What is the purpose of a marketing plan?

The purpose of a marketing plan is to clearly identify the direction that you have decided to take in order to market your business - to promote your business, attract and retain customers and exploit identified marketplace opportunities - and to make a profit at the same time.

Is it really that important to write a marketing plan for my business?

Planning is critical for your business - it is a core principle that underscores the future viability and success of the business. Before any business can hope to compete effectively and achieve a competitive advantage in the marketplace, it must first clarify its direction by having a well-defined mission, and then create workable strategies to achieve that mission. So your business planning should be all about sitting down, describing the future direction for the business and then working out the best possible way to get there.

The marketing planning process forces you to assess what is going on in your marketplace and how it affects your business. Often, the process of gathering the information necessary to prepare a marketing plan will assist you in developing a successful marketing strategy, by learning about your marketplace, identifying who your customers are and how to best meet their needs.

What are the key components of a marketing plan?

The marketing plan identifies:

* what your products and services are
* who your target customers are
* who your competitors are
* what your competitive edge is
* what your pricing model will be
* where you will distribute to
* what volume of product you hope to sell
* what your expected profit margin will be
* what marketing and promotional strategies you will use to reach your target markets.

The foregoing summary is provided for information purposes only and is not to be considered legal or business advice. The information may not be complete, accurate or applicable for any particular situation and should not be relied upon.

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