How to Write Small Business Marketing Plans

When you make a good marketing plan, you enjoy several important benefits.

First, and perhaps most important, you get a higher result on investment. You make your dollar work harder towards towards building increased sales and profits than that same dollar would work if it were invested without a plan.

Second, you can cut waste.

Third, you build efficiency because you know what to do next.

Fourth, you unify your team. All become involved and participate as part of the program.

Fifth, you minimize risk, mistakes and failures. Finally, you improve your company's progress and prestige - as well as your own. You build a feeling of confidence and personal support among your managers, bankers and owners (and even among your suppliers, and dealer network.)

In summary a good small business marketing plans begins with a look at the situation. Then a check on company resources: time, money and staff, skills, contacts, dealers, customers, reputation, equipment, supplies and services. Then you set the objectives of the company. Then list your tactical action steps for product and service, price, package, premium, promotion, package, personnel selling, physical distribution and publicity and advertising. Finally, you set up a budget plan and time schedule.

Our purpose here is to cover those items in rapid and practical manner, so that you can put them to work. We will review the situation, resources, objectives and tactics.

Marketing plans can take a variety of forms but generally include five basic elements: - A detailed situation analysis that consists of an internal marketing audit and review and an external analysis of the market competition and environmental factors.

- The establishment of specific marketing objectives that provide direction, a time frame for marketing activities, and a mechanism for measuring performance.

- The formulation of a marketing strategy and program that includes selection of the target market(s) and decisions and plans for the four elements of the marketing mix.

- A program for implementing the marketing strategy, including determining responsibilities and specific tasks to be performed.

- A process for monitoring and evaluating performance and providing feedback so proper control can be maintained and any necessary changes made in the overall marketing strategy or tactics

The purpose of the small business marketing plans are to generate efficient, profitable action. It is a set of usable, practical instructions, designed to ensure that resources are properly applied.

Length. Market plans can run from one brief summary page to over a hundred. But the ideal, for a stand alone document, is twenty to fifty pages. If the plan is part of the total strategic plan of the company then a two to four page marketing section may be adequate. Large volumes of supporting documents can be attached as exhibits or under a separate cover. These seldom need to be part of the action plan.

Style. The plan should be short, practical, to the point, and workmanlike. Include appropriate pertinent facts, brief goal statements and action steps for tactics and strategy. Your plan should not be flowery, legalistic, prosy or wordy. It should be clear well worded, but remember that it is not a piece of literature.

Small business owners have very little time to spend on writing an elaborate small business marketing plans. This means that some degree of automation should take place in the process of writing marketing plans.

Therefore I strongly recommend that you use marketing plan software to automate the process of formulating a small business marketing plans. Some of the benefits of using marketing plan software have been listed below.

However, if you have the time to do the entire small business marketing plans by hand - the templates and sample plans that you need are also below - just click on the link.

Marketing Plan Explains how you should fill out the marketing plan

Marketing Plans Template Marketing Plans Template - The Structure of Small Business Marketing Plans

Small Business Strategies Select the high-payout small business strategies for your own business

Marketing Strategies Learn how-to increase sales with these marketing strategies

Profit Impact Marketing Use this profit impact marketing strategies to boost sales and profits

Marketing Niche Strategy Learn how-to use marketing niche strategy to create sustainable sales and income streams

Developing Internet Marketing Learn how-to use professional techniques in developing internet marketing

Marketing Plan Guide Use this marketing plan Guide to prepare better plans and use template provided more effectively

Understanding Customer/ Market This page explains the various definitions of understanding customer and market and also touches on the concept of market share

Product Image This page explains how to improve your product image from the customers perspective

Advertising Sales Promotion Learn how to use the advertising sales promotion concepts to boost sales and prepare a better marketing plan

Sales Plans Learn how to create effective sales plans

Product Pricing Learn how to manage product pricing - the key to generating more sales and profits!

Distribution Plan Create a very effective distribution plan use these strategies

Review Marketing Plan Review Marketing Plan regularly - it is a document that needs to be updated depending on changes in the business environment.

Hostile Declining Markets Learn how to manouvre in hostile declining markets

Marketing Plan Software Affordable and easy to use marketing plan software to automate the planning process

Business Plan Software Everything you will ever need to know about business plan software!

Small Business ezine Our small business ezine is low volume but is high in its impact.

Website Marketing Strategies Site Build it! has helped this site achieve its website marketing strategies

Small Business Marketing Plan Blog A step-by-step process of understanding marketing planning and fcreating effective strategies that build profits.