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Marketing Plan Outline Developing an effective marketing plan requires time and expertise. Here is a simple outline to help get you started. Please contact us you think you can use some professional help. :)

1. Executive Summary – A brief overview of the proposed plan for management 2. Marketing Situation – Relevant background data on the market, product, competition,

distribution, and market trends Market Situation – defines market size, growth and key segments Product Situation – Provides sales, profit, trends, cogs, spend, distribution history by product Competitive Situation – describes major competitors size, share, strategies, spending, and comparisons Distribution Situation – describes each distribution channel and its relative importance in terms of percent of total sales, volume, distribution costs, growth potential, and competitive status Target Market Situation – describes end users in demographic, psychographic, and lifestyle terms; actionable information such as buyer wants, needs, attitudes, perceptions; segment growth or decline and why Macro-market Situation– demographic, economic, technological, political, social, cultural trends that have a direct impact on the company

3. Situation Analysis – external opportunities and threats, internal strengths and

weaknesses, and issues facing the organization.

4. Objectives – The goals of the plan in the areas of sales, market share, and profit

Marketing objectives may include sales revenue, sales volume, market awareness, distribution channels, average price. Financial objectives may include gross sales, cost-of-goods, gross margin, net profit, cash flow, return on investment

5. Marketing Strategy – The approach to how the marketing objectives will be achieved

Descriptions of target markets, segments and customers, product lines, distribution/sales channels, unique positioning/messaging, pricing, marketing/promotional spend, research and development and market research plans

6. Action Programs – The details of what will be done, who will do it. When it will be done,

and how much it will cost. 7. Projected Profit-and-Loss Statement – The expected financial outcomes of the plan.

8. Controls – Indicates how the plan will be monitored, measured, and refined.

© 2007 Sagefrog Marketing Group, LLC. All rights reserved. Based on “Contents of a Marketing Plan” from Marketing Management: Analysis, Planning, Implementation, and Control. Seventh Edition © 1988 Prentice Hall by Philip Kotler of the J.L. Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.