Snapshot of the current situation - Typically an overview of where you are now, featuring:

• Your strengths and weaknesses
• The opportunities and threats on the horizon
• Your target market and current share
• Your product/service offerings – take up and profitability
• The competitive challenges you are facing

 

Your objectives - What you want to achieve (preferably quantified) and by when -  market share? turnover/income growth? volume of new clients etc.  Our tips:

• Limit the objectives to no more than three
• Each objective should be SMART – specific, measurable, action-focused, realistic for you and set in a time parameter

 

Your strategy - A summary of how the objectives are likely to be achieved. Our tips:

• This shouldn’t go into too much detail
• It should give a general overview of the strategy to be adopted to achieve each objective – eg. Market development, product/service development, further market penetration, diversification…

 

Specific marketing activities - These are the specific activities that need to be done to achieve the strategy and objectives.  Our tip:

• This section should give more detail on what actions/activities are to be used and what they will involve.

 

Resources needed – the time, people, money involved ie the details of the timeframe expected for each activity, the people responsible and/or involved and budgets to be allocated.  Our tip:

• This is best summarised in a chart or table

 

Measurement and Review – This identifies the times and ways in which progress of the plan will be monitored and measured.  Our tips:

• It should include who will be involved in measuring output vs outcome
• Try to explain what outcomes are expected at which point of the plan’s implementation – so everyone has realistic expectations
• Try and build in a small degree of contingency planning eg. If x happens then we’ll adopt y strategy

 

The Plan’s Champion (Reporting Lines) - For plans that impact across different departments, give brief details of the individuals leading/championing various components of the plan. Our tips:

• This should clarify reporting lines and responsibilities
• It is best to have someone senior with overall responsibility for the whole thing and with the authority to challenge any underperformance.