How to Write a Marketing Plan

1. Identify Marketing Strategy

In this section identify the general marketing strategy under which this plan is being developed. It is very possible that a product will follow more than one strategy (e.g., sell more of same product to current customers but also find new customers in new markets). Plan developers may get some guidance and also rationale for strategy by examining results from the Situational Analysis. In particular, planners may look to strategies that are suggested within the scope of Product/Market Analysis Tools. Additionally, planners should refer to the Mission Statement in Step 1 to insure strategies are in line with how the company views itself. (Page length: less than 1 page)

Strategies generally fall under one of the following (or in some cases more than one) ideas:

• Market growth (see ansoff matrix)
  • Higher market penetration
    • Sell more to same market (i.e., get current customers to buy more or buy more frequently)
      • If overall market is growing this may not necessarily mean a growth in overall market share
      • If overall market is not growing this means a growth in overall market share
  • Find new markets
    • Sell to markets or market segments not previously targeted
  • Develop new products for existing customers
  • Develop new products for new customers
• Market stability
  • Techniques to keep the status quo
    • Primarily used in times of economic decline or market decline
    • Generally requires the taking of market share from others in the industry
• Cost control
  • Techniques to contain costs or operate more effectively
    • Can work in combination with market growth or market stability
• Market exit
  1. Techniques to depart a market