Stages Of Marketing Plan

According to "Entrepreneur" magazine, marketing plans are a series of activities that help you develop your marketing objectives and formulate plans for achieving those objectives. Each of those activities, or "stages," is important to helping you develop a promotional strategy for your company's product or service. The four main stages of a marketing plan include outlining the situation analysis, describing your company goals, identifying your target market and deciding on your marketing tactics.

1. Situation Analysis

   • The situation analysis is the first stage of a marketing plan, and it helps your readers understand the market environment. In this stage, describe the market and economic conditions in your industry; any applicable laws, politics and regulations; and supply and demand trends for your product or service. One useful way to help you outline the situation analysis in this stage of your marketing plan is to use a SWOT analysis. To do this, first describe the strengths of your product or service, such as "lowest price." Next, describe the weaknesses, such as "perceived low quality." Then, describe the opportunities, such as "two new stores opening." Finally, describe the threats, such as "three new competitors entering the market."
     

   Objectives

   • The next stage of your marketing plan is outlining your marketing goals and objectives. Traditionally, your top marketing and management teams will be responsible for setting these objectives, and they are the result of research and your company's overall business goals. When writing your objectives, make sure they are SMART, which stands for "specific," "measurable," "attainable," "realistic" and "timely."
     

   Target Market

   • Identifying your target market is the next stage of your marketing plan. This refers to the groups of customers who account for the majority of your business. In the marketing plan, you want to describe everything you know about your target market, including demographic characteristics like gender, age, income bracket and ethnicity as well as psychographic characteristics like behavioral preferences and technology use. A market research company can help you better understand your target market, or you can conduct research yourself by doing web searches and observing your customers in person.
     

   Marketing Tactics

   • The last stage of your marketing plan is deciding which tactics you are going to use to promote your products and services, and then describing each of those tactics. An important consideration when deciding on your tactics is your target market. For example, if you know your target market members are generally early adopters of technology, you can use more technology-based marketing tactics like paid search, email marketing and social media marketing. Conversely, if your target market is an older population that tends to rely more on print-based media, you can use tactics like direct mail and television and radio ads. Identify each marketing tactic you plan to use, and a timeline for when you plan to use it.