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Building Strategic Marketing Plans

The first attempt at developing a strategic marketing plan can appear to be a daunting task. It does require a lot of thinking, communication, time, and effort. The good news is that once you’ve established the plan structure as well as controls and measurements to generate supporting data, the process becomes easier year after year and your plan grows more comprehensive and useful.

A strategic marketing plan truly is an ever-evolving document and your first is typically the worst. If you’re starting from scratch, develop as much of the plan as possible now and include initiatives in the next 12 months that will help you refine the planning process next year.

Sample Marketing Plan Outline

Here’s an easy way to organize the table of contents in your marketing plan:

I.	EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
	A.	Introduction
	B.	Overview of Situation Analysis
	C.	Overview of Products and Services
	D.	Summary of Objectives
	E.	Overview of Positioning and Key Strategies
	F.	Summary of Resource Requirements

II.	SITUATION ANALYSIS
	A.	Market Environment
		1.	Market Profile
		2.	Market Universe, Market Share and Growth, Supply and Demand
		3.	Market Dynamics and Trends
		4.	Competition and Pricing
	B.	Association Environment
		1.	Customer Profile
		2.	SWOT Analysis
		3.	Product and Service Information
			a.	Description
			b.	Features, Advantages, Benefits
			c.	Pricing, Sales, and Revenue Trends

III.	FORECASTS
	A.	Summary of Key Issues
	B.	Market Forecasts
	C.	Sales Forecasts

IV.	OBJECTIVES
	A.	Business Objectives
	B.	Marketing Objectives

V.	POSITIONING

VI.	STRATEGIES AND TACTICS

VII.	RESOURCE REQUIREMENTS
	A.	Staffing
	B.	Timing
	C.	Information Needs
	D.	Budget

VIII.	CONTROLS AND MEASUREMENTS

Excerpted with author permission from Smart Marketing for Associations: Marketing Plans That Work, by M. Michelle Poskaitis (2002, ASAE). This article first appeared in ASAE Executive IdeaLink.

Author of the ASAE best-selling book Smart Marketing for Associations: Marketing Plans That Work, M. Michelle Poskaitis’ expertise includes marketing planning, positioning, messaging and content development. A contributing writer and editor for association trade press, Michelle is CEO of Originations Marketing LLC and past chair of the ASAE Marketing Section Council. Contact: mmp@originations.net

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John Gunn Marketing Partners, LLC
Alexandria, Virginia
Phone: (703) 979-9223 Fax: (703) 979-7786
info@GunnMarketingPartners.com