Five Reasons to Have a Marketing Plan

Why every business — large or small, sole proprietorship or multi-employee corporation — should have one.

1. To Organize Progress Toward Long-Term Goals

On a practical level, a marketing plan can break down long-term objectives into incremental stages. As a result, what may have appeared a daunting and ambitious business goal can be seen as a series of smaller, achievable objectives.

In addition, quantifiable returns on marketing investments are notoriously difficult to appraise. A marketing plan allows for the tracking of the different phases of the plan and the tasks involved. The effectiveness of a task can be evaluated on an ongoing basis and not months later.

2. To Save Time and Money

Having a marketing plan allows for the reuse of key creative elements, such as graphics and text, and helps reduce duplication of effort. Additionally, it will form the foundation of the coming year's marketing needs. Then, as unforeseen marketing opportunities arise, new creative elements can be developed based on the existing material, without losing sight of the original business roadmap.

3. To Provide Focus and Promote Consistency

Constructing a marketing plan puts focus on the necessary requirements for the coming year and how those elements fit in with the overall business strategy. Being able to focus on the individual elements of the plan may promote consistency of message, which is crucial to the success of any marketing endeavor. Having a marketing plan may help ensure that the message customers receive is uniform and coherent.

4. To Help Formalize Ideas

Unimplemented business ideas are common and practically worthless. Once an idea is written down, it may begin to take shape and inspire action — provided it's a good idea. Putting marketing ideas on paper can aid with defining timelines and assigning responsibilities, and help build the momentum that is required to accomplish just about anything worthwhile.

5. For Flexibility and the Inclusion of New Ideas

A well-thought-out marketing plan allows for other ideas that materialize throughout the year to be considered with ease. Constant evaluation and reappraisal are vital to any marketing plan. New opportunities appear all the time. Rather than throw resources at them based on the hope that they will be effective in the marketplace, an existing marketing plan allows for new ideas to be evaluated and integrated effectively.

Constructing an effective marketing plan takes time. It should be the result of a comprehensive evaluation of all aspects of a business. However, once written, a marketing plan can be invaluable as an internal resource, as a motivating goal-setting tool, and as a way of projecting a consistent, effective message to prospective clients.