What Is a Marketing Plan?
A marketing plan is essentially an outline of your marketing strategy for a defined period of time, such as a quarter or a year (depending on your agency’s preference).
Usually structured as a report, it defines the overall marketing goals for that period and provides a detailed timeline of how those goals are going to be met. This is important, as these “milestones” represent an actionable, practical roadmap of how your goals are going to be achieved.
The report should also specify the key performance indicators (KPIs) that you are going to use to track and measure the progress and eventual success of these goals.
Marketing Plan vs Marketing Strategy
At this point, it’s important to clarify the difference between a marketing plan and a marketing strategy.
Your marketing strategy (which will itself be shaped by your business strategy) is the purpose of your marketing efforts; the end goal that you want to achieve. Your marketing plan represents the actual execution of these efforts, and is a detailed blueprint of how you are going to reach that end goal.
These two concepts should not be confused, and one shouldn’t be used to replace the other, either. Remember: a marketing plan cannot exist without a marketing strategy, and you can’t execute your strategy without having a marketing plan.
Why Do You Need a Marketing Plan?
The most obvious argument for implementing a marketing plan is that, without one, there is no structure or organization for what needs to be done. Every agency wants to grow, of course, but without a detailed framework that breaks down each step into a series of actionable tasks, you’re essentially playing a game of hit and hope.
A marketing plan also helps you to build up your online presence from day one, measure progress more effectively, and understand the different factors that may be having an impact on your success. This, in turn, can allow you to hone your brand messaging, and define your marketing tactics and techniques for selling, creating a cycle of success.
Consider, too, that your marketing budget is likely to be one of your agency’s highest costs. Therefore, you want to ensure that every cent is generating value. It’s far more economical if you take the time to research and structure which channels, audiences, and platforms you are going to target (as well as what resources you are going to need), as opposed to adopting an ad-hoc approach.
