Writing a marketing plan could be the smartest thing you never did

or to put it another way...

if you never actually get around to writing a marketing plan, the fact that you have been through the process of research and discovery for your plan will still provide huge benefits.

If you ever wanted to know how best to work ON your business - this is it. Researching and writing a marketing plan for your business is one of the most valuable time investments you will ever make.

A marketing plan can stand alone, or form part of a business plan for the benefit of yourself, your staff, lenders or investors. The research and collation of facts and data about your market, products and how and why you have determined your marketing strategy is central to the survival and success of your business.

Taking the time to shine the light on your business and writing down a strategy, can not only give you greater confidence, but also enlist the support and confidence of your team, your bank, and your shareholders. This is a very powerful management tool.

The process of writing a marketing plan begins with research.
Determine the facts by obtaining objective evidence. To be of value, your opinions and guesswork about your market place should be kept out of it. The time will come for a judgement call, and an argument in favour of your chosen strategy - that's what enterprise risk is all about. But before that, let the facts speak.

Here are the facts you need, and a simple way to guide your research:

Step 1
Know your market/niche

Step 2
Know your competition

Step 3
Know your target customer

Step 4
Know your USP ("Unique Selling Proposition") and the marketing message

Step 5
Know your marketing media (e.g. cost, time frame, expected yield(s))

Step 6
Know your selling and distribution model

For each step, simply determine the answers to who?,where?, what?, when?, why?, how? Often there may be more than one answer to each question, and then you need to assemble the facts and be prepared to defend a logical argument in favour of the best answer.

For example, Step 3, Know Your Target Customer. Answers to these questions:
WHO is your target customer?
WHERE do you find them?
WHAT do they want?
WHEN do they want it?
WHY do they buy?
HOW do they buy?

This can take time. If you have already thoroughly researched your market, then answering these questions won't take too long, but on the other hand, be prepared to spend as long as it takes to get credible quantitative and qualitative data. Such fact-finding and analysis is where the true value of the process is to be found.

Got all your facts lined up? Good - grab a sample marketing plan to use as a template and start writing!