Marketing
Planning – Frequently Asked Question
What is a Marketing Plan?
A professional marketing plan is a strategic
planning tool that determines the direction
for the marketing of a product or service.
It sets a clearly defined marketing strategy,
specific marketing tactics, and marketing
timelines. A marketing plan specifies
how marketing objectives are to be accomplished.
Typically, marketing plans are made on
an annual basis.
Why do I need a Marketing
Plan?
Marketing planning aligns your marketing
strategy with your market opportunities.
It is the roadmap to your business and
marketing success. A professional marketing
plan helps you to set the right marketing
priorities. It saves you time, energy,
and helps to avoid that money is going
the wrong way.
How extensive should
a marketing plan be?
Dependent on individual business and
marketing needs, a marketing plan can
comprise just a few pages or, in extreme
cases, a few hundred. In any case, marketing
plans should be straight forward, simple,
and easy-to-execute.
What are my risks not
having a marketing plan?
In any company, marketing involves certain
expenses. If you don’t have a marketing
plan, how do you know when to spend and
on what to spend? You are at risk spending
good money on the wrong marketing tactics
and media. No matter how good your product
or service is, you still need a marketing
plan for positioning your business positively
in your target market.
For a small company,
how much sense does it make to have a marketing plan?
Well, it depends on how long you want
to stay in business. Having an excellent
marketing plan and marketing strategy
is critical to any company’s success
in the market place, no matter the size
of the business.
Why should I consider
an outside Facilitator for my Marketing
Plan?
Apart from bringing in marketing planning
know-how and marketing experience, the
involvement of a outside facilitator
can greatly contribute to keep the marketing
planning process focused, objective,
and on track. An outside facilitator
is a valuable external resource for marketing
services and marketing expertise that
is not or no longer available in-house.
