Marketing Plan

Students studying subjects related to advertising and business will often have to write a marketing plan as part of their coursework.  A sample marketing plan should include all of the basic parts of a real marketing plan, even if the marketing plan will never be executed.  Additionally, a marketing plan should also contain information about why the student used certain methods.  Sometimes, students may also have to execute the marketing plan for the class.

Basic marketing plans include the following sections: background about the product or service that is being marketing, budget for the plan, audience that the product or service is trying to market to, demographics about that audience, a step-by-step guideline for the execution of the marketing plan, and metrics for analyzing the effectiveness of the marketing plan.  

Many marketing plans also have phased launches.  For example, if a student is creating a marketing plan to launch a new product, the first phase might be to create interest about the product.  The second phase might be to introduce the product.  The first phase could be to provide examples of why the product is necessary.  The final phase might be to prove that the product works and has developed a track record.  

Students need to pay careful attention not only to providing details in their marketing plans, but they also need to pay attention to the presentation.  A professional marketing plan will include a cover page and be nicely bound.  The presentation should be printed on thick paper using color graphics throughout the plan.  These graphics may demonstrate facts about demographics or include other statistics.  

Marketing plans should always be developed to support brand awareness of a product or service.  Some marketing plans employ grass-roots methods, such as hosting demonstrations of a product or posting stickers around time.  Other marketing plans use social marketing methods, such as the use of online social networks to promote a product.  Many marketing plans use traditional marketing methods, such as advertising campaigns that include TV, radio, Web and newspaper advertisements.  

A marketing plan is not the same as an advertising plan.  A marketing plan provides a broad overview of how a product or service will be marketed.  These plans include statistical analysis of the product and market as well as goals for the overall marketing program.  However, an advertising campaign usually has a short-term goal of creating attention for a product or service by reaching out to customers.  Advertising campaigns are often integrated with marketing plans, but they are not the same.

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