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What
is a "Marketing Plan"? Each of us knows - but we've all heard different
definitions. There are different types of plans, appropriate to
different stages
of a company or product life cycle. They have certain elements in common, but
focus on different areas depending on the company's needs.
The Comprehensive Marketing Plan
Marketing covers everything involved in creating the sales opportunity,
including: identifying a market opportunity, defining a product that meets that
opportunity, creating the appropriate messaging for the company and product,
communicating those messages, bringing in leads for the product, and creating
the promotions that help close the sale. A comprehensive Marketing Plan must
also cover all of these activities.
These
activities fall into three broad areas: Market Definition, Product Definition,
and Communications Plan. A comprehensive Marketing Plan should contain the
following items:
I.
Market Definition
A.
Target Market
B.
Addressable
Segment
C.
Target Audience
(Key Decision Makers/Key Influencers)
D.
Competition
E.
Revenue Targets
II.
Product Definition
A.
Product
Definition (Market Requirements)
B.
Product Pricing
III.
Communications Plan
A.
Advertising
Plan
1.
Creative
Strategy
2.
Media Plan
B.
PR Plan
C.
Collateral/Sales Tool Plan
D.
Direct
Marketing Plan
E.
Events Plan
F.
Web Marketing
Plan
G.
Market Research
H.
Budget
Now,
most Marketing Plans don't look like this. Instead, they lean heavily towards
either the Market Definition/Product Definition side, or towards the
Communications Plan side, with fairly cursory coverage of the other areas. This
is because different aspects are more important at different times in a
company's and/or product's life cycle.
The
Start-Up Marketing Plan
Early
in the company (or product) life cycle, the Market Definition/Product Definition
aspects are paramount. I have most often seen marketing plans, like the one
above, developed as part of a complete Business Plan created when a company is
launched or looking for funding. At these times, it's critical to have a solid
understanding of the size and revenue potential of the target market and, of
course, a good definition of the product.
During these early stages, the Communications Plan often doesn't warrant the
same degree of attention - often focusing on PR and Market Research, with only
preliminary discussion of other areas.
A
similar situation occurs later in the company's life cycle, when a new product
(or product line) is developed. Often, a comprehensive Marketing Plan is not
produced at such times, but the Market Definition and Product Definition topics
will be thoroughly addressed in a separate Market Requirements Document, with a
brief discussion of potential Communications strategies.
We
wish we would see development of brand, positioning, and
look & feel & sound
included more often during this stage, since these elements are fundamental to
the company's communications strategy. But many companies charge ahead with
their PR efforts, creating a de-facto positioning and brand awareness which they
must correct later, often at great expense.
The
Marketing Communications Plan
The
Marketing Communications Plan is the plan marketers see most often. We create
such a plan at least every year, as part of our annual Budget Planning process,
and review & update it during the year. It defines the marketing objectives for
the year, and the programs we will execute to meet those objectives. And, we
spend the vast majority of our time throughout the year executing this plan.
It's
worth noting, this annual plan must address more than the topics listed under
"Marketing Communications" above. In fact, I prefer to call this the
Marketing
Operational Plan.
The
plan must discuss the target market and target audience in some detail, not so
much from the standpoint of market sizing, but in terms of where we should
direct our marketing efforts. Demographic, geographic and
psychographic
targeting are important here. For B2B marketers, identifying both the audience
(decision makers, buyers and influencers) as well as the market (companies who
need your product) is essential.
Competition and overall company objectives (e.g., new product introductions)
must also be addressed. Revenue targets are either developed by Product
Management/Product Marketing (in market-driven companies) or by finance, upper
management or investors, and used to develop goals for number of
deals and
leads.
The
focus of the plan is on your Objectives, Strategies, and the
specific Programs
you will implement to meet them. State your positioning and brand strategies up
front to keep them top-of-mind. Because these Programs typically account for the
vast majority of the Marketing Budget, the plan is developed in close
coordination with the Marketing Programs Budget.
If
you are currently working on your Marketing Plan for next year, remember that
the key lies in clearly stating your objectives for the year - then and only
then can you strategically prepare a plan that can be deemed successful by
year-end 2004.
For more detail on how to prepare
your Marketing Plan and Budget, get
our free white paper,
Surviving Budget Season, or
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