Marketing 101: What a Marketing Plan Is, and Is Not

 

A marketing plan is a written roadmap that documents a company’s short and / or long-term objectives, the strategies and actions necessary to achieve them and the relevant data used to support its forecasts and conclusions.

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Marketing 101: Business Success Depends on Inputs and Processes

 

As the title suggests there are four essential “inputs” required for excellent marketing, which when combined with your actions, can literally make, or break, your business. They are:

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Marketing 101: Marketing Plan Strategies and Tactics

 

Being busy does not always mean real work. The object of all work is production or accomplishment and to either of these ends there must be forethought, system, planning, intelligence, and honest purpose, as well as perspiration. Seeming to do is not doing. Thomas A. Edison.

You’ll find that there are numerous marketing plan outlines to choose from… most are perfectly fine to use. Much of your decision will come down to personal preferences, so feel free to select one that meets your needs – as long as it contains the most important sections.

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Marketing 101: Begin With The End In Mind

 

‘Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?.’
‘That depends a good deal on where you want to get to’, said the Cat.
‘I don’t much care where‘, said Alice.
‘Then it doesn’t matter which way you go‘, said the Cat.
Excerpt from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll.

As the title of this article – a famous quote by Steven Covey – suggests it is enormously important that you define the best possible outcome of any activity before you begin – especially as it pertains to building, growing and sustaining a successful business.

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Mary Eule Scarborough, an unassailable marketing expert and thought leader, helps businesses of all sizes get and keep more profitable customers. She is also:

  • A former Fortune 500 marketing executive, …
  • The founder of two successful small businesses, …
  • An award-winning speaker, …
  • A Certified Guerrilla Marketing coach, and …
  • Co-author of three books (to-date): “The Procrastinator’s Guide to Marketing“, (Entrepreneur Press, November, 2007), “Mastering Online Marketing” (Entrepreneur Press, January, 2008), and “Guerrilla Marketing On The Internet” (Entrepreneur Press, July, 2008).
  • Qualified with a BA in Journalism / English from the University of Maryland, and …
  • Qualified with a Masters degree in marketing from The Johns Hopkins University.

Log onto her website: www.StrategicMarketingAdvisors.com for free marketing articles, tools, tips and templates…or to learn more about her books, products and services.