Behind every successful product or service is a well-researched marketing plan. A marketing plan guides a company step-by-step how to market its product or service to a specific target market and it helps a company remain focused on its marketing objectives.

The Marketing Plan defines all of the components of your marketing strategy. You will address the details of your market analysis, sales, advertising, and public relations campaigns. The Plan should also integrate traditional (offline) programs with new media (online) strategies.

Topics discussed in a Small Business Marketing Plan include:

1. Market Research

Collect, organize, and write down data about the market that is currently buying the product(s) or service(s) you will sell. (From now on we'll refer to your products or services as "product.")

Some areas to consider:

* Market dynamics, patterns including seasonality

* Customers-demographics, market segment, target markets, needs, buying decisions

* Product-what's out there now, what's the competition offering

* Current sales in the industry

* Benchmarks in the industry

* Suppliers-vendors that you will need to rely on

* Target Market-Find niche or target markets for your product and describe them

2. Product

Describe your product. How does your product relate to the market? What does your market need, what do they currently use, what do they need above and beyond current use?

3. Competition

Describe your competition. Develop your "unique selling proposition." What makes you stand apart from your competition? What is your competition doing about branding and positioning?

4. Mission Statement

Write a few sentences that state:

* "Key market" - who you're selling to

* "Contribution" - what you're selling

* "Distinction" - your unique selling proposition

5. Marketing Strategies

Write down the marketing and promotion strategies that you want to use or at least consider using.

Strategies to consider include:

* Networking-Go where your market is, Chamber of Commerce, BNI, etc.

* Direct marketing-Sales letters, brochures, postcards, flyers, etc.

* Advertising-Print media, directories, billboards, yellow pages, radio, TV

* Training programs-Seminars that you give to increase awareness

* Write articles, give advice, become known as an expert

* Direct/personal selling

* Publicity/press releases

* Trade shows

* Web site marketing (pay per click, search engine optimization)

* Referral programs

* Co-marketing with businesses that share your target market

* Barter

6. Pricing, Positioning and Branding

From the information collected, establish strategies for determining the price of your product, where your product will be positioned in the market and how you will achieve brand awareness.

7. Budget

Budget your dollars. What strategies can you afford? How much can you afford to spend per month?

8. Marketing Goals

Establish quantifiable marketing goals. This means goals that you can turn into numbers. For instance, your goal might be to gain at least 10 new clients each month or to generate 100 leads per month.

9. Monitor Your Results

Test and analyze. Identify the strategies that are working.

* Survey customers

* Track sales, leads, visitors to your web site, percent of sales to impressions

* Determine which marketing strategies are producing the most customers and which are producing the least customers

* Measure Return on Investment per each marketing activity