A Marketing Plan is a written document that details the actions necessary to achieve a specified marketing objective(s). It can be for a product or service, a brand, or a product line. It can cover one year (referred to as an annual marketing plan), or cover up to 5 years. A marketing plan may be part of an overall business plan. In general terms, it must:

• describe and explain the current situation
• specify the expected results (objectives)
• identify the resources that will be needed (including financing, time, and skills)
• describe the actions that will need to be taken to achieve the objective(s)
• devise a method of monitoring results and adjusting the plan where necessary

There are many formats for marketing plans and every company does it a little different, but the outline that follows is a very complete format. Using this format will produce a 30 to 40 page plan. Many companies prefer an abridged format that would yield a 10 to 20 page plan.

1. Title page
2. Executive Summary
3. Current Situation - Macroenvironment
   • economy
   • government
   • legal
   • technology
   • ecological
   • sociocultural
   • supply chain
4. Current Situation - Market Analysis
   • market definition
   • market size
   • market segmentation
   • industry structure and strategic groupings
   • Porter 5 forces analysis
   • competition and market share
   • competitors' strengths and weaknesses
   • market trends
5. Current Situation - Consumer Analysis
   • nature of the buying decision
   • participants
   • demographics
   • psychographics
   • buyer motivation and expectations
   • loyalty segments
6. Current Situation - Internal
   • company resources
     • financial
     • people
     • time
     • skills
   • objectives
     • mission statement and vision statement
     • corporate objectives
     • financial objective
     • marketing objectives
     • long term objectives
   • corporate culture
7. Summary of Situation Analysis
   • external threats
   • external opportunities
   • internal strengths
   • internal weaknesses
   • key success factors in the industry
   • our sustainable competitive advantage
8. Marketing research
   • information requirements
   • research methodology
   • research results
9. Marketing Strategy - Product
   • product mix
   • product strengths and weaknesses
     • perceptual mapping
   • product life cycle management and new product development
   • Brand name, brand image, and brand equity
   • the augmented product
   • product portfolio analysis
     • B.C.G. Analysis
     • contribution margin analysis
     • G.E. Multi Factoral analysis
     • Quality Function Deployment
10. Marketing Strategy - Market share objectives
    • by products,
    • by customer segments,
    • by geographical markets
11. Marketing Strategy - Price
    • pricing objectives
    • pricing method (eg.: cost plus, demand based, or competitor indexing)
    • pricing strategy (eg.: skimming, or penetration)
    • discounts and allowances
    • price elasticity and customer sensitivity
    • price zoning
    • break even analysis at various prices
12. Marketing Strategy - Promotion
    • promotional goals
    • promotional mix
    • advertising reach, frequency, flights, theme, and media
    • sales force requirements, techniques, and management
    • sales promotion
    • publicity and public relations
    • electronic promotion (eg.: Web, or telephone)
13. Marketing Strategy - Distribution
    • geographical coverage
    • distribution channels
    • physical distribution and logistics
    • electronic distribution
14. Implementation
    • personnel requirements
      • assign responsibilities
      • give incentives
      • training on selling methods
    • financial requirements
    • management information systems requirements
    • month-by-month agenda
      • pert or critical path analysis
    • monitoring results and benchmarks
    • adjustment mechanism
    • contingencies (What if's)
15. Financial Summary
    • assumptions
    • pro-forma monthly income statement
    • contribution margin analysis
    • breakeven analysis
    • Monte Carlo analysis
16. Appendix
    • pictures and specifications of the new product
    • results from research already completed

See also: marketing, plan, marketing management, strategic management, business plan