Nice to meet you: The marketing plan

You decided to write a marketing plan. Excellent. But ... what is the marketing plan? What are its goals? And how the hell do you write a good plan that will be not only beautiful but also effective?

What is the marketing plan (or marketing plan)?

An effective marketing plan is an orderly outline, a spring road map, that answers a number of questions of a strategic nature and details the ways and tactics that the writers think will be answered and enable them to be implemented in the best way, under the long, medium and short term brand / business / project constraints.

The marketing plan is not a document that must be sanctified and acted upon according to AS IS, but an outline that must be examined as part of the current marketing activities and the necessary adjustments made, if any.

Why do you even need a marketing plan?

Usually, the program is designed for one or both of the following purposes:

Basis for the brand's marketing work plan

A presentation in favor of raising resources, usually financial (and on which an investor presentation is also based).

What is the position of the marketing plan on the axis of practical activity of the brand?

Since the marketing plan is an applied tool from which the work plan is derived, there are a number of processes that precede it in terms of the order and importance of the actions, the main ones being: the business strategy and the marketing strategy (or marketing strategy). Their goals are to define the nature of the brand / business activity, the business models (what do they earn and how to do it), pricing, target audiences, the leading messages and line of action of the brand, means of reaching and distributing to the target audiences and so on.

Sample marketing plan (including brief details on each section)

What questions does a quality marketing plan answer?

  • Executive summary

    The purpose of this section is to create interest and curiosity among readers. This section can be compared to a writing on the back cover of a book, which if interested will convince us to continue reading and purchasing the book.

  • The business idea or need

    The next section looks at the business from a perspective and asks what is the business idea or need for which the business was established.

  • Product / service details

    This section deals with your service or product.

  • Description of the industry

    In this section you describe the industry in which the brand has chosen to operate - the size of the industry / estimated size of the industry, the number of businesses operating in it and a list of the leaders, if any, the accepted value chain and / or supply in it and more.

  • the competition

    This section deals with the description and details of the competition (competitors, alternatives, etc.) - the reference should be comparative and at the level of detail according to relevant parameters, such as: positioning of each brand (average, above average, premium, below average), range of services / products offered, frequency of updates The variety and so on.

  • Market description

    This section deals with the description of the market (target customers) to which the brand addresses and why it chose to target them - target audience (s), demographics, lifestyle, geography, their needs, their consumption habits (how they purchase and consume the service / product), support requirements and service , Sensitivities to changes in various parameters and more.

  • The business model

    This section deals with the business model (which we mentioned earlier).

  • Sales and Marketing

    The purpose of this part of the program is to explain the marketing strategy, how the brand chooses to market itself, what are the marketing goals and sales forecast, what are the infrastructures and means required for this (and why exactly are they) and what is the cost forecast for operating each infrastructure Current monthly and additional costs if any). It is important to note that this section lists all the required infrastructure and activities - both physical, digital and social.

  • Operation and manpower

    Operation and manpower - the manner of operation of the business, the organizational structure and the manpower required, wage costs, current costs.

  • Financial forecast

    This section of the plan will present a profit and loss forecast analysis (and balance sheet analysis - BE), a cash flow statement, a source and uses report, sensitivity analyzes (such as price and cost function as a result of quantities and more).

  • Relevant Appendices

    Additional topics and extensions that may interest readers and / or that may ask extension questions.

Tools for analyzing and writing the various sections in the marketing plan

There are a number of general models that can be used to formulate the information that we will enter later (after processing) in the marketing plan.



1. Analysis of the current state of the business, market and industry

Analysis of the external environment

Analysis of the market in which we operate (our target audience), competitors and competition, suppliers, customers (character, consumption habits, needs, demographic characteristics, personality or lifestyle, etc.), regulatory and legal constraints, etc. In fact, any parameter that is outside the company itself.

Analysis of the internal environment

What are the resources, tools, knowledge and experience available to us, including brand, reputation, assets (physical and digital) and more.

2. The famous SWOT analysis - analysis of the internal and external environment

STRENGTHS - חוזקות

Combined with the weaknesses the strengths section is used by us to examine our inner environment. The goal is to analyze what we are particularly good at, what our relative advantages are (resources, knowledge, abilities, skills and more). The analysis allows us to identify, preserve the above and externalize our relative advantages.


It can be said that these are the internal factors that bring us closer to the goal.

WEAKNESSES - Weaknesses

Combined with the strengths the weakness section is used by us to examine our internal environment. The goal is to analyze what we are less good at (in relation to our goals and in relation to competition), what we lack (resources, knowledge, abilities, skills and more). The analysis allows us to examine what needs to be improved and / or look for alternative ways to realize the brand's activity.


It can be said that these are the internal factors that keep us away from the target.

3. Strategy - Marketing Mix - 11P's (originally 4P's)

This model is a model that helps build a brand's marketing strategy by examining 11 different areas and the components of each of them at headquarters to produce a unique mix of components that are at the heart of the brand's marketing strategy.

1P - Product

Deals with the product's characteristics, features, benefits and advantages over competitors.

2P - Packaging

The product is an integral part of the product and in an era where the focus has shifted from sellers to buyers (today each of us enters a supermarket / digital store, reaches out and chooses the product we feel like buying) packaging is an important factor. When we deal with packaging, we are not talking about a shell for the product, but about a whole complex that produces feelings, emotions, sometimes also sounds and smells and connects the product and brand to the consumer in a multidimensional experience - both physical and digital.

In a market saturated with packaging competition, classrooms may be the only difference between you and your competitors.