Ready to get it all down on paper, but not sure where to put it? We’ll help you with the format and elements of your marketing plan.
Compiled by Laura Tiffany

Every how-to book on the market has a different take on the essential elements of a marketing plan. Those geared toward the big corporate crowd communicate in a language few human beings understand. However, the words you use are much less important than how seriously you approach the task.

This section outlines the key elements you need to include in your marketing plan. No matter how it’s ultimately organized, your marketing plan should be a straightforward, easily understood company document. It should provide you with a clear direction for your marketing efforts for the coming year, and it should give an incisive look into your company for all readers.

Preparing to Write
Before you begin to write, pull together some information you’ll need. Getting the information first avoids interruptions in the thinking and writing process. Have on hand:

• Your company’s latest financial reports (profit and loss, operating budgets and so on) and latest sales figures by product and region for the current and the past three years or, if less, for however long you’ve been in business.

• A listing of each product or service in the current line, along with target markets
  An organization table (If you can count your employees on one hand, you can probably omit this.)

• Your understanding of your marketplace: your competitors, geographical boundaries, types of customers you sell to, existing distribution channels, latest and most useful demographic data, any information on trends in your markets (both demographic and product-related)

• Ask each of your salespeople and/or customer-relations people to list the most crucial points, in their opinion, that need to be included in the coming year’s marketing plan. You don’t have to include all of them, but you do have to take them into account.

Market Situation
The “market situation” section should contain your best and most clear-headed description of the current state of the marketplace (this is no place for hunches).

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Secondary data is outside information assembled by government agencies, industry and trade associations, labor unions, media sources, chambers of commerce, etc., and found in the form of pamphlets, newsletters, trade and other magazines, newspapers, and so on. It’s termed secondary data because the information has been gathered by another, or secondary, source. The benefits of this are obvious time and money are saved because you don’t have to develop survey methods or do the interviewing.

Secondary sources are divided into three main categories:

1. Public. Public sources are the most economical, as they’re usually free, and can offer a lot of good information. These sources are most typically governmental departments, business departments of public libraries, etc.
2. Commercial. Commercial sources are equally valuable, but usually involve costs such as subscription and association fees. However, you spend far less than you would if you hired a research team to collect the data firsthand. Commercial sources typically consist of research and trade assocations, organizations like SCORE (Society Corps of Retired Executives) and Dun & Bradstreet, banks and other financial institutions, publicly traded corporations, etc.
3. Educational. Educational institutions are frequently overlooked as viable information sources, yet there is more research conducted in colleges, universities, and polytechnic institutes than virtually any sector of the business community.

Government statistics are among the most plentiful and wide-ranging public sources of information. Start with the Census Bureau’s helpful Hidden Treasures Census Bureau Data and Where to Find It! In seconds, you’ll find out where to find federal and state information. Other government publications that are helpful include:

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Whether you’re just starting out or if you’ve been in business for years, you should always stay up-to-date with your market information. Here are the best methods for finding your data.
Compiled by Laura Tiffany

The purpose of market research is to provide relevant data that will help solve marketing problems a business will encounter. This is absolutely necessary in the start-up phase. Conducting thorough market surveys is the foundation of any successful business. In fact, strategies such as market segmentation (identifying specific segments within a market) and product differentiation (creating an identity for your product or service that separates it from your competitors’) would be impossible to develop without market research.

Whether you’re conducting market research using the historical, experimental, observational or survey method, you’ll be gathering two types of data. The first will be “primary” information that you will compile yourself or hire someone to gather. Most information, however, will be “secondary,” or already compiled and organized for you. Reports and studies done by government agencies, trade associations, or other businesses within your industry are examples of the latter. Search for them, and take advantage of them.

Primary Research
When conducting primary research using your own resources, there are basically two types of information that can be gathered: exploratory and specific. Exploratory research is open-ended in nature; helps you define a specific problem; and usually involves detailed, unstructured interviews in which lengthy answers are solicited from a small group of respondents. Specific research is broader in scope and is used to solve a problem that exploratory research has identified. Interviews are structured and formal in approach. Of the two, specific research is more expensive.

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What is a marketing plan and why is it so essential to the success of your business? Find out here, in the first section of this comprehensive guide to creating a marketing plan.
Compiled by: Laura Tiffany

It’s all well and good to include marketing your business on your master to-do list and allot a few hours each day to marketing tasks. But if you don’t organize your tasks and create a master plan, your efforts won’t get you nearly as far. Putting your marketing plan in writing gives you a guide to work from; it provides goals to strive for; and it organizes all those creative ideas you have floating around your brain.

To help you put your plan on paper, we’ve created this comprehensive guide. From the research stage to the formal elements, we’ve got all the information you need to create a marketing plan that works for you.

Firms that are successful in marketing invariably start with a marketing plan. Large companies have plans with hundreds of pages; small companies can get by with a half-dozen sheets. Put your marketing plan in a three-ring binder. Refer to it at least quarterly, but better yet monthly. Leave a tab for putting in monthly reports on sales/caseload; this will allow you to track performance as you follow the plan.

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This mediation specific marketing plan worksheet will help you define your target market and assess your competition and environment. Create and define marketing strategies to promote and maximize your marketing and advertising budget!

Download Golden Media Mediation Practice Marketing Plan now.