needless to say, a strategy without planning is like a winning idea without a way to realize it; and planning without a strategy will lead to a rudderless ship.
Strategy is not an amorphous concept. It takes real work and thinking to establish a good marketing strategy that ultimately facilitates business success.
Here are some basic steps to crafting a comprehensive strategy:
Importantly, strategy is not static. It needs to be constantly updated and fine-tuned to keep your business on track and achieve changing marketing objectives.
Returning to the question of “how” shows us the best way to create a marketing plan that works. Ask yourself these questions as you set out to develop your plan of action:
Let’s look at some examples of how the waterfall of business objectives to marketing strategy to marketing plan works in real life:
It’s much easier to see the differences between marketing strategy vs. marketing plan in such a scenario, but also easier to grasp how they work in conjunction. Let’s consider another:
Getting the picture?
One more for good measure:
When a marketing strategy and marketing plan are in harmony, what they create is music to your business’ ears. Alignment between the two gives your brand its best chance to impact consumers, raise its profile and succeed in its key business objectives.
Editor’s Note: Updated December 2022.
Share this article
Get our weekly newsletter
Dom, an English major and journalism enthusiast, was just happy to get a job out of college writing and editing professionally. That it turned out to be in the burgeoning content marketing industry with Brafton was all the better.
Content marketing works by offering readers informative and useful material that provides insight and value.
Discover how content fits into a wider digital strategy to engage and convert the right audiences.
Get the latest content marketing updates delivered directly to your inbox with our weekly newsletter.
By: Author Tony Martins Ajaero
Home » Business Plans
Between a business plan vs a marketing plan, which is more important to your small company? Here is a detail comparison and difference between a business plan and marketing plan. The purpose of every business is to make profit, and for that profit to start rolling in early enough, certain plans and processes have to be put in place. No business succeeds without planning and research, and it is the act of carrying out that research that gave birth to business plans and marketing plans.
Entrepreneurs are advised to create detailed business and marketing plans when starting up a new business in order to help their businesses along the road to sustainability and profitability. Business plan and marketing plan are similar even as they are different, but to enable us explore the similarities and differences of them both, let us first see what they mean.
A business plan is a formal statement of business goals, reasons the goals are attainable, and plans for reaching the said goals. It summarizes the operational and financial objectives of a business, and it contains detailed plans and budgets showing how those objectives are to be realized.
A complete business plan is bound to have several other components like executive summary, company description, products/services, market analysis, strategy and implementation, organization and management team, financial plan and projections.
A business plan is mostly written when an entrepreneur is seeking financial assistance from lenders or investors, because it is the only document that provides lenders with necessary details to determine if the business is or would be viable, financially sound and able to repay the loan.
Not only does it help to develop competitive strategies, the business plan can determine if the business’ actual activity matches the forecasted plans. In fact, a business plan contains the big picture about your business and it cannot be done without.
A marketing plan is a comprehensive document or blueprint that outlines a business’ advertising and marketing efforts. In layman’s lingo, a marketing plan is basically plans you have made on how to sell your product/service. It describes activities that accomplish specific marketing objectives within a set time frame.
According to studies, the typical marketing plan contains four factors which are:
These are known as 4Ps. The Ps help you to describe what your product is, how much would it would be sold, how to make your target customers aware of your product/service, make them like it enough to buy it, and where your product/service would be distributed.
It explains how the business generates customers through advertisements, trade show participation and new referrals. By explaining how a business will overcome competitive challenges from other companies, the marketing plan is regarded as a key section within the business plan and requires detailed industry research and consideration.
A complete marketing plan is a separate, comprehensive document that goes into more details about objectives, goals and tactics. This document guides a company’s marketing, sales and advertising departments on how to implement effective marketing efforts.
Though business plan and marketing plan have certain similarities, they are different in their own right based on the roles they play in the advancement of a business. Business plan and marketing plan differ from each other in the following ways;
1. A business plan is drawn up to enable a business identify its goals and missions, while the marketing plan explains how the business will achieve, if not exceed, those goals and missions.
2. The business plan provides a wide overview of the business which includes information on staff, operations, location, marketing and financial aspects, as well as clearly outlined missions and goals; while the marketing plan identifies the business’ price points, promotional strategies, target markets and competition as well as how to use this to achieve the company’s mission and goals.
3. Cash flow is vital for a business plan, but not usually included in a marketing plan. Marketing plan focuses on getting the cash while business plan focuses on how to utilize the cash to achieve business goals.
4. Business plan is basically written for key executives within the company and external members of the financial community.
It is mostly used to target potential investors, lenders, stockholders and accountants in order to generate the funds that would provide working capital for the business; while the contents of a marketing plan are aimed at consumers and clients and it is usually shared only with those responsible for marketing, sales and advertising efforts.
5. Marketing plan can be used to run a business effectively without a business plan. This is mostly noticed in small businesses that are able to provide their own startup capital. A lot of small businesses carry out marketing plans rather than business plans because their job or their attention or their focus is on getting paying customers, not on the whole business.
6. A business plan is written for an audience to get them to buy into a concept, while a marketing plan is written for the staff or team members in order to execute the day-to-day actions which must be met in order to achieve the larger business goals or corporate vision.
For every business that seeks to be successful, the business plan and marketing plan are both essential aspects. These plans not only help businesses organize their operations, but it also helps them benchmark their success or failure. Without proper marketing efforts, the <a class="wpil_keyword_link" title="Business model" Business model will fail; conversely without a well-researched business plan, no amount of marketing will help the business.
We noticed that you are using Internet Explorer 11 or older that is not support any longer. Please consider using an alternative such as Microsoft Edge, Chrome, or Firefox.
A marketing plan is a strategic guide that helps businesses map out their advertising and promotional strategies to attract prospective customers and connect with their intended audience. It offers clear and detailed direction on how to achieve business objectives through targeted marketing efforts.
Understanding the distinction between a marketing plan and a business plan is crucial for any organization aiming to navigate the complexities of strategic planning and resource allocation.
Differentiating between a marketing strategy and a marketing plan is essential for implementing effective marketing operations within a business. These two elements, while closely related, serve distinct functions in the marketing process.
3 Hours | 25 Modules | Beginner
Learn from Inc. Magazine’s prize-winning editorial content about the basic concepts of digital marketing, including targeting, value proposition, and more.
Marketing plans vary depending on their focus, scope, and objectives. Understanding the different types of plans is crucial for businesses aiming to target their marketing efforts and resources effectively. Here are some of the key types:
Having a structured plan is invaluable. It acts as a strategic roadmap, guiding businesses toward achieving their goals through well-organized and monitored marketing activities.
Here are five important benefits of creating a marketing plan:
The foundation of any effective marketing plan begins with a clear and concise mission statement. This crucial step sets the stage for all subsequent planning by articulating the core purpose and direction of your company’s marketing efforts. A mission statement serves as a compass, guiding your marketing strategies and ensuring they align with your organization’s broader goals.
Developing a mission statement is more than just a formality; it’s a strategic exercise that clarifies your marketing vision and sets a purposeful path for your team. With a compelling mission statement in place, you can craft a plan that resonates with your audience and drives your business toward its long-term objectives.
Establishing clear goals and key performance indicators (KPIs) is a pivotal step in crafting a marketing plan that aligns with your company’s value proposition and ensures measurable success. This stage involves setting financial and non-financial objectives to guide your marketing efforts and evaluate their effectiveness.
Marketers who set specific goals are significantly more likely to report success. By defining financial and non-financial objectives, you create a comprehensive framework for guiding your marketing strategies. This dual focus not only drives economic value but also fosters qualitative improvements in your marketing efforts, ensuring a balanced approach to achieving your company’s vision.
Pinpointing your target market is a crucial step in any marketing plan. Understanding who your product or service is for and why forms the backbone of your marketing efforts and influences decisions on marketing channels, content creation, and overall outreach strategies.
A key outcome of market research is the development of buyer personas. These semi-fictional representations of your ideal customers are crafted based on real data and insights about your existing clientele. Buyer personas detail your target market’s characteristics, needs, and motivations, offering a detailed profile that guides your marketing strategies.
Conducting a competitive analysis is integral to crafting a robust marketing plan. This process involves identifying your main competitors, understanding their strategies, and evaluating how your business can establish a distinctive and superior position in your niche. Through this analysis, you’ll gain insights into the competitive landscape, helping you to leverage your own strengths and identify areas for improvement.
Understanding both the internal and external factors that influence your market positioning is crucial. They include:
Your marketing budget is the planned amount of money you’ll spend to achieve your marketing goal. Knowing the financial resources you have available for marketing activities allows you to craft a plan that maximizes impact while maintaining fiscal responsibility. This financial foresight prevents overspending and ensures that every dollar spent contributes to achieving your marketing objectives.
This overview should include all sources of funding and any constraints or stipulations attached to them. Having a comprehensive understanding of your financial resources sets the groundwork for all subsequent planning and decision-making.
Execution involves the detailed scheduling of marketing activities, assigning responsibilities to team members, and setting deadlines that align with the marketing plan’s timelines. It’s about bringing the plan to life through a series of coordinated efforts, from launching advertising campaigns to engaging with customers on social media platforms. This phase is where the theoretical aspects of the plan, such as target audience engagement and brand messaging, are put into practice through concrete actions like content creation, digital marketing, and promotional events.
In conclusion, a well-crafted marketing plan is the linchpin of successful marketing efforts, offering a strategic blueprint that guides businesses through the intricate landscape of market engagement and customer interaction. From the initial stages of understanding the marketing plan’s scope and its relationship with the overarching business strategy to the detailed planning and execution of marketing activities, each step is vital in steering an organization toward its desired market position.
By continuing to use this site, you accept the use of cookies, pixels and other technology that allows us to understand our users better and offer you tailored content. You can learn more about our privacy policy here
Understanding the distinction between a marketing strategy and a marketing plan is crucial for effective marketing. Although these terms are often used interchangeably, they represent different aspects of a comprehensive marketing approach. This post will clarify these concepts, highlighting their roles, components, and the importance of aligning them effectively.
A marketing strategy outlines the overarching goals and direction of your marketing efforts, answering the ‘why’ behind what you do. In contrast, a marketing plan details the specific actions, or the ‘how’, to achieve these strategic objectives. Here’s a complete breakdown of the two concepts.
A marketing strategy is a comprehensive plan that outlines how a business will achieve its marketing goals and connect with its target audience effectively. It focuses on the big picture, providing a roadmap for all marketing efforts and ensuring they align with the company’s overall objectives.
It acts like a roadmap for your marketing efforts. It starts with understanding why you’re marketing (your goals), who you’re marketing to (your target audience), and what makes your product or service special (your value proposition). It then outlines how you’ll stand out in the market (positioning) and the specific tactics you’ll use (marketing mix). Finally, it sets clear goals, allocates resources, and establishes a plan for execution and evaluation.
1. purpose and goals.
Why are we doing this? The marketing strategy explains the reasons behind your marketing activities. It aligns with your business goals, such as increasing sales, growing brand awareness, or entering new markets. Understanding the “why” ensures that all marketing efforts have a clear purpose.
Who are we trying to reach? Identifying and understanding your ideal customers is crucial. This involves segmenting the market into groups based on factors like age, location, interests, and buying behavior. Knowing your audience helps tailor your messages and campaigns to resonate with the right people.
What value do we offer? Clearly defining what makes your product or service unique and why it’s valuable to customers. This is your unique selling proposition (USP), which highlights the specific benefits your customers will gain. It answers the question of why customers should choose you over competitors.
Learn more about the value proposition canvas with our guide Putting the customer first using the Value Proposition Canvas .
How do we stand out? Positioning involves establishing a distinct place for your brand in the market. It’s about creating a perception in the minds of your target audience that sets you apart from competitors. Effective positioning makes your brand memorable and preferred.
Learn How to Develop an Effective Marketing Mix .
What do we want to achieve? Setting specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) goals helps guide your marketing efforts and provides benchmarks for success. For example, increasing website traffic by 20% in six months.
A marketing plan is a detailed guide that outlines the specific actions your business will take to achieve its marketing goals. It turns your marketing strategy into actionable steps, ensuring that your marketing efforts are organized, targeted, and effective.
As a comprehensive document, it details how you will implement your marketing strategy. It starts with an overview of the market and your business’s position in it. Then, it outlines your target audience, sets clear marketing goals, and describes the strategies and tactics you’ll use to reach those goals. It includes a budget, a timeline for execution, and methods for measuring success.
1. executive summary.
Overview : A brief summary of the main points of the plan. It highlights the key goals and recommendations, giving a quick snapshot of what the plan entails.
Learn how to conduct a situation analysis with our Easy Guide to Performing an Effective Situation Analysis .
Learn how to create an effective content strategy .
Understanding the differences between a marketing strategy and a marketing plan is crucial for effectively managing your marketing efforts.
While the marketing strategy sets the direction and goals for your marketing efforts, the marketing plan details the specific steps you will take to reach those goals. Both are essential for successful marketing but serve different purposes in the overall process.
Marketing Strategy | Marketing Plan | |
Scope | Broad, long-term vision and direction. | Specific, detailed actions and timelines to implement the strategy. |
Focus | What you want to achieve and why. | How you will achieve it. |
Nature | Deals with ideas and overall direction, rather than specific actions. | Deals with specific actions, campaigns, and day-to-day tasks. |
Purpose | Provides overall direction and foundation. | Outlines specific actions and coordinates efforts to execute the strategy. |
Time Frame | Covers several years, focusing on sustaining competitive advantage and achieving broad business goals. | Usually covers a year or less, focusing on immediate actions and objectives. |
Flexibility | Less frequently changed; provides a consistent foundation. | Regularly updated and adjusted based on performance and market feedback. |
Influence | Influences the entire business direction, beyond just marketing. | Primarily influences the marketing department and its activities. |
A marketing strategy and a marketing plan work together by aligning long-term goals with actionable steps to achieve those goals. The marketing strategy provides the overarching vision and direction, defining what the business wants to achieve, who the target audience is, what value the product or service offers, and how the brand should be positioned in the market. It sets the foundation and context for all marketing efforts.
The marketing plan, on the other hand, translates this strategy into specific actions and tactics. It outlines detailed steps, timelines, and budgets needed to implement the strategy, ensuring that marketing activities are organized, targeted, and effective.
While the strategy focuses on the big picture and long-term objectives, the plan focuses on the short-term execution and measurable outcomes. Together, they ensure that marketing efforts are coherent, efficient, and aligned with the overall business goals.
Understanding the difference between a marketing strategy and a marketing plan is essential for successful marketing. A marketing strategy outlines your long-term goals and the overall direction of your marketing efforts, providing the “why” and “what.” In contrast, a marketing plan details the specific actions you’ll take to achieve those goals, focusing on the “how.”
By combining a clear marketing strategy with a detailed marketing plan, you ensure that your marketing efforts are organized, targeted, and effective. The strategy guides the overall direction, while the plan ensures that every step is purposeful and aligned with your business objectives. This combination helps achieve both immediate marketing goals and long-term growth, driving success in a competitive market.
Join over thousands of organizations that use Creately to brainstorm, plan, analyze, and execute their projects successfully.
Amanda Athuraliya is the communication specialist/content writer at Creately, online diagramming and collaboration tool. She is an avid reader, a budding writer and a passionate researcher who loves to write about all kinds of topics.
Marketing plans vs. business plans: what’s the difference, and why do you care.
What’s the difference between a marketing plan and a business plan? Doesn’t a business plan include a marketing plan? Why would anybody do one without the other?
Good questions, and since I get them a lot, I decided to answer them here:
I wrote 5 steps to creating a marketing plan in one of my columns for entrepreneur.com. I’m including a summary here:
Step One: Your identity as a business.
Create separate lists that identify your business’ strengths, weaknesses and goals. Put everything down and create big lists. Don’t edit or reject anything.
Then, find priorities among the bullet points. If you’ve done this right, you’ll have more than you can use, and some more important than others. Kick some of the less important bullets off the list and move the ones that are important to the top.
This sometimes requires input from your managers as well. For example, your management team thinks being conservative on spending is a weakness but you don’t. That might be something to drop off the list.
Step Two: Focus on markets.
The next list you’ll need to make outlines your business’ opportunities and threats. Think of both as external to your business — factors that you can’t control but can try to predict. Opportunities can include new markets, new products and trends that favor your business. Threats include competition and advances in technology that put you at a disadvantage.
Also make a list of invented people or organizations who serve as ideal buyers or your ideal target market. You can consider each one a persona, such as a grandmother discovering email or a college student getting his or her first credit card. These people are iconic and ideal, and stand for the best possible buyer.
Put yourself in the place of each of these ideal buyers and then think about what media he or she uses and what message would communicate your offering most effectively. Keep your identity in the back of your mind as you flesh out your target markets.
Step Three: Focus on strategy.
Now it’s time to pull your lists together. Look for the intersection of your unique identity and your target market. In terms of your business offerings, what could you drop off the list because it’s not strategic? Then think about dropping those who aren’t in your target market.
For example, a restaurant business focused on healthy, organic and fine dining would probably cater to people more in tune with green trends and with higher-than-average disposable income. So, it might rule out people who prefer eating fast-food like hamburgers and pizza, and who look for bargains.
The result of step three is strategy: Narrow your focus to what’s most in alignment with your identity and most attractive to your target market. In other words, focus on the area that is shared by all three lines in the diagram here.
Step Four: Set measurable steps.
Get down to the details that are concrete and measurable. Your marketing strategy should become a plan that includes monthly review, tracking and measurement, sales forecasts, expense budgets and non-monetary metrics for tracking progress. These can include leads, presentations, phone calls, links, blog posts, page views, conversion rates, proposals and trips, among others.
Match important tasks to people on your team and hold them accountable for their successes and failures.
Step Five: Review often and revise.
Just as with your business plan, your marketing plan should continue to evolve along with your business. Your assumptions will change, so adapt to the changing business landscape. Some parts of the plan also will work better than others, so review and revise to accommodate what you learn as you go.
2 thoughts on “ marketing plans vs. business plans: what’s the difference, and why do you care ”.
Thanks for sharing your valuable experience Tim. Creating, implementing and reviewing business plans should definitely be an essential part of every company. However, marketing is a core element of a business and should be treated as such. While focusing on the market & customer behavior, a marketing plan misses ‘cash flow’ as a key ingredient. This is why a marketing plan should go hand in hand with the business plan. Personally, I’m a huge fan of doing both 🙂
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Become a successful marketing consultant: Learn more
Home » Marketing Strategy vs. Marketing Plan? (The Difference)
A company’s success relies heavily on the right marketing strategy supported by a robust marketing plan.
That said, beginning marketers often confuse these two concepts and consider them to mean the same thing.
But they are very different. Here’s how:
A good exercise to think clearly about the differences between a marketing strategy and a marketing plan is to compare a SWOT analysis against the Marketing Mix . A SWOT analysis is a structured review of the organization while the marketing mix plans the activities to bring your product or service to market.
A marketing strategy and a marketing plan are different in three distinctive ways:
A business strategy informs what goes into a marketing strategy.
A marketing strategy explains why you intend to perform specific marketing actions.
For example, if your startup wishes to scale up, the marketing strategy you develop will help you reach this goal, perhaps by building a customer base or through social media marketing.
On the other hand, a marketing plan describes how you intend to implement the actions laid out in the marketing strategy.
It provides the specifics regarding branding, scheduling the communication channels you intend to use.
A marketing plan comes after a marketing strategy.
Moreover, one of the main focal points of any good marketing plan is monitoring the success of your marketing actions using key performance indicators (KPIs) .
These KPIs are crucial not only for measuring progress but also in ensuring the marketing plan lines up with the marketing strategy. A regular SWOT analysis is also a helpful activity to help you with your marketing strategy.
A marketing strategy consists of the following practical steps.
Building a robust marketing plan will include the following components:
A buyer persona is a company’s depiction of an ideal customer. When developing this persona, an organization must consider several aspects, including:
For instance, Netflix and other streaming services use behavioral segmentation. Here, the company knows which content to recommend based on watch history. Another example would be to look at fashion brands’ buyer persona. Zara’s buyer persona is a fashion-forward customer with mid-range income who lives in an urban area.
As mentioned earlier, you should typically model your marketing strategy after your overall business goals. Plus, such a strategy will remain consistent. And will only change if your team meets its marketing goals.
Moreover, you may also need to revise these goals if there are any significant market changes, for instance, new technological trends or if you launch new products/services. Standard marketing goals include:
Market research is one of the essential elements of a marketing strategy. It helps you build the right buyer persona, stay updated on market changes and boost your business performance. Like other steps mentioned earlier, it would be wise to set clear goals for market research. Doing so reduces the scope making it easier to get accurate and relevant results.
Market research involves gathering information such as the market size, demographics, trends, and growth. Pay attention to specific matters like data availability and credibility when undertaking this process.
The competitive analysis provides valuable information about your competitors, including their pricing, advertisement strategies, plus strengths and weaknesses. Moreover, this process lets you in on your unique value proposition.
To understand your competitor’s strategies, ask yourself the following questions. Are your competitors:
Once you’ve made a competitor profile, here’s how to go about the analysis.
Here are two notable successful marketing strategies.
Spotify, a music streaming service, found a way to provide its listeners with a unique user experience, setting it apart from other providers. Besides the standard genre filters, Spotify offers users a chance to select music based on their current mood.
Sephora introduced a “Beauty Insider” loyalty program that rewards shoppers based on their spending levels.
The success of an organization’s marketing actions requires a great marketing strategy and a good marketing plan. While different, a marketing strategy and plan mesh together to improve brand awareness, facilitate customer acquisition, provide a competitive edge, boost sales performance and ultimately gain a customer and keep a customer.
You'll get the exact template we use to manage multiple million-dollar marketing departments.
Join our email list and get yours, FREE, instant download, easy access, no hassles.
You have successfully joined our subscriber list.
StrategicMarketingPartner.com is owned and operated by Your Strategic Marketing Partner. StrategicMarketingPartner.com is a participant in various affiliate and advertising programs designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees. StrategicMarketingPartner.com is compensated for referring traffic and business to these companies.
Beginner marketing, food marketing, international marketing, manufacturing marketing, marketing consulting, marketing department, marketing strategy, read this next....
If you are looking to start or grow your manufacturing business, you have come to the right place. In this […]
You can be certain about one thing: Your customers will respond to your price, whether they show up at […]
If you have ever wanted to sell your product or services to international markets, you have come to the right […]
EXPAND YOUR REACH WITH SHOPIFY
Reach customers with email, SEO, targeted ads, and social media.
Learn the key elements of a marketing plan, access templates to get started, and get tips on how to write an effective plan.
No matter how much you stick to a plan, things go wrong. As the famous quote by US President Dwight D. Eisenhower goes: “Plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.”
When it comes to ecommerce, consumer trends shift, circumstances change, and initial experiments don’t always go as planned. All of these things impact your marketing plan.
Research shows that marketers who proactively write a marketing plan are 356% more likely to report success. So, what does a realistic ecommerce marketing plan look like? And how do you handle unexpected obstacles and overestimations that threaten your company’s marketing strategy? This guide shares the answers.
A marketing plan is the strategy a business uses to get its products or services in front of its target customer. It includes who the target market is, the channels used to reach them, and the messaging that will help the business sell its products.
The purpose of a marketing plan isn’t to create a step-by-step, never-fail manual. Rather, it’s a roadmap to help you accomplish the best-case scenario, while also maintaining realistic expectations for your marketing initiatives and establishing backup plans if something doesn’t work.
A business plan paints a bigger picture of how you plan to run your business. It includes a mission statement, products you’ll launch, and market research. A marketing plan, on the other hand, is a specific document that details how you plan to achieve these wider goals through marketing .
An overarching marketing strategy details how marketing will drive business results. A marketing plan is the route you’ll use to get there. It’s more specific than a strategy and includes a practical roadmap on how you’ll put your marketing activities into play.
Creating your own marketing plan is no small job. You put hours into customer and competitor research to find the channels likely to have the biggest impact on your marketing goals. You can check out marketing plan examples , but when it comes to creating your own, you can save time with a template.
Ditch the intimidating blank screen by building a marketing plan using Shopify’s free marketing plan template. Use it to guide your marketing strategy, tweaking the template to meet your business needs.
Download the template now
Digital marketing plan.
A digital marketing plan is a specific type of marketing plan that revolves solely around online channels like social media, email, and search engines. It doesn’t include offline channels like billboards or radio ads.
A social media marketing plan focuses specifically on how a business will use social media to reach its target market. It gives you a framework of which channels you’ll use, the types of content you’ll create, whether you’ll invest in social media ads, and how you’ll drive product sales. This can take place either through your online store or a social media storefront such as Facebook and Instagram Shops .
A content marketing plan details how you’ll produce content that turns people into paying customers. This can span multiple formats, including an email newsletter, infographics, product documentation, and user-generated content (such as social media posts).
Alongside the more traditional elements of a marketing plan, a content-marketing-specific strategy would include:
An offline marketing plan details how a business will reach its target market without using digital channels. This might include billboards, radio ads, direct mail, event sponsorships, and outdoor advertising.
Detail your unique value proposition, outline your buyer personas, run a swot analysis, detail product features and benefits, set key performance indicators, outline your marketing funnel.
A unique value proposition underlines your entire marketing plan. Regardless of the channels and formats you plan to use, consistency is key. Mixed messages on what you sell and what your brand stands for will only confuse potential customers.
A simple way to refine your messaging is to focus on your unique selling point. Costco, for example, is cheaper than its competitors. Harper Wilde’s products are comfier than any other bra retailer. Find the marketing channels each retailer uses and you’ll see messaging centered around its adjective.
Consult your customers if you’re unsure what your value proposition adjective should be. Research is the biggest part of any copywriting process . Survey people who’ve already bought from you, run an Instagram poll to discover why people follow your brand, and see where your competitors’ weaknesses lie. Look for adjectives that crop up frequently during the process.
What overarching goal are you trying to accomplish with the business? Why does it exist? Summarize it in one sentence, and you’ll have a mission statement to inform everything you do, which includes your marketing strategies .
Going overboard with assumptions is a common mistake among marketers. The end result is a marketing plan that doesn’t actually result in revenue.
While data won’t give you a foolproof plan, every assumption is one more bit of uncertainty you’re folding into your marketing goals . If an amazing plan has a 40% chance of holding up to real-world scenarios, one without much rigor—and lots of assumptions—might hold up 10% of the time.
Consult your customer segments and buyer personas to get as much information as you can about the person buying your products, such as:
Be careful not to confuse this with your target audience . Children would be the target audience of a toy brand; parents are the buyer persona. The latter is who you’ll be reaching out to with your marketing plan.
A SWOT analysis helps uncover your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats relative to your competitors. It’s useful to include one as part of your marketing plan because it can help anticipate problems you might encounter, make more data-driven decisions, and spot areas where you can get ahead of your competitors.
Dive deep into the data you already have about your customer base by investigating marketing analytics , social media audiences, and customer surveys . It reiterates who you’re trying to reach—and more importantly, the triggers that would make them buy your product over a competitor’s.
Remind yourself of your unique selling proposition (USP) throughout this process. Tailor your marketing plan around key takeaways from these.
Include any special features, competitive advantages, or customer favorites your marketing plan will lean on.
You could have the best mattress in the world—one made with 100 springs and cotton stitching, vigorously tested by sleep experts. But you’d struggle to market it if you lean too heavily on product features. A customer cares more about getting a peaceful night’s sleep than detailed product specifications.
“Every great marketing plan needs one thing first: a product that is 10 times better than the next,” says Nick Saltarelli, co-founder of Mid-Day Squares . “Once you have that, marketing is about deep human connections.”
Nick says, “It felt obvious that there was a sweet spot somewhere in between: people who wanted to follow along, and a true behind-the-scenes look into building a massive chocolate business from the ground up.”
As a result, the Mid-Day Squares marketing plan doesn’t prioritize product promotion. The brand instead “focuses on getting people to fall in love with us, the founders, to scale the human connection,” Nick says.
What are you trying to achieve with your marketing plan? Create both short- and long-term business goals that relate to financial metrics like revenue growth, retention , or new customers .
Most marketers measure success using return on investment (ROI) —the revenue you expect to generate after spending your marketing budget. It’s every marketer’s dream to get $100,000 in sales from $1,000 in marketing spend. While that isn’t the most realistic expectation, knowing your target ROI will prevent overspending. If your ROI is hurtling beyond your predictions, you can better allocate that budget to be spent elsewhere.
But there’s more to marketing measurement than dollar returns. Revenue isn’t always the end goal. Brand awareness, website traffic, and social media followers are short-term marketing objectives that aim to get new people into your marketing funnel. Nail them early on and you set your business up for success later down the road.
Not everyone will see your products and convert into a customer instantly. Most people progress through a sales funnel. Content that will make someone progress to the next stage depends on the one they’re currently in.
If you were to use Facebook ads to sell your products to a generic audience modeled on your buyer persona, for example, you might not get the highest conversion rate. These people don’t know who you are, what you stand for, or why they should choose you over a competitor.
But if you used Facebook ads to specifically target people at the bottom of your marketing funnel, you could use retargeting ads to show items someone had in their shopping cart. You’re bound to get a better return on your investment with this strategy because you’re only investing money into reaching people who just need a final nudge to convert.
Let’s break down how you might outline your marketing funnel in a marketing plan.
People at the top of your marketing funnel don’t understand who you are or what you sell. Social media, podcasts, and video content play huge roles here. Each channel is used by potential customers looking to learn or be inspired.
For this stage, prioritize metrics that give insight into how people are engaging with your top-funnel content, such as:
People reach the middle of the funnel when they know they have a problem that needs to be solved. Look at the marketing channels and formats you’re using to target these people. Most often, it’s search engines and retargeted ads.
Google Analytics is your best bet here. While the dashboard can feel overwhelming for a lot of people, you don’t need to look at every report. Use the following metrics to see how people engage with your middle-funnel content:
To track the data above, especially for advertising campaigns, add the Meta pixel to all pages of your store.
Going for the hard sell? For marketing messages where the only goal is to convert your audience into paying customers, consult the back end of your ecommerce store. It’s home to sales and product-related data that helps you understand whether your marketing plan is successful, such as:
Planning to build a steady stream of paying customers off the back of your ecommerce marketing plan? It's easy to assume revenue growth comes from audience growth. But oftentimes, the easiest way to grow your revenue is by focusing on the people we forget about: existing customers.
Resist the temptation to focus on flashy metrics like social media followers and YouTube subscribers. Instead, involve existing customers in your marketing plan. Use them as a source of testimonials and word-of-mouth referrals.
“Happy customers have been powerful word-of-mouth catalysts for our brand, and it has made sense to keep them engaged,” says Chris Campbell, partner at The Charming Bench Company . “We’ve been getting a steady stream of five-star ratings on websites and social media, which we then share on our Facebook, X [formerly known as Twitter], Pinterest, and Instagram profiles. It’s a great alternative to pushing loud sales messages that don’t always work.”
Channels are the platforms you’ll use as part of your marketing plan. Go back to your market research and uncover the online and offline channels your target audience is using to shop and get entertained or inspired.
Some of the most popular channels for ecommerce businesses include:
There’s a sweet spot to how many channels your marketing plan should include. Go too wide and you burn resources on channels with poor returns. But become too reliant on one channel and you’re at risk.
Algorithms power most digital marketing channels. They’re praised as the type of technology that delivers personalized experiences for their users, but any changes to an algorithm can make marketing plans utterly useless overnight.
“If you rely on SEO, then any algorithm updates could potentially cut your revenue for months before you recover,” explains Marquis Matson, VP of Growth at Sozy . “If you rely on paid ads, then any changes to privacy policies can cut your revenue. If you rely on email marketing, then any ESP [email service provider] policy changes can cut your revenue. Diversifying your acquisition is crucial in a fast-paced digital marketing world.”
Footwear brand Hippy Feet is one ecommerce brand that failed to diversify channels. “The original marketing plan was to drive traffic to our Shopify store through ads—relying heavily on paid Facebook and Instagram traffic,” says Sam Harper, Hippy Feet’s co-founder and CEO. “While this is still a major component of our marketing strategy, the decreasing effectiveness of these ads has forced us to expand our marketing efforts.
“A diverse media strategy is crucial to helping an ecommerce business survive in this highly-dynamic market. By driving traffic through SEO, email, and media coverage, we’re more resilient and less impacted by a single tech platform changing their algorithm.”
For each channel, define which content formats you’ll use to capture attention and drive website traffic. That could include:
Content marketing is a beast that constantly needs to be fed. Customers want newer, fresher, more exciting content on a regular basis. That’s demanding for a small business to keep up with.
If this sounds unsustainable, consider a content marketing strategy that collects user-generated content (UGC) from existing customers. The more they share their experiences with others, the more content you have to repurpose on each channel. It’s an effective route to scale your content marketing plan and stretch your editorial calendar if your marketing department has limited resources. Don’t have time to invest in promoting the content you create? Partner with popular influencers in your niche—those whose loyal audience overlaps with your target market .
Your marketing budget is the dollar amount you expect to spend executing your marketing plan. If you’re bootstrapped, you can run a marketing plan on a tight budget .
As part of your own marketing plan, state whether you intend to use each channel organically or boost it with advertising. Most channels allow businesses to run sponsored content, which is guaranteed to reach your target market across online and offline channels, like door-to-door sales , social media, TV, billboards, and radio.
“I apply for any competitions, press opportunities, and awards to get my small business out there at any given opportunity,” says Terri-Anne Turton, founder of The Tur-Shirt Company .
The strategy has worked: The Tur-Shirt Company has won a Junior Design Award for best fashion newcomer and a shoutout from media entrepreneur Steven Bartlett after entering his #DeserveToBeFound competition with Facebook.
“I focus on those my target market knows of to build credibility,” says Terri-Anne. “Plus, most of the awards I enter are free or low-cost; they just need some time investment and creativity to take part. It proves my USP to my target market—that my kids’ clothing products are unique—without investing thousands into advertising.”
While you can run a strategy with little to no budget, this section of your marketing plan needs to account for more than any planned advertising spend. Time is a resource that needs to be managed and accounted for. Be sure to detail how much time you plan to spend executing your marketing strategy.
If you have a designated marketing team, it’s also worth noting who will be responsible for each element of your marketing plan. Who’s responsible for this marketing plan? Which team members are executing it? What experience do they have with marketing?
More importantly, detail what you expect from the resources you’re putting into your marketing plan. If you plan to spend $40,000 throughout the coming year, how much revenue will you get in return? If you’re producing a marketing plan for a large or public company, this is what stakeholders really want to see.
Go back to the KPIs (key performance indicators) you set in the earlier section of your marketing plan. How will you determine whether you’ve met these KPIs? What happens if you’re exceeding or falling short of your target? It’s good to have a plan of action for either case.
Let’s put that into practice and say you expected to increase sales by 20% through your social media marketing plan. Detail exactly how you’d measure this, for example, you could say, “we’ll look at our Shopify sales report once per month and analyze which channel is meeting this KPI. If a channel falls behind, we’ll evaluate why and either adjust our marketing plan or deprioritize it in favor of more effective channels.”
The best marketers approach their plans with an open mind. The hypothesis you started with might be proven wrong. Don’t take that as a negative. You just got closer to finding what will work.
Set conservative expectations.
While it’s good to approach your marketing goals with confidence, high expectations often lead to disappointment when we fail to meet them. That disappointment is magnified in a marketing plan, as stakeholders or founders will have already bought into unrealistic predictions and business objectives.
Don’t overwhelm yourself and your team by trying to generate results with all marketing tactics at once: running Facebook ads, tweeting like crazy, writing daily blog posts for SEO, and making constant changes to site and content strategy to improve your conversion rate.
If you’re very lucky, one of these tactics will bring you consistent traffic and sales. But more often than not, trying everything at once will make you extremely busy without anything to show for it.
Take it from Jameela Ghann, owner of Alora : “When we first started Alora, 10 years ago, our marketing plan was unrealistic. We were just a couple of people making plans that were good on paper but almost impossible to execute with a small team.”
Originally, Jameela’s team planned to invest in several marketing channels—online and offline advertising, PR, trade shows, influencer marketing, and blogging included. However, the team changed its marketing plan. They went deep on one channel instead of spreading resources too thin by trying to be everywhere at once.
“We stuck to one course of action that was where our customers were, and ready to buy, and easiest for us to see a good ROI,” Jameela says. “What really worked for us was focusing on a handful of channels that we knew we could do well.”
Go back to your audience research and identify three channels your target audience uses most often. Put most of your energy into perfecting those before overcomplicating things with a more comprehensive marketing plan.
Past performance can help you temper your expectations for your marketing plan. If you know your click-through rate (CTR) for Facebook ads is 0.1%, don’t stray too far from that baseline with your social media marketing .
The same goes for website content optimized for search : If you’re currently getting 10,000 visitors per month from Google, scaling your traffic up to a million is a tough battle. Instead, 50,000 visitors is a more achievable goal.
The purpose of a marketing plan isn’t to create a never-fail manual. Whether your marketing team has fallen victim to completion bias or focused too heavily on one channel, sticking rigidly to your original plan can be a big mistake.
Imine Martinez, assistant manager at Rainbowly , says: “Our regular campaigns targeting mainly birthday celebrations and anniversaries offered poor return on ad spend and inconsistent results over the months.
“That said, during festive seasons, such as Christmas or New Year’s, our targeted campaigns were particularly profitable, achieving five times return on ad spend with much cheaper cost per click and impression.”
Continuing with the same marketing strategies despite this data would only have resulted in heartbreak. Rainbowly would be pouring money down the drain on ads that wouldn’t perform, just because its marketing plan said to do so.
A lot of hard work goes into a successful marketing plan. To create an attainable one, you’ll need to spend hours diving into competitive research, audience data, and channels your target market consults when researching new products.
Most importantly, know that marketing is unpredictable. There are thousands of scenarios that fundamentally change the marketing strategy that’s best for your business. Global pandemics, PR crises, and the emergence of new social media platforms are unpredictable.
Treat your marketing plan like the best-case scenario. Plan SMART goals and strategies but remember to be flexible to give your marketing the best chance of success.
How much does a marketing plan cost, how often should a marketing plan be reviewed, what are the 4 steps of a marketing plan.
What are some marketing plan mistakes.
Keep up with the latest from Shopify
Get free ecommerce tips, inspiration, and resources delivered directly to your inbox.
By entering your email, you agree to receive marketing emails from Shopify.
The point of sale for every sale.
Subscribe to our blog and get free ecommerce tips, inspiration, and resources delivered directly to your inbox.
Unsubscribe anytime. By entering your email, you agree to receive marketing emails from Shopify.
Aug 31, 2024
Aug 30, 2024
Aug 29, 2024
Learn on the go. Try Shopify for free, and explore all the tools you need to start, run, and grow your business.
Try Shopify for free, no credit card required.
The main difference between a Business Plan and Marketing Plan is that a Business Plan outlines overall goals and strategies for the entire company, while a Marketing Plan focuses specifically on promoting products or services.
Before we move to more differences, let’s first understand Business Plan and Marketing Plan:
Business Plan | Marketing Plan |
---|---|
A business plan outlines overall objectives and strategies. | A marketing plan focuses specifically on promoting products or services. |
A business plan covers financial projections and operational details. | A marketing plan delves into target markets and promotional tactics. |
A business plan addresses company structure and management. | A marketing plan emphasizes customer acquisition and retention strategies. |
A business plan is comprehensive, encompassing all aspects of a business. | A marketing plan hones in on specific marketing goals and methods. |
A business plan typically includes an executive summary and market analysis. | A marketing plan includes a detailed marketing budget and timeline. |
You can see other “differences between…” posts by clicking here .
If you have a related query, kindly feel free to let me know in the comments below.
Learn what a marketing plan is, how they help businesses, and the steps for building yours.
A marketing plan is a document that a business uses to execute a marketing strategy. It is tactical in nature, and, as later sections of this article explore, it typically includes campaign objectives, buyer personas, competitive analysis, key performance indicators, an action plan, and a method for analyzing campaign results.
In general, a marketing plan serves several purposes:
Streamline and organize marketing efforts
Guide businesses and their marketing teams through a sequence of marketing activities
Determine how to measure a campaign’s success
Effectively allocate the marketing campaign budget
A business might develop a marketing plan for a specific need, campaign, or goal within its larger mission. Here are some examples:
Launching a new product or service
Carrying out campaigns through different marketing channels, including social media , email marketing, print media, TV, or offline events
Implementing paid advertising
Measuring marketing efforts over specific periods of time, such as every quarter, six months, or year
In researching what a marketing plan is, you may come across the related concepts of marketing strategy and business plan. Think of all three as written roadmaps for developing your business. You’ll find similarities among them, including your business objectives and information on your target market, but there are some important differences to know as you build these roadmaps, as we’ve laid out in the chart below.
Business plan | Marketing strategy | Marketing plan | |
---|---|---|---|
Overview of a business in its entirety | Overview of a business’s long-term marketing vision | Describes the concrete actions and tactics that a business uses to execute a marketing strategy and meet objectives | |
Includes the business model, operational details, target customers, competitors, value proposition, brand identity, products, and sales | Includes objectives, marketing goals, target markets, competitive analysis, and value for customers | Includes marketing campaign goals, key performance indicators, buyer personas, competitive analysis, action plan, and method of results analysis | |
Can serve as the foundation of business development efforts and means of generating investor funds or loans | Can guide marketing efforts at large and be the basis for each version of the marketing plan | Can center on an individual marketing campaign and be adapted for future campaigns |
Review these roadmaps periodically to measure the success of your marketing and business efforts.
The following sections describe the components of a solid marketing plan and the steps to building each one. Develop each section in the order listed, and use insights from each section to guide your process in the ones that follow. Once you complete all of the sections, review your entire plan for areas that need refining.
Here, you will write a short summary, usually no longer than a few paragraphs, to introduce the sections that follow. In a few paragraphs, orient readers to the following:
General information about the business, such as its mission, past accomplishments and setbacks, and brand identity
Information specific to the marketing campaign driving this plan and how it will advance or improve upon past marketing efforts
You might choose to compose this section last, after you’ve written and refined the marketing plan as a whole.
Borrowing from your marketing strategy and business plan, state the marketing campaign's goals with specificity and data-driven metrics. For example:
Specify “get more email subscribers” as “increase email subscribers by 50 percent by next quarter.”
“Generate more online purchases” could be specified as “Drive traffic from paid Facebook ads to a sales page and increase the site’s conversion rate from 2 percent to 5 percent.”
KPIs are the specific metrics you’ll monitor to measure the success of your marketing efforts. It’s important to determine KPIs so that you can continually optimize your tactics, reduce inefficiencies, and steer your marketing campaign toward success.
KPI examples include:
The number of website visitors
The number of new email subscribers
The number of event registrants
The rate of converting leads into customers
Sales revenue figures
Refer to your marketing strategy and business plan to crystalize target market insights into detailed buyer personas. You can think of a buyer persona as a fictional character that you create based on your existing customers and extensive market research. Building clear buyer personas helps to focus your marketing efforts and drive campaign results.
Answer these questions to get started:
What is this persona’s demographic profile, including age, income, location, occupation, etc?
Where do they go to find information?
What keywords do they use to search?
How do they prefer to purchase products and services?
At what times of the day are they most likely active on social media or other marketing channels, online or offline?
What words, phrases, and questions do they use to describe their challenges and goals?
Use answers to tailor every detail of your marketing campaign to your buyer persona and guide potential customers toward an action, such as subscribing to your email list or making a purchase.
Refer again to your marketing strategy and business plan to extract key information about how competing brands are reaching customers in your target market. Then, examine competitors’ marketing strategies in more detail.
Here are three ways to generate marketing-specific information about competitors:
Use SEO tools like SEMRush to discover how your competitors are leveraging popular keywords, content, and ad copy to attract an audience.
Study competitors’ social media accounts and note the content they post to engage followers.
Subscribe to competitors’ email lists to learn how they market and sell to potential leads right in their inboxes.
Your campaign’s action plan should include the specific tactics and methods you’ll use to market your products and services to potential customers.
Include the following information in your action plan:
The campaign budget and target date of completion
Key milestones you need to pass on your way to achieving the goals
The marketing channels you will use, offline and online
The kinds of content you will create and your schedule for delivering it
Organic and paid marketing activities
Your marketing plan should describe how you will monitor KPIs and analyze your campaign results at each milestone. That way, you can find out what’s working and what’s not and adjust your plan accordingly.
Be sure to set up analytic tools for each of your marketing channels, including your social media accounts, email system, website and landing pages, and event registration pages. Set calendar alerts based on your action plan for reviewing KPIs.
Which channels see the most traffic?
Which channels are converting at the highest rates?
How are individual pieces of content performing?
How efficiently is your budget performing?
Which metrics are improving, staying the same, or declining over time?
Remember: Having a solid marketing plan can make it possible to allocate your marketing budget effectively and streamline your marketing activities. By following the seven steps above, you may be able to see improvements in your marketing efforts, from attracting more ideal customers to inspiring them to take action.
One way to become a skilled marketer is to take online courses and practice the latest strategies. Learn which web analytics tools are right for you, how to use them to analyze data, and more in the Digital Marketing Specialization or with Meta Social Media Marketing Professional Certificate .
What Is Content Marketing?
Digital Marketing: What it Is and How To Get Started
13 Key Marketing Skills to Boost Your Resume
9 Marketing Podcasts for Beginners and Pros: 2022 List
Market Analysis: What it Is and How To Conduct One
Coursera staff.
Editorial Team
Coursera’s editorial team is comprised of highly experienced professional editors, writers, and fact...
This content has been made available for informational purposes only. Learners are advised to conduct additional research to ensure that courses and other credentials pursued meet their personal, professional, and financial goals.
IMAGES
VIDEO
COMMENTS
Marketers Plan To Continue Boosting Direct Mail Budgets. Looking ahead, 54% of marketers expect to further increase their mail budgets over the next year, the highest of any channel we asked about.
As for pricing, the Standard Success Plan is included in all licenses. The Premier Success Plan is 30% of net license fees and includes 24/7 support for business-stopping issues, among other features.
Build a marketing system of record by centralizing and integrating work across teams and applications with the industry-leading enterprise marketing work management application. ... Plan and track enterprise projects, gain visibility into capacity, ensure alignment to business objectives, monitor insights and results, and support data-driven ...
The biggest difference between a business plan and a marketing plan is the scope of what they cover. While both documents can be quite lengthy and thorough, they don't address the exact same information. A business plan is typically a much broader document that covers every aspect of your business: operations, supply chains, human resources ...
In contrast, a marketing plan focuses specifically on strategies and tactics to promote products or services, detailing target audiences, promotional methods, and market positioning. While the business plan provides a comprehensive view of the entire business, the marketing plan hones in on attracting and retaining customers.
Marketing Plan vs. Business Plan. A marketing plan is a strategic document that outlines marketing objectives, strategies, and tactics. A business plan is also a strategic document. But this plan covers all aspects of a company's operations, including finance, operations, and more. It can also help your business decide how to distribute ...
A business plan covers the entire business, from strategy and mission to financial plans, and operational strategy. A marketing plan contains specific strategies for getting the product to market ...
Marketing plan vs. business plan. While both marketing plans and business plans are crucial documents for businesses, they serve distinct purposes and have different scopes. Here's a breakdown of the key differences: Business plan is a comprehensive document that outlines all aspects of your business, including:
The marketing plan aligns with the broader business objectives and ensures that marketing efforts are in line with the company's vision and mission. Secondly, the marketing plan provides valuable insights and data that inform the business plan. Through market research, customer analysis, and competitive analysis, the marketing plan helps ...
The Bottom Line. A marketing plan is the advertising strategy that a business implements to sell its product or service. It determines the target market, how best to reach it, at what price point ...
In a marketing plan, you can explain how your business intends to attract new customers through marketing activities. You can include your marketing plan in your business plan. Alternatively, you create a separate marketing plan that's distinguished from your business plan. Most business plans have a section for marketing.
Read more: 10 Marketing Strategies To Grow Your Business Marketing plan vs. marketing strategy Even though marketing professionals often use these two terms interchangeably, marketing plans and marketing strategies differ from one another. Keeping in mind that to find business success, both are necessary, it's also important to know the ...
Marketing plan vs marketing strategy vs business plan. In researching a marketing plan, you may come across the related concepts of marketing strategy and business plan. Think of all three as written roadmaps for developing your business. You'll find similarities among them, including your business objectives and information on your target market.
How a Marketing Strategy and Plan Work Together. To use a not-at-all-complicated metaphor, let's say your business needs a ship to sail through your marketing campaign. That ship needs a direction in which to travel (i.e., a strategy) and the sails to power it (i.e., a plan). Marketing strategy and plan work hand in hand, with the latter ...
Business plan and marketing plan differ from each other in the following ways; 1. A business plan is drawn up to enable a business identify its goals and missions, while the marketing plan explains how the business will achieve, if not exceed, those goals and missions. 2. The business plan provides a wide overview of the business which includes ...
Banks and other investors will expect to see a business plan that clarifies how their money will be used—and how they will achieve a return on investment. A sound business plan will typically include: Market research data. Competitive analysis. A mission statement. Financial projections. A sales and marketing strategy.
Marketing Plan vs. Business Plan. Understanding the distinction between a marketing plan and a business plan is crucial for any organization aiming to navigate the complexities of strategic planning and resource allocation. Marketing Plan: This is a focused document dedicated to the marketing segment of an organization's strategy. It ...
Understanding the difference between a marketing strategy and a marketing plan is essential for successful marketing. A marketing strategy outlines your long-term goals and the overall direction of your marketing efforts, providing the "why" and "what.". In contrast, a marketing plan details the specific actions you'll take to achieve ...
A business plan covers the entire business, including overall strategy, financial plans, target markets, sales, products and services, operations, and how they all relate to each other. A marketing plan, in contrast, focuses on the marketing: marketing strategy, target markets, marketing mix, messaging, programs, etc. Cash flow is vital for a ...
A marketing strategy and a marketing plan are different in three distinctive ways: by definition, purpose, and. focus. A business strategy informs what goes into a marketing strategy. A marketing strategy explains why you intend to perform specific marketing actions. For example, if your startup wishes to scale up, the marketing strategy you ...
Marketing plan vs. business plan. A business plan paints a bigger picture of how you plan to run your business. It includes a mission statement, products you'll launch, and market research. A marketing plan, on the other hand, is a specific document that details how you plan to achieve these wider goals through marketing.
Marketing Plan: A marketing plan is a plan that explains how a business will let people know about its products or services. It includes ways to reach customers, like ads or social media. The goal is to make people interested in what the business offers. Now, let's get to Business Plan vs Marketing Plan: Major differences between Business ...
Marketing plan vs. marketing strategy vs. business plan. In researching what a marketing plan is, you may come across the related concepts of marketing strategy and business plan. Think of all three as written roadmaps for developing your business. You'll find similarities among them, including your business objectives and information on your ...
The biggest difference between a strategic plan vs. a business plan is its purpose. Existing companies use the strategic plan to grow their business, while entrepreneurs use business plans to start a company. There is also a different timeframe for each plan. Generally, a strategic plan is conducted over several years while a business plan ...