What is a Marketing Plan?

A marketing plan is a comprehensive blueprint which outlines an organization's overall marketing strategy describing activities involved in achieving specific marketing objectives within a set timeframe.

A market plan begins with the identification (through market research) of specific customer needs and how the firm intends to fulfill them while generating an acceptable level of return. It generally includes analysis of the current market situation. The marketing plan basically aims to make the business provide the solution with the awareness with the expected customers.

A formal, written marketing plan is essential in that it provides an unambiguous reference point for activities throughout the planning period. However, perhaps the most important aspect of these plans is the planning process itself. This typically offers a unique opportunity, a forum, for information-rich and productively focused discussions between the various managers involved. Marketing plans tend to be diverse using various mediums and technologies along with direct and indirect means to communicate.