Draft Marketing Templates
Media Advisory/Release
Notes
Marketing Plan Template
1.0 External Analysis
- Market analysis (i.e., size, growth prospects/market life cycle, market profitability, bargaining power of suppliers and buyers, and the threat of new entrants or substitute products, distribution channels, trends, market segmentation)
- Customer analysis
- Define customer segments (i.e., geographic, lifestyle, sex, age, gender, occupation, type and size of organization)
- Product related characteristics (i.e., user type, usage, benefits sought, price sensitivity, brand loyalty)
- Customer motivations/decision variables (i.e., why someone purchases)
- Purchase process
- Competitor analysis (i.e., sales performance, perceived image and personality, organizational culture, cost structure, strengths and weaknesses)
2.0 Environmental Analysis
- Identify any technological, political/regulatory, economic, cultural and demographics changes/shifts that might affect the market as a whole.
3.0 Internal Analysis
- Company description
- Performance analysis (customer satisfaction/loyalty, product/service quality, brand associations, cost, new product activity, manager/employee capability and performance)
- Company vision and goals
- SWOT – strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats
4.0 Marketing Strategy
- Marketing objectives (i.e. Identify which markets to compete in, gain market share, profitability, increase customer base, etc.)
- Market position (i.e. Define what portion of the market your organization fills, BCG Growth-Share Matrix – market growth rate vs. competitive position – star, problem child, cash cow, dog)
- Define target markets (i.e. Certain elements will tend to make a segment attractive – size, growth, profitability, fit with company strengths, relative weakness of competition, etc.)
- Strategic focus (could include one or more of the following strategies)
- Marketing mix (i.e., product/service, price, placement/distribution, promotion)
- Product-market growth strategies
- Market penetration (i.e., present market, present products – increase market share or product usage)
- Market expansion (i.e., new markets, present products – expand geographically or target new customer segments)
- Product expansion (i.e., present markets, new products – add product features, develop a new-generation product, develop new products for the same market)
- Diversification (i.e., new markets, new products)
- Vertical integration (i.e., forward – move downstream with respect to product flow; or backwards – move upstream by investing in raw materials source)
- Differentiation strategy (i.e. product offering is differentiated from the competition by providing value to the customer – enhanced performance, breadth of product line, quality, prestige, features, service backup, reliability or convenience) vs. Low cost strategy (based on achieving a sustainable cost advantage via product design, scale economies, experience curve, production operations, no-frills product/service)
- Price is less critical with successful differentiation strategy, often leading to a premium
- Sustainable competitive advantage – substantial, sustainable, leveraged
- Branding/brand equity (brand awareness, perceived quality, brand loyalty and brand associations)
- Positioning
- You do not merely want to be considered just the best of the best. You want to be considered as the only ones who do what you do. – Jerry Garcia, The Grateful Dead
- There are a host of dimensions on which to base a strategic position – product category, product attributes and functional benefits, breadth of product line, organizational intangibles (i.e., being global, innovative, quality driven, customer driven, etc.), emotional self-expressive benefits (i.e., they make customers feel something - safe, exhilarated, energized, important, healthy, strong, etc.), experience, being contemporary/relevant, brand personality, competitor position
- **A positioning strategy usually involves multiple dimensions.
- Your position needs to resonate with your customers.
5.0 Marketing Tactics
- Visual identity (company/product logo and visual graphics, colour palette, typography, packaging, photography, etc.)
- Website presence (both the visual and functional components) and analytics
- Social media presence (i.e,. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, Blogs, Flickr, LinkedIn, etc.)
- Advertising and promotion
- Consider audience, reach, frequency, cost, etc.
- Online (Google Adwords, banner ads, etc), print, radio, television, billboards/captive audience signage, e-communications (i.e., MailChimp) direct mail, promotional materials, etc.
- Guerrilla marketing
- Loyalty programs (i.e., customer referrals, contests, etc.)
6.0 Sales
7.0 Budget
8.0 Evaluation/Metrics
- Return on investment (sales-cost/cost)
- Gain in market share (greater percentage of the total market)
- Increase in customer sales and/or customer acquisitions
- Website traffic (measure through google analytics)
- General awareness of products/services (number of inquiries)
- Increased engagement with existing customers (i.e., referrals, etc.)