How to Create a Marketing Plan: 7 Steps

A marketing plan will provide a roadmap of your company’s marketing strategies. Whether you are starting a new company, or looking to re-vamp your existing marketing strategies, a well-thought-out marketing plan can be the difference between success and failure. In this article, we will walk you through 7 steps that will help you strategize your new marketing plan. First, let’s go over what a marketing plan entails.

What is a Marketing Plan?

A marketing plan is exactly what it sounds like. It is a detailed document that outlines what your company plans to do to achieve its marketing tactics. A marketing plan can help your marketing team understand exactly what they need to do in order to achieve the goals you have set out. There are multiple steps that you can take to ensure that your marketing team stays on track and organized along the way, we will talk more about those steps later on. First, let’s go over a few types of marketing plans that your company could use.

Types of Marketing Plans

Any time of marketing initiative can benefit from a marketing plan. Typically long-term marketing tactics benefit the most from having a marketing plan, as it can take some time to build out an effective plan. Here are a few of the most common ways that you can plan.

Email Marketing

Whether you want to create or update your onboarding strategy, create an email newsletter, or collect email addresses, a marketing plan can help you execute this in a timely manner. You can use a calendar to keep track of when you are going to send out certain emails. When email marketing, try to use A/B testing so you can be certain that you are getting the most out of your emails. 

SEO Marketing Strategy

SEO is one of the best ways that your website can rank organically on search results. You can create a strategy that includes auditing your website, making necessary updates, researching what changes Google has been making and creating a content calendar for blog articles, link building initiatives, or other forms of content.

Lead Generation

The final example that we are going to discuss is lead generation. We all know that lead generation is not easy, so it can be helpful to create a plan that you can follow. Test out new lead generation software, social selling, data mining, or another way to generate leads.

7 Steps to Creating a Fool-Proof Marketing Plan

Now that you are familiar with a few common types of marketing plans, you’re probably wondering how you can create one for your own company. Here are the 7 steps that you should follow to create a marketing plan.

1. Know Your Mission

The first step in your marketing plan is to know your mission or end goal. Do you want to increase your website traffic? Or grow your social media following? Create higher-quality content? Generate more leads? This is the step where you figure out what you want to do and get a general idea of how it impacts your long-term marketing goals.

2. Determine Your KPIs

Once you have a general idea of what you want to do, it’s time to determine your KPIs or key performance indicators. Generally, there are four main categories of KPIs that you can use in your marketing plan. They are customer satisfaction, internal process quality, employee satisfaction, and financial performance. Of course, whatever you choose for your mission will help you choose the suitable KPI. When you select the category, you can dive deeper into what metrics you should be tracking that will help you track success. 

3. Understand Your Buyer Persona(s)

Knowing your buyer persona is crucial for success in business, it’s like having a secret weapon in your sales arsenal. By understanding their unique needs, wants, and pain points, you’ll be able to craft a compelling message that will resonate with them and make them want to take action. You should treat your buyer persona as an individual, with individual needs. Not everyone will respond best to the exact same message across all channels. 

4. Check Out Your Competitors

Understanding your competitor’s marketing efforts is an essential aspect of developing a successful marketing plan. By keeping an eye on what your competitors are doing, you can gain valuable insights into what works and what doesn’t in your industry. You can also identify gaps in the market and create unique offerings to fill those gaps, differentiate yourself from the competition, and stand out to your target audience. Additionally, monitoring your competition’s marketing efforts can also help you stay ahead of the game by anticipating industry trends and changes, and adapting your approach accordingly. So, if you want to create a new YouTube series, take a look at your competitor’s YouTube channels to see if they have a series, and try to one-up theirs.

5. Outline Who Will Be Doing What

Any time you are planning a new marketing initiative, your team will need to have an idea about who will be doing what. This will keep everyone on the same page and ensure your tasks are getting done on time. And, if they are not getting done on time, you know exactly where you went wrong. Using a project management software like Asana or Trello can be extremely helpful in keeping track of your progress.

6. Budget Planning

Budget planning involves allocating a specific amount of money to your marketing plan. This is important because you want to determine how much and how you should spend your marketing dollars. The budget should be based on past marketing expenses, industry standards, and the expected return on investment. It’s important to continuously monitor and adjust the budget as needed to ensure that the marketing efforts remain on track and deliver the desired results. A well-planned budget can maximize the impact of marketing efforts while avoiding overspending or misallocating resources. 

7. Finalize Your Report

Now that you know what your marketing plan consists of, it’s time to put it all together in a formal report. This will help your team stay organized, on-track, and will know what to do next. Ensure that all key information is accurate and up-to-date and that your report is well thought out. Consider including visual aids like examples from your competitors, charts, graphs, or more to help support the report. Once the report is complete, have your team review it and allow them to provide their feedback. By doing this, you will reduce stress in your team. 

Goal Tracking

While this may not be one of the main steps in creating a marketing plan, it’s still an important aspect of your marketing initiatives. Tracking your S.M.A.R.T. goals, or Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound goals, will help you and your team stay on track and celebrate wins. This process starts with setting clear, quantifiable targets and then regularly monitoring progress toward these goals. Utilizing tools such as spreadsheets, dashboards, and analytics platforms can help to provide a comprehensive view of progress and make it easier to identify areas where adjustments may be necessary. It’s important to regularly review and assess the success of your marketing efforts and adjust your strategy as needed to ensure that you are on track to meet your goals. Through regular tracking and assessment, you can be confident that your marketing efforts are making a real impact and driving your business forward.

Be Agile

Although you’re trying to follow your marketing plan, you never know when there may be a bump in the road that causes you to adjust or re-evaluate your plan. Something more important might pop up, and you may have to change up your approach. While it may be stressful to change your plan, it can be necessary. Staying agile in the industry can help you attain a competitive advantage and stay on top of trends.

Closing Statements

Creating a marketing plan is a crucial step in the success of your marketing campaign. By following the 7 steps outlined in this article, you can develop a comprehensive and effective marketing plan. And, reach your goals. Remember to start with a clear understanding of your mission and who you will be targeting to start the planning process on the right foot. Continuously evaluate and adjust your marketing plan as needed to ensure that you and your team stay on track. By taking your time to create a well-thought-out marketing plan, you can ensure that your marketing efforts will drive results and success for your company.