Complete Structure of a Marketing Plan

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The marketing plan consists of different stages. Each of them must be reflected in the document so that you can make an accurate analysis of your environment and design the strategies that allow you to achieve your objectives. These are:

1. Description of the Situation
This is the phase where everything begins, as it is where you must describe the internal and external situation of your company.

In the case of the external situation, you must direct mail marketing for personal injury email list include the factors that, although they are beyond the control of your company, affect or may affect in some way its normal development. These include:

General environment
Economic, social, technological, cultural and political data, among others.

Sectoral environment
Description of niche tastes and interests, supplier analysis, etc.

Competitive environment
Identification and classification of direct and indirect competitors (substitute products/services).

Market
Consider the evolution of prices, segments and brands.

2. Relevant Data (SWOT Matrix)
To position your company in general terms, you must perform an analysis based on the SWOT matrix. Identifying your strengths and opportunities, as well as your weaknesses and threats, will allow you to anticipate actions and act proactively.

First, consider that opportunities and threats correspond to factors external to your organization, and strengths and weaknesses refer to the characteristics of your company.

Opportunities
These are elements with the potential to improve your business. They are positive aspects of the environment that you can take advantage of.

To identify opportunities, ask yourself, for example: Are there technological changes in the market that could benefit my business? Or, can the interest in superfoods benefit my store?

Threats
These are factors external to your company that could endanger it or affect your market share. They are in the negative quadrant of the matrix and must be checked regularly so that they do not take us by surprise.

To identify threats, ask yourself, for example, whether the current interest rate could affect your financing needs.

Strengths
These are the factors that you have in your company and that contribute or could contribute to its proper functioning : qualified human resources, solid financial resources, etc.

To identify them, ask yourself what your strengths are in terms of resources and production, even those that you are not taking advantage of.

Weaknesses
These are the things that your company lacks and that your competition does have available. It's about what you know you can improve.

To identify weaknesses, ask yourself why your price is higher than your competitors (if you compete on price); or what causes your customers to abandon their shopping carts on your website. The answers to these questions will help you overcome them.

To better illustrate this, I'll give you a simple example of the points that can appear in the SWOT matrix.

These factors were detected in a food production company:

Strengths: qualified and motivated staff, reputation, strategy.
Weaknesses: facilities with obsolete technology.
Opportunities: new suppliers in sight.
Threats: Entry of a new food company into the market.
3. Definition of the Target Audience
Who are you targeting? Who are your buyer personas?

Here, you simply need to describe your target audience based on demographics, age, gender, interests, behaviors, and other details you deem necessary to describe their personality and tailor your messages accordingly.

Here is an example of a makeup company. Their buyer persona is described as follows:

Women between 25 and 35 years old who live in Latin America, university students and professionals. They are interested in the latest trends in makeup. They use the Internet to check out video tutorials because they always want to look radiant.

4. Goal Setting
We emphasize the importance of correctly defining objectives according to the SMART technique.

“Increase makeup sales” is a statement that can cause frustration and disorientation for the team, as it leaves out several elements that make it measurable and verifiable.

“Increase sales of compact powder in our online store by 5% during the first quarter of 2024” is a statement that provides measurable elements and allows us to determine strategies and tasks to achieve them.