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It's Good to Have a Plan What's a marketing plan? There's an old saying that goes something like this: "He who fails to plan, plans to fail." In other words, success is hard to come by without putting in some thoughtful, careful planning. This truth is especially evident in the business world. Whether a business is just starting up or has been established for decades, it must have a marketing plan in place to succeed.

Madelyn just moved to the big city and has started her own small courier business. She has a small car and a bicycle and is making herself available to deliver documents and packages throughout the city. Now, she just needs to "get her name out there." A national pizza chain has decided to introduce a new barbecue chicken specialty pizza. The company is currently successful in its target market, but it really wants to "push" this new product in the coming year. Both Madelyn and the pizza company need marketing plans to achieve their business goals. Marketing plans organize and provide focus for a firm's marketing strategies, and they are essential tools for organizational success. Learn more about marketing plans and the benefits they can provide for your business.

A marketing plan is a set of procedures or strategies for attracting the target customer to a business. There are three common reasons for writing a marketing plan: • First, the marketing plan may be included as part of the organization's overall business plan.

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Explain the benefits associated with having a marketing plan.

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Identify the components of a marketing plan. LAP-MP-001-SP © 2011, MBA Research and Curriculum Center®

• Second, the plan may be presented to upper management by the marketing team as a way to demonstrate and solidify its goals and strategies for the upcoming year. • Third, the marketing plan may outline the company's intentions for introducing a new product, entering a new target market, or trying a new marketing strategy. A Winning Plan

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• Here are a few other things to keep in mind about marketing plans: • Marketing plans are important for businesses both big and small. A small business may have one simple marketing plan, while a major corporation may have hundreds of them-one for each individual product. • A marketing plan has a wide audience. It may be read by marketing team members, employees in departments throughout the company, upper management, board members, potential investors, etc. • Writing a marketing plan can involve quite a bit of time, effort, and research, but it's worth it. Your business and product have a much greater chance of success if you do the "legwork" first.

For your benefit You already know that successful businesses write marketing plans. But, how exactly do marketing plans contribute to that success? Here are some specific benefits your organization can receive through the process: Understanding past marketing decisions and outcomes better. They say that history repeats itself. In business, sometimes you want it to, and sometimes you don't! When a business creates detailed marketing plans, it allows itself the opportunity to look back and see which strategies worked well-and which didn't. The marketing team can build on its knowledge of the past to create ideas and plans for the future and to avoid repeating mistakes unnecessarily. Understanding target market(s) better. In business, the customer is king. No firm achieves success unless it satisfies its customers' needs and wants. To do this, the business must have a deep understanding of its target market(s). The level of research and detail required to write a marketing plan helps the marketing team to know and understand its target market(s) as much as it possibly can.

Company Goals

Setting goals. Writing a marketing plan forces the marketing team to set specific goals. When goals are put in writing, they are easier to remember, to stick to, to measure, and to achieve. Planning marketing strategies with more precision. Once marketing goals have been set, marketing strategies must be designed and implemented to achieve those goals. Without a marketing plan, things can get chaotic. One member of the team may plan a television advertising campaign, while another sets sales promotions into action, and yet another sends out direct mail-without coordination, these marketing strategies can compete with each other and create confusion among customers. A marketing plan provides clear guidance on what strategies will be used and when.

Obtaining funding. A very important benefit of writing a marketing plan can be obtaining funding for specific products or projects. This funding might come from within the company or from outside investors. For example, large companies often have different marketing teams for each of their specific products. These teams might have to "compete" to get the funding they want out of each yearly budget-and a well-written marketing plan can be the key to obtaining it. A small business, on the other hand, might need investment dollars to get off the ground. A marketing plan, as part of an overall business plan, is something that potential investors will want to see before deciding whether or not to put money into the business. A Winning Plan

LAP-MP-001-SP © 2011, MBA Research and Curriculum Center®

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