There are as many ways to write a marketing plan as there
are marketers in the business. Ultimately, each has to answer six fundamental
journalistic questions, that is, akin to the 5 Ws (and one H) taught in any undergrad journalism school: WHO am I selling to? WHAT am I selling? WHERE
will I sell it? WHEN will I sell it? WHY will they buy it? HOW will I reach my
customer?
WHO you are selling to is your demographic and
psychographic, who they are and what makes them tick. “Everyone” isn’t helpful.
Even products that have nearly 100% saturation identify their customers and
those customers’ unique reasons for buying.
WHAT you are selling is less obvious than simply naming the
product. It encompasses the reason the product was created, the problem it was
meant to solve.
WHERE you sell it is key to reaching the correct
demographic, above. You can’t reach the middle class at Tiffany’s, you can’t
reach the super-rich at Target. And you can’t reach anyone if the display and
packaging fails to engage the shopper.
WHEN you sell a
product is more than seasonality, it can also, and more often does, involve
identifying the ‘compelling event’ that triggers a desire for the product.
Experience, such as a burglary that precipitates a security system sale; information,
such as a health alert on the news the
encourages a purchase of a supplement are important to understand.
WHY will customers buy it? What alternative do they have?
What are the competitive, ‘substitution’ products? What do people do without
your product? What benefit does only your product offer? This is
oversimplifying a critical part of the plan, so take some time to really study
current and desired consumer behavior.
HOW will you reach them? This is the last part of the puzzle –
the tactics. The ads, the media, social outlets, PR, events. The marketing mix
that makes customers aware of and interested in your product or service.
The format and style of the marketing plan is not important.
As long as it addresses and honestly answers these critical questions, it will
improve your chances for success exponentially.
