What should a marketing plan include?
The nine rows of the template are the parts that matter. Here is what each one means in practice.
1. A business goal with a number
"Grow the brand" is not a goal. "Get 600 qualified enquiries for our new showroom by March" is. Pick the one number that matters most to the business, such as enquiries, orders, new dealers or admissions.
2. Where you are now
Write down today's numbers before you plan anything new: enquiries per month, where they come from, what each one costs and how many turn into sales. If you don't have these numbers, finding them is the first task. A marketing audit does exactly this.
3. Your target buyer
Describe the real person who buys: their age or role, city, budget, how they search, who else influences them and what stops them buying. For a new market or product, a little market research saves a lot of wasted spend.
4. Your message
One clear reason to choose you, said the way a buyer would say it. For example, "fresh every morning, delivered by 9" is clearer than "premium quality bakery solutions".
5. Channels, each with one job
Choose a few channels and give each a job. For example: radio and outdoor make people aware, Google search catches people who are looking, Instagram shows the product, and WhatsApp follows up. Fewer channels done well beat many done badly.
6. Budget
Set a yearly total and split it by channel and by quarter. Keep some money aside to put behind whatever works best in the first quarter. The three common ways to set a budget are below.
7. Timeline
Plot your year month by month. In India, plan around festivals and seasons: admissions, the wedding season, Durga Puja and Diwali, year-end sales and the monsoon. Book media early for the busiest weeks.
8. Measurement
Choose a few numbers you'll track every month, such as enquiries, cost per enquiry, conversion to sale and repeat orders. Set a target for each. Give every channel a way to be counted, for example a separate phone number, a QR code or a tagged web link.
9. Owners and review dates
Name one owner for each part of the plan and fix the four quarterly review dates now, before the year starts.
Marketing plan example: a bakery chain in East India
A made-up example, to show how a filled-in one-page plan reads. It is not a PromotEdge client. For an industry version, see our digital marketing action plan for hotels.
| Section | Example |
|---|---|
| Business goal | Open 3 outlets in Siliguri and reach 1,200 orders a week across them by December |
| Where we are now | 8 outlets in Kolkata; most new customers come from walk-ins and Google Maps |
| Target buyer | Families and office-goers within 3 km of each outlet; they order for birthdays and evening snacks |
| Message | Fresh every morning, cakes ready in 2 hours, delivered in your area |
| Channels | Local radio for the launch month, Google Business Profile and search ads, Instagram, WhatsApp orders |
| Budget | A launch budget for the first quarter, then a smaller monthly amount; 20% held back for what works |
| Timeline | Launch before Durga Puja; birthday-cake push every month; Christmas and New Year specials |
| Measurement | Weekly orders per outlet, cost per first order, share of repeat orders |
| Owners and review | Marketing head owns the plan; reviews in January, April, July and October |
How do you set a marketing budget?
- Objective and task: work out what it takes to reach your goal (how many enquiries, at what cost each) and add it up. This is the most logical method, and we prefer it.
- Percentage of sales: set the budget as a share of current or expected revenue. It's simple, but it can starve marketing when sales dip, just when you need it.
- Matching competitors: look at what similar businesses spend. Useful as a check, risky as the only basis.
Whichever method you use, compare the result with what you can afford, and split it across channels by the job each one does. Our guide on how to split a marketing budget goes deeper, and choosing channels and amounts is the core of media planning.
What is the difference between a marketing plan and a marketing strategy?
The strategy is the big choice: which buyers you go after and why they should choose you. The plan is how you carry it out this year: the channels, budget, timeline and numbers. A plan without a strategy is a list of activities. A strategy without a plan is an idea that never happens.
Launching a new product or entering a new city needs both, which is what a go-to-market strategy covers.
Common mistakes in marketing plans
- Starting with channels. "We need Instagram" before deciding the goal and the buyer.
- No starting numbers. Without today's numbers you can't tell if the plan worked.
- Too many channels. Spreading a small budget thin so nothing gets enough to work.
- No budget for follow-up. Paying for enquiries and then not calling them back quickly.
- Writing it once and filing it. A plan that isn't reviewed every quarter stops being a plan.
- Ignoring the calendar. Missing festival and season windows that matter to your buyers.
For a shorter, digital-only version, see our 90-day digital marketing plan.
