MARKETING PLAN

Marketing plan
template
A marketing plan is a roadmap that outlines your marketing strategy and
tactics to achieve your goals. Reasons to create a marketing plan include
helping you set clear objectives, define your target market, identify
customer needs and build out tactics to increase sales.

Another benefit is prioritizing activities and allocating resources, including

time, money, and staff to identify the most effective marketing channels
and activities that generate the highest return on investment.

Overall, a marketing plan helps determine the metrics to measure the

effectiveness of marketing activities and choose the most appropriate
based on resources and market conditions.

Sample marketing plan questions:

› The problem you solve. Describe the customer pain points you solve
with your product or service.
› The target market you sell to. If there’s more than one target
market, list them all. Be as specific as you can.
› If you’ve created a customer profile, outline the details. Have
you thought about creating one of more customer profiles of the
specific type of people you plan to target?
› The channels you use to distribute to your customers. What
methods will you employ to sell your goods or services? Make a note
of each here. For example, you might sell online, through third-party
websites, direct via a retail outlet etc.
› Build credibility. Describe steps to improve your credibility (industry
knowledge and experience, speaking at industry events, generated
positive stories, proven track record.
› Partnering and collaboration. Identify two or three possible
marketing partners who sell to the customers you want to reach.
Discuss how you’d plan a joint marketing initiative.

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MARKETING PLAN

1. Strategic overview
The problem you solve

{Enter text –describe the customer pain points you solve with your product or service.}

The target market you sell to

{Enter text – if there’s more than one target market, list them all. Be as specific as you can.}

If you’ve created a customer profile, outline the details below

{Enter text – have you thought about creating one of more customer profiles of the specific type
of people you plan to target? If so, discuss this here.}

The channels you use to distribute to your customers

{Enter text – what methods will you employ to sell your goods or services? Make a note of each
here. For example, you might sell online, through third-party websites, direct via a retail outlet
etc.}

Building credibility
{Enter text – describe steps to improve your credibility (industry knowledge and experience,
speak industry events, generated positive stories, proven track record.}

Partnering and collaboration

{Enter text – identify two or three possible marketing partners who sell to the customers you
want to reach. Discuss how you’d plan a joint marketing initiative.}

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2. Digital plan
Website optimization

{Enter text – outline how your website attracts online traffic. Using search keywords, providing
online content, linking to reference sites etc.}

Creating online leads

{Enter text – describe what are you doing to encourage the collection of prospect contact
details.}

Content marketing

{Enter text – outline how you use content marketing to build interest in your business and to
demonstrate credibility and industry knowledge.}

Marketing automation

{Enter text – identify the marketing software you use to track leads and keep in contact with
customers automatically.}

Search engine optimization

{Enter text – document the tactics you use to get to the top of search.}

Online advertising

{Enter text – outline your advertising strategy and list which online platforms you advertise in
e.g., Google Ads, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, You Tube etc.}

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3. Pricing
The price you sell for each of your products or services

{Enter text – list the prices or ranges of prices you plan on charging customers.}

Compare your price with competitors

{Enter text – do some research on your competitors and detail their main competing goods or
services here, along with the prices they’re charging.}

Justify why you’ve priced the way you have (high, medium, low)

{Enter text – if your business has different prices than your competitors, explain why.}

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4. Market research
Direct market research

{Enter text – which methods of market research have you used? How will you continue using
market research as you progress?}

Customer insights

{Enter text – detail the key findings you’ve discovered about the potential customers in your
target market. How will these findings help your business establish a foothold in the
marketplace?}

Competitors insights
{Enter text – note down any important information you’ve found out about your competitors
through market research.}

Future trends
{Enter text – outline how your industry is changed, the trends and how your business must
change to take advantage of, or offset, these trends.}

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5. SWOT
Fill out the SWOT analysis below by listing your business’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and
threats in the left column. Detail how you could lower or increase their impacts in the right.

Strengths I will maximize them by:

Weaknesses I will minimize them by:

Opportunities I will maximize them by:

Threats I will minimize them by:

What’s your chosen

SWOT strategy? {Enter text – choose a strategic direction for your business. For
example, exploit your internal strengths to maximize your external
opportunities.}

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6. Competitor analysis
Your main competitor

Strengths Weaknesses

How will you combat

their strengths
and target their
weaknesses?

Other key competitor

Strengths Weaknesses

How will you combat

their strengths
and target their
weaknesses?

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7. Competitive advantage
Competitive advantage

{Enter text – explain what makes your business different. What are your key points of
difference? Do you have a clear understanding of why customers will buy from you?}

Communicating competitive advantage

{Enter text – describe how you'll help customers understand why you're different.}

Defending competitive advantage

{Enter text – describe any barriers to protect your competitive advantage from others.}

Intellectual property or assets

{Enter text – list any intellectual property that helps to create competitive advantage - for
example, a patent.}

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8. Social media
Blog TikTok

Facebook Tumblr

Instagram Website

LinkedIn X

Pinterest YouTube

Threads Other

Which social media platforms will your business utilize and why?

{Enter text – discuss which platforms you’ve chosen and why they will be the most useful for
your business. If you plan to create a blog or run a website, include these details too.}

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9. New customer acquisition plan

Your ideal prospect

{Enter text – describe your ultimate customer in as much detail as you can.}

Prospects pain point

{Enter text –outline the main problem and how you solve this pain point}

Customer search behavior

{Enter text –outline how this customer may find you. The ways they search for information.}

Leads into customers

{Enter text - specifically how you will turn leads into loyal customers.}

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10. Advertising
Advertising message

{Enter text – how will you show the benefits of your products or services while suggesting a
‘need’ or a ‘problem’ that your business can solve for consumers. Do you have a tagline or
slogan?}

Advertising tactics

{Enter text – which advertising methods you will use to grab the attention of potential
customers? Outline exactly how you plan to get your message across and the budget you have
for each method.}

What are the features, advantages and benefits of your products and services?

{Enter text – discuss these in relation to how you’ll advertise your goods or services.}

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11. Other marketing information

{Enter text – outline anything else you feel is important to add to your marketing plan.}

{Enter text – outline anything else you feel is important to add to your marketing plan.}

{Enter text – outline anything else you feel is important to add to your marketing plan.}

{Enter text – outline anything else you feel is important to add to your marketing plan.}

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Help
Marketing plan explanations and guidance
Strategic overview Digital plan
Write information about how your product or Your digital plan revolves around how you’ll reach
service addresses customer pain points. Include potential customers online by attracting website
specific information about your target market, traffic. This includes website optimization, search
your customer profiles and the channels you use engine optimization, and content marketing.
to distribute to your customers. Think about the
clients you enjoy working with and what attributes
they have. Website optimization
Talk about how your website attracts viewers.
Describe your business as though you’re telling a
You’ll likely use specific search keywords, post
stranger what you do.
regular and engaging blog content, and link to
reference sites.
Customer profile
Build a customer profile. It should state who Content marketing
your target customers are, what their pain points
Content marketing is used to position yourself
are, their location, demographic, pain points and
as a credible resource in your industry and build
location. Be specific. Rather than stating ‘people
interest in your business. You can publish white
who eat at restaurants’ outline the most likely
papers and ebooks, thoughtful blog posts and
customers. For example, ‘couples aged 20-30,
articles, and host presentations on topics related
with professional jobs and no dependents who live
to your industry.
within a twenty-minute drive or walk.’

Marketing automation
Channels you use to distribute to
customers Marketing software helps you track leads and stay
in contact with customers. For example, you can
This refers to how your customers access your create automated email sequences that highlight
goods and services. This could be online from the benefits of your goods and services to
your own website, as in people buy your products clients. Emails can be personalized based on the
online through your website. Or they may buy customer’s interactions with your business.
online from a third-party platform.

Pricing
Building credibility
Your pricing plays a key role in how you set your
Make a list of the steps you’ve taken to highlight business apart from the competition, and how you
your credibility in the industry. This might include market yourself. You’ll need to be able to place
releasing thought leadership articles, writing an your pricing within the context of the broader
ebook or white paper, or giving presentations and industry and justify why you’ve landed on that
webinars about specialized topics. You may have pricing strategy.
also had positive news coverage in the media or
gathered case studies and testimonials about your
work. Compare your price with competitors
Research your competitors and find out what their
Partnering and collaboration charging. Remember that their goods or services
might be different from yours. If they are, make
Identify possible partners who sell to the note of it. That might explain some differences in
customers you want to reach. Ideally these are pricing.
complementary businesses who sell goods or
services that relate to yours but are not a direct
competitor. Explore how you could collaborate
on marketing to broaden each other’s reach.
This might include supporting each other on
social media, running co-sponsored events, or
publishing each other’s blog posts.

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Justify why you’ve priced the way you Competitive advantage

have (high, medium, low) Your ‘unfair advantage’ over your competition is
If your pricing is significantly different from what sets you apart and forms your competitive
your competitors, explain why. Are you selling advantage. Are you faster, cheaper, more
a significantly higher quality product or service? experienced, or better qualified than the
Do clients get more value with you? Have you competition? Do you have a wider product range
been able to produce the product or service at a or more specialized services? Your competitive
substantially reduced cost? advantage should be something that makes you
stand out from the crowd, exploits a gap in the
market that your competitors haven’t thought
Market research about, and is important to your target audience.
Market research tells you a lot about the people
who want to buy from you, what they need, and Defending competitive advantage
what they value. You’ll want to conduct market
research to better understand your place in the Competitors could figure out your competitive
market. Talk to your customers and clients and advantage and take steps to mirror it. Describe
examine what your competitors are doing to learn how you’ll defend it. For example, if your
more about your industry. Remember to explore advantage is your highly skilled employees, you
predicted trends as well. Note how your industry could have them sign non-compete clauses or
has changed and what you can do to adjust to confidentiality agreements. You may lock up a key
market trends. supplier with an exclusive contract.

Direct market research Intellectual property or assets

Outline the results of any market research Intellectual property includes patents, trademarks,
(surveys, focus groups and online research) where or other forms of legal protection over your
you’ve spoken directly to a customer or prospect. creations or inventions of the mind. It is designed
What insights have you learned? How are you to protect your intellectual and creative efforts.
applying your insights? Intellectual assets are assets that are valuable to
you but cannot be legally protected. This includes
your relationships with customers, the goodwill
SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, you’ve built, or special business processes.
Opportunities, Threats)
Fill out the chart by noting your strengths, Social media
weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Explore
them further by noting how you will either It’s very likely your audience is somewhere on
maximize them (strengths/opportunities) or social media. When you market your business,
minimize them (weaknesses/threats). you’ll want to be on the social media platforms
they’re on. Research to determine what platform
When filling the chart out, pay attention to what’s your audience is most likely to be on and set up
working well for your business and where you a profile there. Develop a plan for using social
have challenges. media, such as how often you’ll post, what types
of posts you’ll publish, and who will be responsible
Outline a strategic direction for your business.
for the account.

Competitor analysis
New customer acquisition plan
Get to know your competitors and their strengths
It’s important to bring in new customers to grow
and weaknesses to better position your business.
your business. Review your past six months
Find businesses that are closest to yours in terms
and identify the marketing strategies that most
of goods or services, pain points solved, and
successfully brought in new customers. Consider
target audience. Then outline how you’ll combat
reusing those tactics.
their strengths and take advantage of their
weaknesses.
Prospect pain points
To build an advantage over competitors, you
simply may need to increase your profile or adjust After identifying your ideal customer, discuss their
your pricing. main pain points and how you solve those pain
points.

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Leads into customers

There might be a gap between when people learn
about your business (become leads) and when
they buy from you. How will you encourage them
to move from leads into customers? For example,
will you use an email marketing campaign to
move them along the marketing journey? Will you
offer discounts for first time buyers? Will you offer
ebooks about your area of specialty?

Advertising
Advertising your goods and services will help you
find new leads and customers. Your advertising
should highlight your customer pain points, your
unique competitive advantage, and the benefits
of your products and services. Lay out what
advertising methods you’ll use to attract your
audience. Finally, talk about how you’ll convey
your features, advantages, and benefits in your
advertising.

Other marketing information

Include additional information here, such as
whether you’ll add in other marketing tactics.
These might include having a referral program or
hosting special events.

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