business plan vs marketing plan

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Marketing plan vs business plan: What’s the difference?

Marketing Plan

Marketing plan vs business plan: What’s the difference?

For business owners, nonprofit directors, and community group leaders, the process of writing a business plan or creating a marketing plan can seem intimidating. They may know the ins and outs of what they do every day and have fantastic ideas on how to grow and market their organizations, but the act of putting it on paper often feels like stepping into a world with opaque rules and confusing jargon.

Fortunately, the reality of both business and marketing plans is that they aren’t nearly as complicated as many people think. In fact, most business owners have written both without realizing it, even if only in an informal manner.

Creating a formal business or marketing plan uses a lot of the same steps business owners already take when sketching out new marketing ideas on a napkin or doing some quick back-of-the-envelope math to figure out how to expand into a new city.

But before moving forward with the process, it’s important to know which one you need. In other words, what’s the difference between a marketing plan and a business plan?

Create a marketing plan that works for your business with Jotform’s easy-to-use marketing form templates .

The biggest difference between a business plan and a marketing plan is the scope of what they cover. While both documents can be quite lengthy and thorough, they don’t address the exact same information.

A business plan is typically a much broader document that covers every aspect of your business: operations, supply chains, human resources, materials costs, and — yes — marketing. In fact, a marketing plan will usually be a section of a business plan.

Marketing plans tend to focus much more narrowly on the specifics of making customers aware of and likely to buy a product or service. A marketing plan may touch on some of the same things a business plan does, like the cost of goods sold, but only as they relate to being able to sell those goods to consumers.

Another key difference between the two is how far into the future they look. Business plans, for example, tend to cover a much longer period than marketing plans. A typical window for a business plan, for example, is about five years. A typical window for a marketing plan, on the other hand, will be a year to three years.

The two are updated differently as well. Business plans rarely need to be replaced or updated unless there’s a significant change in the business — a completely new product category, a new business model, or some global event that changes the way a company performs its core function.

Marketing plans are often updated every year. They tend to be part of the yearly budgeting activities that help business owners plan how they will allocate resources to various departments.

This makes sense when you think about it. Companies change their marketing much more often than they change their business model.

The reasons for creating a marketing plan and a business plan are often similar but not identical. Most often, business owners create both to secure financing. Banks and investors frequently ask for business and marketing plans before agreeing to loan money or invest in the company.

But external demands aren’t the only or even the most important reasons to write both kinds of plans. A business plan is a great way to formalize the ideas behind how and why a company works the way it does. It’s a fantastic way for business owners to put down on paper many of the things they’ve been intuitively doing, and cement processes and procedures for running a company.

Business plans are also great at helping you to prepare for future needs. By going through the exercise of writing a full business plan, business owners get an idea of where they are and what kinds of initiatives and resources they need to meet their goals.

Marketing plans are also incredibly useful internally. As we mentioned above, they are an important part of the annual budgeting process. Sitting down and thinking through all of the marketing needs can help both validate a company’s marketing initiatives as well as determine the ideal amount of money to allocate toward marketing.

The bottom line

A marketing plan is a part of a business plan. That’s the easiest way to remember the difference between the two. The business plan shapes everything about the way a company works, and lays out big-picture goals and ideas.

The marketing plan paints a more detailed picture of how the company will use marketing to achieve the goals laid out in the business plan. The marketing plan is department level and has to coexist with plans for other departments — HR, operations, legal and regulatory, and others.

Both plans are important in successfully running a company, but the business plan is more important because it will at least outline some marketing initiatives. For business owners who only have time to create one, the business plan is the logical choice.

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Business Plan vs. Marketing Plan

Back to Business Plans

Written by: Carolyn Young

Carolyn Young is a business writer who focuses on entrepreneurial concepts and the business formation. She has over 25 years of experience in business roles, and has authored several entrepreneurship textbooks.

Edited by: David Lepeska

David has been writing and learning about business, finance and globalization for a quarter-century, starting with a small New York consulting firm in the 1990s.

Published on March 3, 2023 Updated on December 11, 2023

Starting a business usually requires both a business plan and a marketing plan. The first has many components, including a marketing section, and covers all facets of the business. The second is essentially an expanded and more detailed version of the marketing section of your business plan.

Both are dynamic documents that will change over time as you learn more about your business. This guide lays out all the details of what goes into a business plan and what is in a marketing plan.

Business Plan Components

A business plan has eight essential components .

1. Executive Summary

The executive summary opens your business plan, but it’s the section you’ll write last . It summarizes the key points and highlights the most important aspects of your plan. Often investors and lenders will only read the executive summary; if it doesn’t capture their interest they’ll stop reading, so it’s important to make it as compelling as possible.

The components should include:

The business opportunity – what problem are you solving in the market?
Your idea, meaning the product or service you’re planning to offer, and why it solves the problem in the market better than other solutions.
The history of the business so far – what have you done to this point? When you’re just getting started, this may be nothing more than coming up with the idea, choosing a business name , and forming a business entity.
A summary of the industry, market size, your target customers, and the competition.
A strong statement about how your company is going to stand out in the market – what will be your competitive advantage?
A list of specific goals that you plan to achieve in the short term, such as developing your product, launching a marketing campaign, or hiring a key person.
A summary of your financial plan including cost and sales projections and a break-even analysis.
A summary of your management team, their roles, and the relevant experience that they have to serve in those roles.
Your “ask”, if applicable, meaning what you’re requesting from the investor or lender. You’ll include the amount you’d like and how it will be spent, such as “We are seeking $50,000 in seed funding to develop our beta product”.

Remember that if you’re seeking capital, the executive summary could make or break your venture. Take your time and make sure it illustrates how your business is unique in the market and why you’ll succeed.

The executive summary should be no more than two pages long, so it’s important to capture the reader’s interest from the start.

2. Company Description/Overview

In this section, you’ll detail your full company history, such as how you came up with the idea for your business and any milestones or achievements.

You’ll also include your mission and vision statements. A mission statement explains what you’d like your business to achieve, its driving force, while a vision statement lays out your long-term plan in terms of growth.

A mission statement might be “Our company aims to make life easier for business owners with intuitive payroll software”, while a vision statement could be “Our objective is to become the go-to comprehensive HR software provider for companies around the globe.”

In this section, you’ll want to list your objectives – specific short-term goals. Examples might include “complete initial product development by ‘date’” or “hire two qualified sales people” or “launch the first version of the product”.

It’s best to divide this section into subsections – company history, mission and vision, and objectives.

3. Products or Services Offered

Here you’ll go into detail about what you’re offering, how it solves a problem in the market, and how it’s unique. Don’t be afraid to share information that is proprietary – investors and lenders are not out to steal your ideas.

Also specify how your product is developed or sourced. Are you manufacturing it or does it require technical development? Are you purchasing a product from a manufacturer or wholesaler?

You’ll also want to specify how you’ll sell your product or service. Will it be a subscription service or a one-time purchase? What is your target pricing? On what channels do you plan to sell your product or service, such as online or by direct sales in a store?

Basically, you’re describing what you’re going to sell and how you’ll make money.

4. Market Analysis

The market analysis is where you’re going to spend most of your time because it involves a lot of research. You should divide it into four sections.

Industry analysis

Research and describe exactly what’s happening in your industry, such as growth rate, market size, and current trends. Where is the industry predicted to be in 10 years? Provide links to your sources.

Detail your company’s place in the market. Will your product fit a certain niche? Is there a sub-industry your company will fit into? How will you keep up with industry changes?

Competitor analysis

Now you’ll dig into your competition. Detail your main competitors and how they differentiate themselves in the market. For example, one competitor may advertise convenience while another touts superior quality. Also highlight your competitors’ weaknesses.

Next, explain how you’ll stand out. Detail your competitive advantages and how you’ll sustain them. This section is extremely important and will be a focus for investors and lenders.

Target market analysis

Here you’ll describe your target market and whether it’s different from your competitors’. For example, maybe you have a younger demographic in mind?

You’ll need to know more about your target market than demographics, though. You’ll want to explain the needs and wants of your ideal customers, how your offering solves their problem, and why they will choose your company.

You should also lay out where you’ll find them, where to place your marketing and where to sell your products. Learning this kind of detail requires going to the source – your potential customers. You can do online surveys or even in-person focus groups.

Your goal will be to uncover as much about these people as possible. When you start selling, you’ll want to keep learning about your customers. You may end up selling to a different target market than you originally thought, which could lead to a marketing shift.

SWOT analysis

SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, and it’s one of the more common and helpful business planning tools.

First describe all the specific strengths of your company, such as the quality of your product or some unique feature, such as the experience of your management team. Talk about the elements that will make your company successful.

Next, acknowledge and explore possible weaknesses. You can’t say “none”, because no company is perfect, especially at the start. Maybe you lack funds or face a massive competitor. Whatever it is, detail how you will surmount this hurdle.

Next, talk about the opportunities your company has in the market. Perhaps you’re going to target an underserved segment, or have a technology plan that will help you surge past the competition.

Finally, examine potential threats. It could be a competitor that might try to replicate your product or rapidly advancing technology in your industry. Again, discuss your plans to handle such threats if they come to pass.

5. Marketing and Sales Strategies

Now it’s time to explain how you’re going to find potential customers and convert them into paying customers.

Marketing and advertising plan

When you did your target market analysis, you should have learned a lot about your potential customers, including where to find them. This should help you determine where to advertise.

Maybe you found that your target customers favor TikTok over Instagram and decided to spend more marketing dollars on TikTok. Detail all the marketing channels you plan to use and why.

Your target market analysis should also have given you information about what kind of message will resonate with your target customers. You should understand their needs and wants and how your product solves their problem, then convey that in your marketing.

Start by creating a value proposition, which should be no more than two sentences long and answer the following questions:

What are you offering
Whose problem does it solve
What problem does it solve
What benefits does it provide
How is it better than competitor products

An example might be “Payroll software that will handle all the payroll needs of small business owners, making life easier for less.”

Whatever your value proposition, it should be at the heart of all of your marketing.

Sales strategy and tactics

Your sales strategy is a vision to persuade customers to buy, including where you’ll sell and how. For example, you may plan to sell only on your own website, or you may sell from both a physical location and online.

On the other hand, you may have a sales team that will make direct sales calls to potential customers, which is more common in business-to-business sales. Sales tactics are more about how you’re going to get them to buy after they reach your sales channel.

Even when selling online, you need something on your site that’s going to get them to go from a site visitor to a paying customer. By the same token, if you’re going to have a sales team making direct sales, what message are they going to deliver that will entice a sale?

It’s best for sales tactics to focus on the customer’s pain point and what value you’re bringing to the table, rather than being aggressively promotional about the greatness of your product.

Pricing strategy

Pricing is not an exact science and should depend on several factors. First, consider how you want your product or service to be perceived in the market. If your differentiator is to be the lowest price, position your company as the “discount” option.

Think Walmart, and price your products lower than the competition. If, on the other hand, you want to be the Mercedes of the market, then you’ll position your product as the luxury option.

Of course you’ll have to back this up with superior quality, but being the luxury option allows you to command higher prices. You can, of course, fall somewhere in the middle, but the point is that pricing is a matter of perception.

How you position your product in the market compared to the competition is a big factor in determining your price. Of course, you’ll have to consider your costs, as well as competitor prices. Obviously, your prices must cover your costs and allow you to make a good profit.

Whatever pricing strategy you choose, you’ll justify it in this section of your plan.

6. Operations and Management

This section is the real nuts and bolts of your business – how it operates on a day-to-day basis and who is operating it. Again, this section should be divided into subsections.

Operational plan

Your plan of operations should be specific , detailed and mainly logistical. Who will be doing what on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis? How will the business be managed and how will quality be assured? Be sure to detail your suppliers and how and when you’ll order raw materials.

This should also include the roles that will be filled and the various processes that will be part of everyday business operations. Just consider all the critical functions that must be handled for your business to be able to operate on an ongoing basis.

Technology plan

If your product involves technical development, you’ll describe your tech development plan with specific goals and milestones. The plan will also include how many people will be working on this development, and what needs to be done for goals to be met.

If your company is not a technology company, you’ll describe what technologies you plan to use to run your business or make your business more efficient. It could be process automation software, payroll software, or just laptops and tablets for your staff.

Management and organizational structure

Now you’ll describe who’s running the show. It may be just you when you’re starting out, so you’ll detail what your role will be and summarize your background. You’ll also go into detail about any managers that you plan to hire and when that will occur.

Essentially, you’re explaining your management structure and detailing why your strategy will enable smooth and efficient operations.

Ideally, at some point, you’ll have an organizational structure that is a hierarchy of your staff. Describe what you envision your organizational structure to be.

Personnel plan

Detail who you’ve hired or plan to hire and for which roles. For example, you might have a developer, two sales people, and one customer service representative.

Describe each role and what qualifications are needed to perform those roles.

7. Financial Plan

Now, you’ll enter the dreaded world of finance. Many entrepreneurs struggle with this part, so you might want to engage a financial professional to help. A financial plan has five key elements.

Startup Costs

Detail in a spreadsheet every cost you’ll incur before you open your doors. This should determine how much capital you’ll need to launch your business.

Financial projections

Creating financial projections, like many facets of business, is not an exact science. If your company has no history, financial projections can only be an educated guess.

First, come up with realistic sales projections. How much do you expect to sell each month? Lay out at least three years of sales projections, detailing monthly sales growth for the first year, then annually thereafter.

Calculate your monthly costs, keeping in mind that some costs will grow along with sales. Once you have your numbers projected and calculated, use them to create these three key financial statements:

Profit and Loss Statement , also known as an income statement. This shows projected revenue and lists all costs, which are then deducted to show net profit or loss.
Cash Flow Statement. This shows how much cash you have on hand at any given time. It will have a starting balance, projections of cash coming in, and cash going out, which will be used to calculate cash on hand at the end of the reporting period.
Balance Sheet. This shows the net worth of the business, which is the assets of the business minus debts. Assets include equipment, cash, accounts receivables, inventory, and more. Debts include outstanding loan balances and accounts payable.

You’ll need monthly projected versions of each statement for the first year, then annual projections for the following two years.

Break-even analysis

The break-even point for your business is when costs and revenue are equal. Most startups operate at a loss for a period of time before they break even and start to make a profit. Your break-even analysis will project when your break-even point will occur, and will be informed by your profit and loss statement.

Funding requirements and sources

Lay out the funding you’ll need, when, and where you’ll get it. You’ll also explain what those funds will be used for at various points. If you’re in a high-growth industry that can attract investors, you’ll likely need various rounds of funding to launch and grow.

Key performance indicators (KPIs)

KPIs measure your company’s performance and can determine success. Many entrepreneurs only focus on the bottom line, but measuring specific KPIs helps find areas of improvement. Every business has certain crucial metrics.

If you sell only online, one of your key metrics might be your visitor conversion rate. You might do an analysis to learn why just one out of ten site visitors makes a purchase. Perhaps the purchase process is too complicated or your product descriptions are vague.

Learning why your conversion rate is low gives you a chance to improve it and boost sales.

8. Appendices

In the appendices you can attach documents such as manager resumes or other documents that support your business plan.

Marketing Plan Components

A marketing plan, as mentioned above, is a more detailed version of the marketing strategy section of your business plan. It includes six components.

1. Marketing Objectives

Start by detailing your short-term marketing goals. This could be “Reach 10,000 monthly site visitors by next year’” or “Acquire 500 new customers by May”. Be sure to set clear and attainable goals so your marketing team understands its targets.

2. Target Market

You’ll want to document exactly who you’re trying to reach with your marketing. You should’ve already done a target market analysis for your business plan, and you’ll use it here.

What Problem Are You Solving?

Whatever your product or service, it needs to solve a problem in the market. So, ask yourself, what problem does my business solve? Next, consider who faces that problem.

A plumbing company, for instance, solves the problem of broken pipes. Who deals with that problem? Homeowners and property owners and managers.

Depending on your business, it may not be obvious who has the problem you’re solving. If it’s not clear, do more research. Either way, knowing who faces the problem you’re solving is just the beginning. You need to know much more about your target customers.

Research Your Market and Competition

Now, dig into your market with some online research. Do some Google and Bing searches about your target demographic, where they shop and live, what appeals to them and so on.

Next, check out your competition to see who they’re marketing to. It may help to study their marketing through the eyes of a consumer.

What need do they fill? Who would find their marketing appealing? Where do they advertise? If their ads appear on TikTok, they’re looking to attract a younger market.

This market research should give you a general profile of your target market – but that’s not enough.

Talk to Potential Customers

To learn more about your target market, go straight to the source. The best way to learn their needs and wants, why they’d buy your product and how they’ll use it, is to ask them via a phone or email survey.

If you’ve yet to make any sales, it’s probably best to post your survey online then promote it on social media by offering a small reward, such as a gift certificate. Just make sure you ask the right questions to get the information you’re looking for.

You can also hold in-person focus groups and offer your goods at a discount for participants.

Create Customer Profiles

Now it’s time to build detailed profiles of your target customers. You may have found that your product will appeal to more than one group of people. These are called customer segments, and all your segments together make up your target market.

Create descriptions of each group with all the information you’re learned. These profiles should include:

Pain points: the problems they have that you’re solving
Benefits your product provides
Their interests: what do they care about?
Buying patterns: where do they shop?
Age, location, income level, other factual information

3. Value Proposition

Now you can use these profiles to craft a value proposition that will serve as the foundation of all your marketing. You may need to devise more than one value proposition to target different segments.

Your value propositions should be no more than two sentences long and answer the following questions:

How is it better than competitors’ products

An example might be “Payroll software that handles all the payroll needs of small business owners, making life easier for less.”

Remember that you need to align your value proposition with the wishes of your target market.

4. Marketing Activities

Now you’ll layout the specific marketing activities that you plan to conduct. Your target market analysis should have told you where you’re most likely to find potential customers, so if you found out that your potential customers use TikTok, you can post and run ads there.

You’ll want to only perform the marketing activities that are most likely to reach your potential customers so that you’re not wasting marketing dollars. If getting found online is important to you, focus on search engine optimization (SEO) and social media ads.

Make the activities as specific as possible, such as “Run a TikTok ad promoting ____ for three months.”

5. Marketing Budget

Now, determine what these activities will cost and set a budget. When you go through this process, you may find that you need to adjust your marketing to stick to the budget you can afford.

Your marketing budget needs to align with your goals. If one of your goals is to obtain 500 new customers, which will generate $10,000 in revenue, you can’t spend more than that on marketing. You have to make sure you’re getting a good return on your investment, or at least breaking even.

Now you’ll determine your key performance indicators (KPIs) to gauge the success of your marketing.

If you sell only online, one of your key marketing metrics might be your visitor conversion rate. You might do an analysis to learn why just one out of ten site visitors makes a purchase.

Perhaps the purchase process is too complicated or your product descriptions are vague. The point is, learning why your conversion rate is low gives you a chance to improve it and boost sales.

Similarly, if you’re not getting enough site visitors, you may need to revisit your SEO strategies.

A business plan outlines the overall mission, objectives, and strategies of a business, encompassing aspects like operations, finances, and organizational structure.

In contrast, a marketing plan focuses specifically on strategies and tactics to promote products or services, detailing target audiences, promotional methods, and market positioning.

While the business plan provides a comprehensive view of the entire business, the marketing plan hones in on attracting and retaining customers.

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What is a Marketing Plan & How to Write One [+Examples]

Published: December 27, 2023

For a while now, you've been spearheading your organization's content marketing efforts, and your team's performance has convinced management to adopt the content marketing strategies you’ve suggested.

Now, your boss wants you to write and present a content marketing plan, but you‘ve never done something like that before. You don't even know where to start.

Fortunately, we've curated the best content marketing plans to help you write a concrete plan that's rooted in data and produces results. But first, we'll discuss what a marketing plan is and how some of the best marketing plans include strategies that serve their respective businesses.

What is a marketing plan?

A marketing plan is a strategic roadmap that businesses use to organize, execute, and track their marketing strategy over a given period. Marketing plans can include different marketing strategies for various marketing teams across the company, all working toward the same business goals.

The purpose of a marketing plan is to write down strategies in an organized manner. This will help keep you on track and measure the success of your campaigns.

Writing a marketing plan will help you think of each campaign‘s mission, buyer personas, budget, tactics, and deliverables. With all this information in one place, you’ll have an easier time staying on track with a campaign. You'll also discover what works and what doesn't. Thus, measuring the success of your strategy.

Featured Resource: Free Marketing Plan Template

Looking to develop a marketing plan for your business? Click here to download HubSpot's free Marketing Plan Template to get started .

To learn more about how to create your marketing plan, keep reading or jump to the section you’re looking for:

How to Write a Marketing Plan

Types of marketing plans, marketing plan examples, marketing plan faqs, sample marketing plan.

If you're pressed for time or resources, you might not be thinking about a marketing plan. However, a marketing plan is an important part of your business plan.

Marketing Plan vs. Business Plan

A marketing plan is a strategic document that outlines marketing objectives, strategies, and tactics.

A business plan is also a strategic document. But this plan covers all aspects of a company's operations, including finance, operations, and more. It can also help your business decide how to distribute resources and make decisions as your business grows.

I like to think of a marketing plan as a subset of a business plan; it shows how marketing strategies and objectives can support overall business goals.

Keep in mind that there's a difference between a marketing plan and a marketing strategy.

Free Marketing Plan Template

Outline your company's marketing strategy in one simple, coherent plan.

Pre-Sectioned Template
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You're all set!

Click this link to access this resource at any time.

Marketing Strategy vs. Marketing Plan

A marketing strategy describes how a business will accomplish a particular goal or mission. This includes which campaigns, content, channels, and marketing software they'll use to execute that mission and track its success.

For example, while a greater plan or department might handle social media marketing, you might consider your work on Facebook as an individual marketing strategy.

A marketing plan contains one or more marketing strategies. It's the framework from which all of your marketing strategies are created and helps you connect each strategy back to a larger marketing operation and business goal.

For example, suppose your company is launching a new software product, and it wants customers to sign up. The marketing department needs to develop a marketing plan that'll help introduce this product to the industry and drive the desired signups.

The department decides to launch a blog dedicated to this industry, a new YouTube video series to establish expertise, and an account on Twitter to join the conversation around this subject. All this serves to attract an audience and convert this audience into software users.

To summarize, the business's marketing plan is dedicated to introducing a new software product to the marketplace and driving signups for that product. The business will execute that plan with three marketing strategies : a new industry blog, a YouTube video series, and a Twitter account.

Of course, the business might consider these three things as one giant marketing strategy, each with its specific content strategies. How granular you want your marketing plan to get is up to you. Nonetheless, every marketing plan goes through a particular set of steps in its creation.

Learn what they are below.

State your business's mission.
Determine the KPIs for this mission.
Identify your buyer personas.
Describe your content initiatives and strategies.
Clearly define your plan's omissions.
Define your marketing budget.
Identify your competition.
Outline your plan's contributors and their responsibilities.

1. State your business's mission.

Your first step in writing a marketing plan is to state your mission. Although this mission is specific to your marketing department, it should serve your business‘s main mission statement.

From my experience, you want to be specific, but not too specific. You have plenty of space left in this marketing plan to elaborate on how you'll acquire new customers and accomplish this mission.

Need help building your mission statement? Download this guide for examples and templates and write the ideal mission statement.

2. Determine the KPIs for this mission.

Every good marketing plan describes how the department will track its mission‘s progress. To do so, you need to decide on your key performance indicators (KPIs) .

KPIs are individual metrics that measure the various elements of a marketing campaign. These units help you establish short-term goals within your mission and communicate your progress to business leaders.

Let's take our example of a marketing mission from the above step. If part of our mission is “to attract an audience of travelers,” we might track website visits using organic page views. In this case, “organic page views” is one KPI, and we can see our number of page views grow over time.

These KPIs will come into the conversation again in step 4.

3. Identify your buyer personas.

A buyer persona is a description of who you want to attract. This can include age, sex, location, family size, and job title. Each buyer persona should directly reflect your business's current and potential customers. So, all business leaders must agree on your buyer personas.

Create your buyer personas with this free guide and set of buyer persona templates.

4. Describe your content initiatives and strategies.

Here's where you'll include the main points of your marketing and content strategy. Because there's a laundry list of content types and channels available to you today, you must choose wisely and explain how you'll use your content and channels in this section of your marketing plan.

When I write this section , I like to stipulate:

Which types of content I'll create. These might include blog posts, YouTube videos, infographics, and ebooks.
How much of it I'll create. I typically describe content volume in daily, weekly, monthly, or even quarterly intervals. It all depends on my workflow and the short-term goals for my content.
The goals (and KPIs) I'll use to track each type. KPIs can include organic traffic, social media traffic, email traffic, and referral traffic. Your goals should also include which pages you want to drive that traffic to, such as product pages, blog pages, or landing pages.
The channels on which I'll distribute my content. Popular channels include Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Pinterest, and Instagram.
Any paid advertising that will take place on these channels.

Build out your marketing plan with this free template.

Fill out this form to access the template., 5. clearly define your plan's omissions..

A marketing plan explains the marketing team's focus. It also explains what the marketing team will not focus on.

If there are other aspects of your business that you aren't serving in this particular plan, include them in this section. These omissions help to justify your mission, buyer personas, KPIs, and content. You can’t please everyone in a single marketing campaign, and if your team isn't on the hook for something, you need to make it known.

In my experience, this section is particularly important for stakeholders to help them understand why certain decisions were made.

6. Define your marketing budget.

Whether it's freelance fees, sponsorships, or a new full-time marketing hire, use these costs to develop a marketing budget and outline each expense in this section of your marketing plan.

You can establish your marketing budget with this kit of 8 free marketing budget templates .

7. Identify your competition.

Part of marketing is knowing whom you're marketing against. Research the key players in your industry and consider profiling each one.

Keep in mind not every competitor will pose the same challenges to your business. For example, while one competitor might be ranking highly on search engines for keywords you want your website to rank for, another competitor might have a heavy footprint on a social network where you plan to launch an account.

Easily track and analyze your competitors with t his collection of ten free competitive analysis templates .

8. Outline your plan's contributors and their responsibilities.

With your marketing plan fully fleshed out, it's time to explain who’s doing what. I don't like to delve too deeply into my employees’ day-to-day projects, but I know which teams and team leaders are in charge of specific content types, channels, KPIs, and more.

Now that you know why you need to build an effective marketing plan, it’s time to get to work. Starting a plan from scratch can be overwhelming if you haven't done it before. That’s why there are many helpful resources that can support your first steps. We’ll share some of the best guides and templates that can help you build effective results-driven plans for your marketing strategies.

Ready to make your own marketing plan? Get started using this free template.

Depending on the company you work with, you might want to create various marketing plans. We compiled different samples to suit your needs:

1. Quarterly or Annual Marketing Plans

These plans highlight the strategies or campaigns you'll take on in a certain period.

Forbes published a marketing plan template that has amassed almost 4 million views. To help you sculpt a marketing roadmap with true vision, their template will teach you how to fill out the 15 key sections of a marketing plan, which are:

Executive Summary
Target Customers
Unique Selling Proposition
Pricing & Positioning Strategy
Distribution Plan
Your Offers
Marketing Materials
Promotions Strategy
Online Marketing Strategy
Conversion Strategy
Joint Ventures & Partnerships
Referral Strategy
Strategy for Increasing Transaction Prices
Retention Strategy
Financial Projections

If you're truly lost on where to start with a marketing plan, I highly recommend using this guide to help you define your target audience, figure out how to reach them, and ensure that audience becomes loyal customers.

2. Social Media Marketing Plan

This type of plan highlights the channels, tactics, and campaigns you intend to accomplish specifically on social media. A specific subtype is a paid marketing plan, which highlights paid strategies, such as native advertising, PPC, or paid social media promotions.

Shane Snow's Marketing Plan for His Book Dream Team is a great example of a social media marketing plan:

When Shane Snow started promoting his new book, "Dream Team," he knew he had to leverage a data-driven content strategy framework. So, he chose his favorite one: the content strategy waterfall. The content strategy waterfall is defined by Economic Times as a model used to create a system with a linear and sequential approach.

Snow wrote a blog post about how the waterfall‘s content strategy helped him launch his new book successfully. After reading it, you can use his tactics to inform your own marketing plan. More specifically, you’ll learn how he:

Applied his business objectives to decide which marketing metrics to track.
Used his ultimate business goal of earning $200,000 in sales or 10,000 purchases to estimate the conversion rate of each stage of his funnel.
Created buyer personas to figure out which channels his audience would prefer to consume his content.
Used his average post view on each of his marketing channels to estimate how much content he had to create and how often he had to post on social media.
Calculated how much earned and paid media could cut down the amount of content he had to create and post.
Designed his process and workflow, built his team, and assigned members to tasks.
Analyzed content performance metrics to refine his overall content strategy.

I use Snow's marketing plan to think more creatively about my content promotion and distribution plan. I like that it's linear and builds on the step before it, creating an air-tight strategy that doesn't leave any details out.

3. Content Marketing Plan

This plan could highlight different strategies, tactics, and campaigns in which you'll use content to promote your business or product.

HubSpot's Comprehensive Guide for Content Marketing Strategy is a strong example of a content marketing plan:

marketing plan examples: hubspot content marketing plan

At HubSpot, we‘ve built our marketing team from two business school graduates working from a coffee table to a powerhouse of hundreds of employees. Along the way, we’ve learned countless lessons that shaped our current content marketing strategy. So, we decided to illustrate our insights in a blog post to teach marketers how to develop a successful content marketing strategy, regardless of their team's size.

In this comprehensive guide for modern marketers, you'll learn:

What exactly content marketing is.
Why your business needs a content marketing strategy.
Who should lead your content marketing efforts?
How to structure your content marketing team based on your company's size.
How to hire the right people for each role on your team.
What marketing tools and technology you'll need to succeed.
What type of content your team should create, and which employees should be responsible for creating them.
The importance of distributing your content through search engines, social media, email, and paid ads.
And finally, the recommended metrics each of your teams should measure and report to optimize your content marketing program.

This is a fantastic resource for content teams of any size — whether you're a team of one or 100. It includes how to hire and structure a content marketing team, what marketing tools you'll need, what type of content you should create, and even recommends what metrics to track for analyzing campaigns. If you're aiming to establish or boost your online presence, leveraging tools like HubSpot's drag-and-drop website builder can be extremely beneficial. It helps you create a captivating digital footprint that sets the foundation for your content marketing endeavors.

4. New Product Launch Marketing Plan

This will be a roadmap for the strategies and tactics you‘ll implement to promote a new product. And if you’re searching for an example, look no further than Chief Outsiders' Go-To-Market Plan for a New Product :

marketing plan examples: chief outsiders

After reading this plan, you'll learn how to:

Validate a product
Write strategic objectives
Identify your market
Compile a competitive landscape
Create a value proposition for a new product
Consider sales and service in your marketing plan

If you're looking for a marketing plan for a new product, the Chief Outsiders template is a great place to start. Marketing plans for a new product will be more specific because they target one product versus its entire marketing strategy.

5. Growth Marketing Plan

Growth marketing plans use experimentation and data to drive results, like we see in Venture Harbour’s Growth Marketing Plan Template :

marketing plan examples: venture harbour

Venture Harbour's growth marketing plan is a data-driven and experiment-led alternative to the more traditional marketing plan. Their template has five steps intended for refinement with every test-measure-learn cycle. The five steps are:

Experiments

I recommend this plan if you want to experiment with different platforms and campaigns. Experimentation always feels risky and unfamiliar, but this plan creates a framework for accountability and strategy.

Louisville Tourism
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Visit Oxnard
Safe Haven Family Shelter
Wright County Economic Development
The Cultural Council of Palm Beach County
Cabarrus County Convention and Visitors Bureau
Visit Billings

1. Louisville Tourism

It also divides its target market into growth and seed categories to allow for more focused strategies. For example, the plan recognizes Millennials in Chicago, Atlanta, and Nashville as the core of it's growth market, whereas people in Boston, Austin, and New York represent seed markets where potential growth opportunities exist. Then, the plan outlines objectives and tactics for reaching each market.

Why This Marketing Plan Works

The plan starts with a letter from the President & CEO of the company, who sets the stage for the plan by providing a high-level preview of the incoming developments for Louisville's tourism industry
The focus on Louisville as "Bourbon City" effectively leverages its unique cultural and culinary attributes to present a strong brand
Incorporates a variety of data points from Google Analytics, Arrivalist, and visitor profiles to to define their target audience with a data-informed approach

2. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

For example, students who become prospects as freshman and sophomore will receive emails that focus on getting the most out of high school and college prep classes. Once these students become juniors and seniors — thus entering the consideration stage — the emails will focus more on the college application process and other exploratory content.

The plan incorporates competitive analysis, evaluation surveys, and other research to determine the makeup of its target audience
The plan lists each marketing program (e.g., direct mail, social media, email etc.) and supplements it with examples on the next page
Each marketing program has its own objectives, tactics, and KPIs for measuring success

3. Visit Oxnard

This marketing plan by Visit Oxnard, a convention and visitors bureau, is packed with all the information one needs in a marketing plan: target markets, key performance indicators, selling points, personas, marketing tactics by channel, and much more.

It also articulates the organization’s strategic plans for the upcoming fiscal year, especially as it grapples with the aftereffects of the pandemic. Lastly, it has impeccable visual appeal, with color-coded sections and strong branding elements.

States clear and actionable goals for the coming year
Includes data and other research that shows how their team made their decisions
Outlines how the team will measure the success of their plan

4. Safe Haven Family Shelter

marketing plan examples: safe haven family shelter

This marketing plan by a nonprofit organization is an excellent example to follow if your plan will be presented to internal stakeholders at all levels of your organization. It includes SMART marketing goals , deadlines, action steps, long-term objectives, target audiences, core marketing messages , and metrics.

The plan is detailed, yet scannable. By the end of it, one can walk away with a strong understanding of the organization’s strategic direction for its upcoming marketing efforts.

Confirms ongoing marketing strategies and objectives while introducing new initiatives
Uses colors, fonts, and formatting to emphasize key parts of the plan
Closes with long-term goals, key themes, and other overarching topics to set the stage for the future

5. Wright County Economic Development

Wright County Economic Development’s plan drew our attention because of its simplicity, making it good inspiration for those who’d like to outline their plan in broad strokes without frills or filler.

It includes key information such as marketing partners, goals, initiatives, and costs. The sections are easy to scan and contain plenty of information for those who’d like to dig into the details. Most important, it includes a detailed breakdown of projected costs per marketing initiative — which is critical information to include for upper-level managers and other stakeholders.

Begins with a quick paragraph stating why the recommended changes are important
Uses clear graphics and bullet points to emphasize key points
Includes specific budget data to support decision-making

6. The Cultural Council of Palm Beach County

marketing plan examples: cultural council of palm beach county

This marketing plan presentation by a cultural council is a great example of how to effectively use data in your plan, address audiences who are new to the industry, and offer extensive detail into specific marketing strategies.

For instance, an entire slide is dedicated to the county’s cultural tourism trends, and at the beginning of the presentation, the organization explains what an arts and culture agency is in the first place.

That’s a critical piece of information to include for those who might not know. If you’re addressing audiences outside your industry, consider defining terms at the beginning, like this organization did.

Uses quality design and images to support the goals and priorities in the text
Separate pages for each big idea or new strategy
Includes sections for awards and accomplishments to show how the marketing plan supports wider business goals
Defines strategies and tactics for each channel for easy skimming

7. Cabarrus County Convention & Visitors Bureau

marketing plan examples: carrabus county

Cabarrus County’s convention and visitors bureau takes a slightly different approach with its marketing plan, formatting it like a magazine for stakeholders to flip through. It offers information on the county’s target audience, channels, goals, KPIs, and public relations strategies and initiatives.

We especially love that the plan includes contact information for the bureau’s staff members, so that it’s easy for stakeholders to contact the appropriate person for a specific query.

Uses infographics to expand on specific concepts, like how visitors benefit a community
Highlights the team members responsible for each initiative with a photo to emphasize accountability and community
Closes with an event calendar for transparency into key dates for events

8. Visit Billings

Visit Billing’s comprehensive marketing plan is like Cabarrus County’s in that it follows a magazine format. With sections for each planned strategy, it offers a wealth of information and depth for internal stakeholders and potential investors.

We especially love its content strategy section, where it details the organization’s prior efforts and current objectives for each content platform.

At the end, it includes strategic goals and budgets — a good move to imitate if your primary audience would not need this information highlighted at the forefront.

Includes a section on the buyer journey, which offers clarity on the reasoning for marketing plan decisions
Design includes call-outs for special topics that could impact the marketing audience, such as safety concerns or "staycations"
Clear headings make it easy to scan this comprehensive report and make note of sections a reader may want to return to for more detail

What is a typical marketing plan?

In my experience, most marketing plans outline the following aspects of a business's marketing:

Target audience

Each marketing plan should include one or more goals, the path your team will take to meet those goals, and how you plan to measure success.

For example, if I were a tech startup that's launching a new mobile app, my marketing plan would include:

Target audience or buyer personas for the app
Outline of how app features meet audience needs
Competitive analysis
Goals for conversion funnel and user acquisition
Marketing strategies and tactics for user acquisition

Featured resource : Free Marketing Plan Template

What should a good marketing plan include?

A good marketing plan will create a clear roadmap for your unique marketing team. This means that the best marketing plan for your business will be distinct to your team and business needs.

That said, most marketing plans will include sections for one or more of the following:

Clear analysis of the target market
A detailed description of the product or service
Strategic marketing mix details (such as product, price, place, promotion)
Measurable goals with defined timelines

This can help you build the best marketing plan for your business.

A good marketing plan should also include a product or service's unique value proposition, a comprehensive marketing strategy including online and offline channels, and a defined budget.

Featured resource : Value Proposition Templates

What are the most important parts of a marketing plan?

When you‘re planning a road trip, you need a map to help define your route, step-by-step directions, and an estimate of the time it will take to get to your destination. It’s literally how you get there that matters.

Like a road map, a marketing plan is only useful if it helps you get to where you want to go. So, no one part is more than the other.

That said, you can use the list below to make sure that you've added or at least considered each of the following in your marketing plan:

Marketing goals
Executive summary
Target market analysis
Marketing strategies

What questions should I ask when making a marketing plan?

Questions are a useful tool for when you‘re stuck or want to make sure you’ve included important details.

Try using one or more of these questions as a starting point when you create your marketing plan:

Who is my target audience?
What are their needs, motivations, and pain points?
How does our product or service solve their problems?
How will I reach and engage them?
Who are my competitors? Are they direct or indirect competitors?
What are the unique selling points of my product or service?
What marketing channels are best for the brand?
What is our budget and timeline?
How will I measure the success of marketing efforts?

How much does a marketing plan cost?

Creating a marketing plan is mostly free. But the cost of executing a marketing plan will depend on your specific plan.

Marketing plan costs vary by business, industry, and plan scope. Whether your team handles marketing in-house or hires external consultants can also make a difference. Total costs can range from a few thousand dollars to tens of thousands. This is why most marketing plans will include a budget.

Featured resource : Free Marketing Budget Templates

What is a marketing plan template?

A marketing plan template is a pre-designed structure or framework that helps you outline your marketing plan.

It offers a starting point that you can customize for your specific business needs and goals. For example, our template includes easy-to-edit sections for:

Business summary
Business initiatives
Target market
Market strategy
Marketing channels
Marketing technology

Let’s create a sample plan together, step by step.

Follow along with HubSpot's free Marketing Plan Template .

1. Create an overview or primary objective.

Our business mission is to provide [service, product, solution] to help [audience] reach their [financial, educational, business related] goals without compromising their [your audience’s valuable asset: free time, mental health, budget, etc.]. We want to improve our social media presence while nurturing our relationships with collaborators and clients.

For example, if I wanted to focus on social media growth, my KPIs might look like this:

We want to achieve a minimum of [followers] with an engagement rate of [X] on [social media platform].

The goal is to achieve an increase of [Y] on recurring clients and new meaningful connections outside the platform by the end of the year.

Use the following categories to create a target audience for your campaign.

Profession:
Background:
Pain points:
Social media platforms that they use:
Streaming platforms that they prefer:

For more useful strategies, consider creating a buyer persona in our Make My Persona tool .

Our content pillars will be: [X, Y, Z].

Content pillars should be based on topics your audience needs to know. If your ideal clients are female entrepreneurs, then your content pillars can be: marketing, being a woman in business, remote working, and productivity hacks for entrepreneurs.

Then, determine any omissions.

This marketing plan won’t be focusing on the following areas of improvement: [A, B, C].

5. Define your marketing budget.

Our marketing strategy will use a total of [Y] monthly. This will include anything from freelance collaborations to advertising.

6. Identify your competitors.

I like to work through the following questions to clearly indicate who my competitors are:

Which platforms do they use the most?
How does their branding differentiate?
How do they talk to their audiences?
What valuable assets do customers talk about? And if they are receiving any negative feedback, what is it about?

7. Outline your plan's contributors and their responsibilities.

Create responsible parties for each portion of the plan.

Marketing will manage the content plan, implementation, and community interaction to reach the KPIs.

Social media manager: [hours per week dedicated to the project, responsibilities, team communication requirements, expectations]
Content strategist: [hours per week dedicated to the project, responsibilities, team communication requirements, expectations]
Community manager: [hours per week dedicated to the project, responsibilities, team communication requirements, expectations]

Sales will follow the line of the marketing work while creating and implementing an outreach strategy.

Sales strategists: [hours per week dedicated to the project, responsibilities, team communication requirements, expectations]
Sales executives: [hours per week dedicated to the project, responsibilities, team communication requirements, expectations]

Customer Service will nurture clients’ relationships to ensure that they have what they want. [Hours per week dedicated to the project, responsibilities, team communication requirements, expectations].

Project Managers will track the progress and team communication during the project. [Hours per week dedicated to the project, responsibilities, team communication requirements, expectations].

Get started on your marketing plan.

These marketing plans serve as initial resources to get your content marketing plan started. But, to truly deliver what your audience wants and needs, you'll likely need to test some different ideas out, measure their success, and then refine your goals as you go.

Editor's Note: This post was originally published in April 2019, but was updated for comprehensiveness. This article was written by a human, but our team uses AI in our editorial process. Check out our full disclosure t o learn more about how we use AI.

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Planning, Startups, Stories

Tim berry on business planning, starting and growing your business, and having a life in the meantime., marketing plans vs. business plans: what’s the difference, and why do you care.

What’s the difference between a marketing plan and a business plan? Doesn’t a business plan include a marketing plan? Why would anybody do one without the other?

Good questions, and since I get them a lot, I decided to answer them here:

A business plan covers the entire business, including overall strategy, financial plans, target markets, sales, products and services, operations, and how they all relate to each other. A marketing plan, in contrast, focuses on the marketing: marketing strategy, target markets, marketing mix, messaging, programs, etc. Cash flow is vital for a business plan, but not usually included in a marketing plan
Yes, a business plan almost always includes the marketing portion. Emphasis varies, and I’ve seen some plans that focus much more on product or service than on marketing. But those are unusual.
Lots of people do marketing plans rather than business plans because their job or their attention or their focus is on the marketing, not the whole business.

I wrote 5 steps to creating a marketing plan in one of my columns for entrepreneur.com. I’m including a summary here:

Step One: Your identity as a business.

Create separate lists that identify your business’ strengths, weaknesses and goals. Put everything down and create big lists. Don’t edit or reject anything.

Then, find priorities among the bullet points. If you’ve done this right, you’ll have more than you can use, and some more important than others. Kick some of the less important bullets off the list and move the ones that are important to the top.

This sometimes requires input from your managers as well. For example, your management team thinks being conservative on spending is a weakness but you don’t. That might be something to drop off the list.

Step Two: Focus on markets.

The next list you’ll need to make outlines your business’ opportunities and threats. Think of both as external to your business — factors that you can’t control but can try to predict. Opportunities can include new markets, new products and trends that favor your business. Threats include competition and advances in technology that put you at a disadvantage.

Also make a list of invented people or organizations who serve as ideal buyers or your ideal target market. You can consider each one a persona, such as a grandmother discovering email or a college student getting his or her first credit card. These people are iconic and ideal, and stand for the best possible buyer.

Put yourself in the place of each of these ideal buyers and then think about what media he or she uses and what message would communicate your offering most effectively. Keep your identity in the back of your mind as you flesh out your target markets.

Step Three: Focus on strategy.

Now it’s time to pull your lists together. Look for the intersection of your unique identity and your target market. In terms of your business offerings, what could you drop off the list because it’s not strategic? Then think about dropping those who aren’t in your target market.

For example, a restaurant business focused on healthy, organic and fine dining would probably cater to people more in tune with green trends and with higher-than-average disposable income. So, it might rule out people who prefer eating fast-food like hamburgers and pizza, and who look for bargains.

The result of step three is strategy: Narrow your focus to what’s most in alignment with your identity and most attractive to your target market. In other words, focus on the area that is shared by all three lines in the diagram here.

Step Four: Set measurable steps.

Get down to the details that are concrete and measurable. Your marketing strategy should become a plan that includes monthly review, tracking and measurement, sales forecasts, expense budgets and non-monetary metrics for tracking progress. These can include leads, presentations, phone calls, links, blog posts, page views, conversion rates, proposals and trips, among others.

Match important tasks to people on your team and hold them accountable for their successes and failures.

Step Five: Review often and revise.

Just as with your business plan, your marketing plan should continue to evolve along with your business. Your assumptions will change, so adapt to the changing business landscape. Some parts of the plan also will work better than others, so review and revise to accommodate what you learn as you go.

Thanks for sharing your valuable experience Tim. Creating, implementing and reviewing business plans should definitely be an essential part of every company. However, marketing is a core element of a business and should be treated as such. While focusing on the market & customer behavior, a marketing plan misses ‘cash flow’ as a key ingredient. This is why a marketing plan should go hand in hand with the business plan. Personally, I’m a huge fan of doing both 🙂

[…] Marketing Plans vs. Business Plans: What’s The Difference, and Why Do You Care? […]

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What Is the Difference Between a Marketing & Business Plan?

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What Is a Short-Term Marketing Plan?

6 types of business plans, what are the benefits of a business plan.

Checklist for a Business Plan
What Objectives Should Be Used for a Business Proposal?

The business plan and the marketing plan are both essential aspects of successful businesses. These plans not only help businesses organize their operations, but help benchmark their success or failure. Since business industries change with customer demand and the economic environment, the business plan and marketing plan must evolve throughout the lifespan of the business.

The Positive ROI of Business Plans

The business plan provides a wide overview of the business, which includes information on staff, operations, location, marketing and financial aspects, as well as clearly outlined missions and goals. Often used as a financial tool, the business plan provides lenders with necessary details to determine if the business is viable, financially sound and able to repay.

Although business plans are most commonly known for assisting new businesses, they should be used throughout the life of the business. Not only does it help to develop competitive strategies, the business plan can determine if the actual activity of the business matches the forecasted plans. Founders who write business plans are 2.5 times as likely to start businesses than individuals who miss this vital step, reports careers agency TopTal .

Marketing Plan Helps You Strategize

The marketing plan details the specific marketing actions that achieve the company's missions and goals. For instance, this plan identifies the price points for the products you are selling, target markets and competition. It explains how the business generates customers through advertisements, trade show participation and new referrals. By explaining how the business will overcome competitive challenges by other companies, the marketing plan is a key section within the business plan and requires detailed industry research and consideration.

Marketing plans are, by definition, strategic, reports the industry magazine Business 2 Community . They force you think about how you will get your product in front of customers, and gets you used to working with timelines and key performance metrics. Investors want to make sure you have these ducks in a row before you invest.

Business Development Vs Marketing Vs Sales

The business plan and marketing plan are interdependent and must be consistent with one another if you are to generate sales. The business plan identifies the goals and missions of the business, while the marketing plan explains how the business will achieve, if not exceed, those goals and missions. If the plans of the business change, the business's course of action also changes. A good marketing plan should never deviate from the objective of the business plan.

Things to Consider

Both plans should be reviewed periodically. While the business plan can be reviewed once a year, the marketing plan should be reviewed once per quarter at the beginning of the fiscal year. Reviewing periodically ensures that the business is operating according to outlined strategies. Comparing actual versus outlined activities helps measure business success and identify any new or updated strategies that are in-tune with current economic environment.

There are no length requirements for the business plan or the marketing plan. However, both plans should be long enough to provide concise and detailed information. The benefits of marketing and business development are only realized if the information within the plans is well-researched and includes supporting evidence for facts presented. The goals, missions and strategies within these plans should be measurable and attainable, and reviewed and updated as the business evolves.

TopTal: The Undeniable Importance of a Business Plan
Business 2 Community: 6 Reasons Your Marketing Plan is More Important Than the History of Your Business

Difference between business plan & strategic plan, what are the benefits of preparing a business plan, define a business plan, what are four major types of information presented in a business plan, the importance of business plans, examples of liquor store business plans, why create a business plan, a financial plan vs. a pro-forma cash flow budget, business plan vs. business strategy, most popular.

1 Difference Between Business Plan & Strategic Plan
2 What Are the Benefits of Preparing a Business Plan?
3 Define a Business Plan
4 What Are Four Major Types of Information Presented in a Business Plan?

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What is a Marketing Plan & How to Create One [with Examples]

By Sara McGuire , Oct 26, 2023

A marketing plan is a blueprint that outlines your strategies to attract and convert your ideal customers as a part of your customer acquisition strategy . It’s a comprehensive document that details your:

Target audience: Who you’re trying to reach
Marketing goals: What you want to achieve
Strategies and tactics: How you’ll reach your goals
Budget: Resources you’ll allocate
Metrics: How you’ll measure success

In this article, I’ll explain everything you need to know about creating a marketing plan . If you need a little extra help, there are professionally designed marketing plan templates that’ll make the process much easier. So, let’s ditch the confusion and get started!

Click to jump ahead:

What is a marketing plan?

How to write a marketing plan .

Marketing plan v.s. business plan
Types of marketing plans

9 marketing plan examples to inspire your growth strategy

Marketing plan faqs.

A marketing plan is a report that outlines your marketing strategy for your products or services, which could be applicable for the coming year, quarter or month.

Watch this quick, 13-minute video for more details on what a marketing plan is and how to make one yourself:

Typically, a marketing plan includes:

An overview of your business’s marketing and advertising goals
A description of your business’s current marketing position
A timeline of when tasks within your strategy will be completed
Key performance indicators (KPIs) you will be tracking
A description of your business’s target market and customer needs
A description of how you will measure the performance of the strategy

For example, this marketing plan template provides a high-level overview of the business and competitors before diving deep into specific goals, KPIs and tactics:

Learning how to write a marketing plan forces you to think through the important steps that lead to an effective marketing strategy . And a well-defined plan will help you stay focused on your high-level marketing goals.

With Venngage’s extensive catalog of marketing plan templates , creating your marketing plan isn’t going to be hard or tedious. In fact, Venngage has plenty of helpful communications and design resources for marketers. If you’re ready to get started, sign up for Venngage for Marketers now. It’s free to register and start designing.

Whether you’re a team trying to set smarter marketing goals, a consultant trying to set your client in the right direction, or a one-person team hustling it out, Venngage for Marketers helps you get things done.

As mentioned above, the scope of your marketing plan varies depending on its purpose or the type of organization it’s for.

For example, you could create a marketing plan that provides an overview of a company’s entire marketing strategy or simply focus on a specific channel like SEO, social media marketing, content marketing and more, like in this example:

A typical outline of a marketing plan includes:

Executive summary
Goals and objectives
User personas
Competitor analysis/SWOT analysis
Baseline metrics
Marketing strategy
Tracking guidelines

Below you will see in details how to write each section as well as some examples of how you can design each section in a marketing plan.

Let’s look at how to create a successful marketing plan (click to jump ahead):

Write a simple executive summary
Set metric-driven marketing goals
Outline your user personas
Research all of your competitors
Set accurate key baselines & metrics
Create an actionable marketing strategy
Set tracking or reporting guidelines

1. Write a simple executive summary

Starting your marketing plan off on the right foot is important. You want to pull people into your amazing plan for marketing domination. Not bore them to tears.

Creative Marketing Plan Executive Summary

One of the best ways to get people excited to read your marketing plan is with a well-written executive summary. An executive summary introduces readers to your company goals, marketing triumphs, future plans, and other important contextual facts.

Standard Business Proposal Executive Summary

Basically, you can use the Executive Summary as a primer for the rest of your marketing plan.

Include things like:

Simple marketing goals
High-level metrics
Important company milestones
Facts about your brand
Employee anecdotes
Future goals & plans

Try to keep your executive summary rather brief and to the point. You aren’t writing a novel, so try to keep it under three to four paragraphs.

Take a look at the executive summary in the marketing plan example below:

Content Marketing Proposal Executive Summary

The executive summary is only two paragraphs long — short but effective.

The executive summary tells readers about the company’s growth, and how they are about to overtake one of their competitors. But there’s no mention of specific metrics or figures. That will be highlighted in the next section of the marketing plan.

An effective executive summary should have enough information to pique the reader’s interest, but not bog them down with specifics yet. That’s what the rest of your marketing plan is for!

The executive summary also sets the tone for your marketing plan. Think about what tone will fit your brand ? Friendly and humorous? Professional and reliable? Inspiring and visionary?

2. Set metric-driven marketing goals

After you perfect your executive summary, it’s time to outline your marketing goals.

(If you’ve never set data-driven goals like this before, it would be worth reading this growth strategy guide ).

This is one of the most important parts of the entire marketing plan, so be sure to take your time and be as clear as possible. Moreover, optimizing your marketing funnel is key. Employing effective funnel software can simplify operations and provide valuable customer insights. It facilitates lead tracking, conversion rate analysis, and efficient marketing optimization .

As a rule of thumb, be as specific as possible. The folks over at VoyMedia advise that you should set goals that impact website traffic, conversions, and customer success — and to use real numbers.

Avoid outlining vague goals like:

Get more Twitter followers
Write more articles
Create more YouTube videos (like educational or Explainer videos )
Increase retention rate
Decrease bounce rate

Instead, identify key performance metrics (KPI) you want to impact and the percentage you want to increase them by.

Take a look at the goals page in the marketing plan example below:

They not only identify a specific metric in each of their goals, but they also set a timeline for when they will be increased.

The same vague goals listed earlier become much clearer when specific numbers and timelines are applied to them:

Get 100 new Twitter followers per month
Write 5 more articles per week
Create 10 YouTube videos each year
Increase retention rate by 15% by 2020
Decrease bounce rate by 5% by Q1
Create an online course and get 1,000 new leads
Focus more on local SEO strategies

You can dive even deeper into your marketing goals if you want (generally, the more specific, the better). Here’s a marketing plan example that shows how to outline your growth goals:

Growth Goals Roadmap Template for a Marketing Plan

3. Outline your user personas

Now, this may not seem like the most important part of your marketing plan, but I think it holds a ton of value.

Outlining your user personas is an important part of a marketing plan that should not be overlooked.

You should be asking not just how you can get the most visitors to your business, but how you can get the right visitors.

Who are your ideal customers? What are their goals? What are their biggest problems? How does your business solve customer problems?

Answering these questions will take lots of research, but it’s essential information to get.

Some ways to conduct user research are:

Interviewing your users (either in person or on the phone)
Conducting focus groups
Researching other businesses in the same industry
Surveying your audience

Then, you will need to compile your user data into a user persona guide.

Take a look at how detailed this user persona template is below:

Taking the time to identify specific demographic traits, habits and goals will make it easier for you to cater your marketing plan to them.

Here’s how you can create a user persona guide:

The first thing you should add is a profile picture or icon for each user persona. It can help to put a face to your personas, so they seem more real.

Next, list demographic information like:

Identifiers
Activities/Hobbies

The user persona example above uses sliding scales to identify personality traits like introversion vs. extroversion and thinking vs. feeling. Identifying what type of personality your target users tend to have an influence on the messaging you use in your marketing content.

Meanwhile, this user persona guide identifies specific challenges the user faces each day:

Content Marketing Proposal Audience Personas

But if you don’t want to go into such precise detail, you can stick to basic information, like in this marketing plan example:

Social Media Plan Proposal Template Ideal Customers

Most businesses will have a few different types of target users. That’s why it’s pertinent to identify and create several different user personas . That way, you can better segment your marketing campaigns and set separate goals, if necessary.

Here’s a marketing plan example with a segmented user persona guide:

The important thing is for your team or client to have a clear picture of who their target user is and how they can appeal to their specific problems.

Start creating robust user personas using Venngage’s user persona guide .

4. Conduct an extensive competitor analysis

Next, on the marketing plan checklist, we have the competitor research section. This section will help you identify who your competitors are, what they’re doing, and how you could carve yourself a place alongside them in your niche — and ideally, surpass them. It’s something you can learn to do with rank tracking software .

Competitor research is also incredibly important if you are starting a blog .

Typically, your competitor research should include:

Who their marketing team is
Who their leadership team is
What their marketing strategy is (this will probably revolve some reverse-engineering)
What their sales strategy is (same deal)
Social Media strategy (are they using discounting strategies such as coupon marketing to get conversions)
Their market cap/financials
Their yearly growth (you will probably need to use a marketing tool like Ahrefs to do this)
The number of customers they have & their user personas

Also, take as deep a dive as you can into the strategies they use across their:

Blog/Content marketing
Social media marketing
SEO Marketing
Video marketing
And any other marketing tactics they use

Research their strengths and weaknesses in all parts of their company, and you will find some great opportunities. Bookmark has a great guide to different marketing strategies for small businesses if you need some more information there.

You can use this simple SWOT analysis worksheet to quickly work through all parts of their strategy as well:

Click the template above to create a SWOT chart . Customize the template to your liking — no design know-how needed.

Since you have already done all the research beforehand, adding this information to your marketing plan shouldn’t be that hard.

In this marketing plan example, some high-level research is outlined for 3 competing brands:

Content Marketing Proposal Competitive Research

But you could take a deeper dive into different facets of your competitors’ strategies. This marketing plan example analyses a competitor’s content marketing strategy:

Competitor-Analysis-Content-Marketing-Plan-Template

It can also be helpful to divide your competitors into Primary and Secondary groups. For example, Apple’s primary competitor may be Dell for computers, but its secondary competitor could be a company that makes tablets.

Your most dangerous competitors may not even be in the same industry as you. Like the CEO of Netflix said, “Sleep is our competition.”

5. Set accurate key baselines & metrics

It’s pretty hard to plan for the future if you don’t know where your business stands right now.

Before we do anything at Venngage, we find the baselines so we can compare future results to something. We do it so much it’s almost like second nature now!

Setting baselines will allow you to more accurately track your progress. You will also be able to better analyze what worked and what didn’t work, so you can build a stronger strategy. It will definitely help them clearly understand your goals and strategy as well.

Here’s a marketing plan example where the baselines are visualized:

Social Media Marketing Proposal Success Metrics

Another way to include baselines in your plan is with a simple chart, like in the marketing plan example below:

Because data can be intimidating to a lot of people, visualizing your data using charts and infographics will help demystify the information.

6. Create an actionable marketing strategy

After pulling all the contextual information and relevant metrics into your marketing plan, it’s time to break down your marketing strategy.

Once again, it’s easier to communicate your information to your team or clients using visuals .

Mind maps are an effective way to show how a strategy with many moving parts ties together. For example, this mind map shows how the four main components of a marketing strategy interact together:

You can also use a flow chart to map out your strategy by objectives:

However you choose to visualize your strategy, your team should know exactly what they need to do. This is not the time to keep your cards close to your chest.

Your strategy section may need to take up a few pages to explain, like in the marketing plan example below:

Creative-Modern-Content-Marketing-Plan-Template

With all of this information, even someone from the development team will understand what the marketing team is working on.

This minimalistic marketing plan example uses color blocks to make the different parts of the strategy easy to scan:

Blue-Simple-Social-Media-Marketing-Plan-Template

Breaking your strategy down into tasks will make it easier to tackle.

Another important way to visualize your marketing strategy is to create a project roadmap. A project roadmap visualizes the timeline of your product with individual tasks. Our roadmap maker can help you with this.

For example, this project roadmap shows how tasks on both the marketing and web design side run parallel to each other:

A simple timeline can also be used in your marketing plan:

Or a mind map, if you want to include a ton of information in a more organized way:

Even a simple “Next, Now, Later” chart can help visualize your strategy:

7. Set tracking or reporting guidelines

Close your marketing plan with a brief explanation of how you plan to track or measure your results. This will save you a lot of frustration down the line by standardizing how you track results across your team.

Like the other sections of your marketing plan, you can choose how in-depth you want to go. But there need to be some clear guidelines on how to measure the progress and results of your marketing plan.

At the bare minimum, your results tracking guidelines should specify:

What you plan to track
How you plan to track results
How often you plan to measure

But you can more add tracking guidelines to your marketing plan if you see the need to. You may also want to include a template that your team or client can follow, for client reporting , ensure that the right metrics are being tracked.

The marketing plan example below dedicates a whole page to tracking criteria:

SEO Marketing Proposal Measuring Results

Use a task tracker to track tasks and marketing results, and a checklist maker to note down tasks, important life events, or tracking your daily life.

Similarly, the marketing plan example below talks about tracking content marketing instead:

Marketing plan vs. marketing strategy

Although often used interchangeably, the terms “marketing plan” and “marketing strategy” do have some differences.

Simply speaking, a marketing strategy presents what the business will do in order to reach a certain goal. A marketing plan outlines the specific daily, weekly, monthly or yearly activities that the marketing strategy calls for. As a business, you can create a marketing proposal for the marketing strategies defined in your company’s marketing plan. There are various marketing proposal examples that you can look at to help with this.

A company’s extended marketing strategy can be like this:

Notice how it’s more general and doesn’t include the actual activities required to complete each strategy or the timeframe those marketing activities will take place. That kind of information is included in a marketing plan, like this marketing plan template which talks about the content strategy in detail:

Marketing plan v.s business plan

While both marketing plans and business plans are crucial documents for businesses, they serve distinct purposes and have different scopes. Here’s a breakdown of the key differences:

Business plan is a comprehensive document that outlines all aspects of your business, including:

Mission and vision
Products or services
Target market
Competition
Management team
Financial projections
Marketing strategy (including a marketing plan)
Operations plan

Marketing plan on the other hand, dives deep into the specific strategies and tactics related to your marketing efforts. It expands on the marketing section of a business plan by detailing:

Specific marketing goals (e.g., brand awareness, lead generation, sales)
Target audience analysis (detailed understanding of their needs and behaviors)
Product: Features, benefits, positioning
Price: Pricing strategy, discounts
Place: Distribution channels (online, offline)
Promotion: Advertising, social media, content marketing, public relations
Budget allocation for different marketing activities
Metrics and measurement to track progress and success

In short, business plans paint the entire business picture, while marketing plans zoom in on the specific strategies used to reach your target audience and achieve marketing goals.

Types of marketing plans that can transform your business strategy

Let’s take a look at several types of marketing plans you can create, along with specific examples for each.

1. General marketing strategic plan / Annual marketing plan

This is a good example of a marketing plan that covers the overarching annual marketing strategy for a company:

marketing strategy template marketing plan

Another good example would be this Starbucks marketing plan:

This one-page marketing plan example from coffee chain Starbucks has everything at a glance. The bold headers and subheadings make it easier to segment the sections so readers can focus on the area most relevant to them.

What we like about this example is how much it covers. From the ideal buyer persona to actional activities, as well as positioning and metrics, this marketing plan has it all.

Another marketing plan example that caught our eye is this one from Cengage. Although a bit text-heavy and traditional, it explains the various sections well. The clean layout makes this plan easy to read and absorb.

The last marketing plan example we would like to feature in this section is this one from Lush cosmetics.

It is a long one but it’s also very detailed. The plan outlines numerous areas, including the company mission, SWOT analysis , brand positioning, packaging, geographical criteria, and much more.

2. Content marketing plan

A content marketing plan highlights different strategies , campaigns or tactics you can use for your content to help your business reach its goals.

This one-page marketing plan example from Contently outlines a content strategy and workflow using simple colors and blocks. The bullet points detail more information but this plan can easily be understood at a glance, which makes it so effective.

For a more detailed content marketing plan example, take a look at this template which features an editorial calendar you can share with the whole team:

3. SEO marketing plan

Your SEO marketing plan highlights what you plan to do for your SEO marketing strategy . This could include tactics for website on-page optimization , off-page optimization using AI SEO , and link building using an SEO PowerSuite backlink API for quick backlink profile checks.

This SEO marketing plan example discusses in detail the target audience of the business and the SEO plan laid out in different stages:

4. Social media marketing plan

Your social media marketing plan presents what you’ll do to reach your marketing goal through social media. This could include tactics specific to each social media channel that you own, recommendations on developing a new channel, specific campaigns you want to run, and so on, like how B2B channels use Linkedin to generate leads with automation tools and expand their customer base; or like making use of Twitter walls that could display live Twitter feeds from Twitter in real-time on digital screens.

Edit this social media marketing plan example easily with Venngage’s drag-and-drop editor:

5. Demand generation marketing plan

This could cover your paid marketing strategy (which can include search ads, paid social media ads, traditional advertisements, etc.), email marketing strategy and more. Here’s an example:

1. Free marketing plan template

Here’s a free nonprofit marketing plan example that is ideal for organizations with a comprehensive vision to share. It’s a simple plan that is incredibly effective. Not only does the plan outline the core values of the company, it also shares the ideal buyer persona.

Note how the branding is consistent throughout this example so there is no doubt which company is presenting this plan. The content plan is an added incentive for anyone viewing the document to go ahead and give the team the green light.

2. Pastel social media marketing campaign template

Two-page marketing plan samples aren’t very common, but this free template proves how effective they are. There’s a dedicated section for business goals as well as for project planning .

Pastel Social Media Marketing Plan Template

The milestones for the marketing campaign are clearly laid out, which is a great way to show how organized this business strategy is.

3. Small business marketing strategy template

This marketing plan template is perfect for small businesses who set out to develop an overarching marketing strategy for the whole year:

Notice how this aligns pretty well with the marketing plan outline we discussed in previous sections.

In terms of specific tactics for the company’s marketing strategy, the template only discusses SEO strategy, but you can certainly expand on that section to discuss any other strategies — such as link building , that you would like to build out a complete marketing plan for.

4. Orange simple marketing proposal template

Marketing plans, like the sample below, are a great way to highlight what your business strategy and the proposal you wan to put forward to win potential customers.

5. One-page marketing fact sheet template

This one-page marketing plan example is great for showcasing marketing efforts in a persuasive presentation or to print out for an in-person meeting.

Nonprofit Healthcare Company Fact Sheet Template

Note how the fact sheet breaks down the marketing budget as well as the key metrics for the organization. You can win over clients and partners with a plan like this.

6. Light company business fact sheet template

This one-page sample marketing plan clearly outlines the marketing objectives for the organization. It’s a simple but effective way to share a large amount of information in a short amount of time.

What really works with this example is that includes a mission statement, key contact information alongside all the key metrics.

7. Marketing media press kit template

This press kit marketing plan template is bright and unmistakable as belonging to the Cloud Nine marketing agency . The way the brand colors are used also helps diversify the layouts for each page, making the plan easier to read.

We like the way the marketing department has outlined the important facts about the organization. The bold and large numbers draw the eye and look impressive.

8. Professional marketing proposal template

Start your marketing campaign on a promising note with this marketing plan template. It’s short, sharp and to the point. The table of contents sets out the agenda, and there’s a page for the company overview and mission statement.

9. Social media marketing proposal template

A complete marketing plan example, like the one below, not only breaks down the business goals to be achieved but a whole lot more. Note how the terms and conditions and payment schedule are included, which makes this one of the most comprehensive marketing plans on our list.

Checkered Social Media Marketing Proposal Template

What should marketing plans include?

Marketing plans should include:

A detailed analysis of the target market and customer segments.
Clear and achievable marketing objectives and goals.
Strategies and tactics for product promotion and distribution.
Budget allocation for various marketing activities.
Timelines and milestones for the implementation of marketing strategies.
Evaluation metrics and methods for tracking the success of the marketing plan.

What is an executive summary in a marketing plan and what is its main goal?

An executive summary in a marketing plan is a brief overview of the entire document, summarizing the key points, goals, and strategies. Its main goal is to provide readers with a quick understanding of the plan’s purpose and to entice them to read further.

What are the results when a marketing plan is effective?

When a marketing plan is effective, businesses can experience increased brand visibility, higher customer engagement, improved sales and revenue, and strengthened customer loyalty.

What is the first section of a marketing plan?

The first section of a marketing plan is typically the “Executive Summary,” which provides a concise overview of the entire plan, including the business’s goals and the strategies to achieve them.

Now that you have the basics for designing your own marketing plan, it’s time to get started:

More marketing design guides and templates:

Marketing Infographics: The Definitive Guide [Includes Infographic Templates]
20+ Business Pitch Deck Templates to Win New Clients and Investors
20+ White Paper Examples [Design Guide + White Paper Templates]
The Evolution of Marketing [Timeline Infographic]

Business Plan vs. Marketing Plan

What's the difference.

A business plan and a marketing plan are both essential documents for any organization, but they serve different purposes. A business plan outlines the overall goals, objectives, and strategies of a company, providing a comprehensive roadmap for its operations and growth. It includes sections on the company's mission, target market, products or services, financial projections, and competitive analysis. On the other hand, a marketing plan focuses specifically on the marketing activities and strategies that will be employed to promote the company's products or services. It includes sections on market research, target audience, marketing objectives, pricing, distribution channels, and promotional tactics. While a business plan provides a holistic view of the organization, a marketing plan zooms in on the marketing efforts to achieve the business goals.

Further Detail

Introduction.

When it comes to running a successful business, having a well-defined plan is crucial. Two key components of this planning process are the business plan and the marketing plan. While both plans serve different purposes, they are interconnected and play vital roles in achieving business objectives. In this article, we will explore the attributes of a business plan and a marketing plan, highlighting their unique features and how they complement each other.

Business Plan

A business plan is a comprehensive document that outlines the overall strategy, goals, and operations of a company. It serves as a roadmap for the organization, providing a clear direction for its future growth and success. A business plan typically includes sections such as an executive summary, company description, market analysis, organizational structure, product/service offerings, financial projections, and more.

One of the primary purposes of a business plan is to secure funding from investors or financial institutions. It demonstrates the viability and profitability of the business, showcasing the potential return on investment. Additionally, a business plan helps in attracting key stakeholders, partners, and employees by providing a detailed overview of the company's mission, vision, and values.

Furthermore, a business plan acts as a strategic tool for decision-making and resource allocation. It helps the management team identify potential risks, challenges, and opportunities, allowing them to develop contingency plans and allocate resources effectively. By setting clear objectives and milestones, a business plan enables the organization to measure its progress and make necessary adjustments to stay on track.

In summary, a business plan is a comprehensive document that outlines the overall strategy, goals, and operations of a company. It serves as a roadmap, attracts investors, facilitates decision-making, and provides a framework for measuring progress.

Marketing Plan

A marketing plan, on the other hand, focuses specifically on the marketing activities and strategies of a business. It is a subset of the broader business plan and provides a detailed roadmap for reaching the target market, promoting products/services, and achieving sales objectives. A marketing plan typically includes sections such as market research, target audience analysis, competitive analysis, marketing objectives, marketing strategies, budget allocation, and evaluation metrics.

The primary goal of a marketing plan is to create awareness, generate interest, and drive customer acquisition. It outlines the marketing mix, including product, price, place, and promotion, to effectively position the offerings in the market. By conducting market research and analyzing customer behavior, a marketing plan helps identify the target audience's needs, preferences, and pain points, enabling the development of tailored marketing campaigns.

Moreover, a marketing plan provides a framework for evaluating the effectiveness of marketing initiatives. It sets specific goals and key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure the success of marketing campaigns, such as customer acquisition cost, conversion rates, brand awareness, and customer satisfaction. By regularly monitoring and analyzing these metrics, businesses can make data-driven decisions and optimize their marketing efforts for better results.

In summary, a marketing plan is a subset of the business plan that focuses on the marketing activities and strategies. It aims to create awareness, drive customer acquisition, and provides a framework for evaluating marketing initiatives.

Interconnection and Complementarity

While the business plan and marketing plan serve different purposes, they are interconnected and complement each other in several ways. Firstly, the marketing plan is derived from the business plan. The overall business strategy, goals, and target market identified in the business plan provide the foundation for developing the marketing plan. The marketing plan aligns with the broader business objectives and ensures that marketing efforts are in line with the company's vision and mission.

Secondly, the marketing plan provides valuable insights and data that inform the business plan. Through market research, customer analysis, and competitive analysis, the marketing plan helps identify market trends, customer preferences, and competitive advantages. This information is crucial for developing a robust business strategy, identifying growth opportunities, and mitigating potential risks.

Furthermore, the business plan and marketing plan work together to allocate resources effectively. The financial projections and budget allocation in the business plan are influenced by the marketing plan's objectives and strategies. For example, if the marketing plan emphasizes digital advertising and social media campaigns, the business plan may allocate a larger portion of the budget to marketing activities in those areas.

Lastly, the business plan and marketing plan are iterative documents that require regular review and updates. As market conditions change, customer preferences evolve, and new opportunities arise, both plans need to be adjusted accordingly. The marketing plan provides valuable feedback and insights to refine the business plan, ensuring that the company remains competitive and adaptable in a dynamic market environment.

In conclusion, the business plan and marketing plan are essential components of a successful business strategy. While the business plan provides a comprehensive overview of the company's overall strategy, goals, and operations, the marketing plan focuses specifically on the marketing activities and strategies. Both plans are interconnected and complement each other, with the marketing plan derived from the business plan and providing valuable insights for its development. Together, these plans enable businesses to attract investors, drive customer acquisition, allocate resources effectively, and adapt to changing market conditions. By developing and implementing well-crafted business and marketing plans, organizations can increase their chances of achieving long-term success.

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Marketing Plan vs. Business Plan: What’s The Difference?

by Mike Vestil

If you’re starting a new business, you may be wondering about the differences between marketing plans and business plans. While both are crucial to running a successful company, they have important key differences to understand.

Marketing and business plans are two essential tools, but they serve different purposes. A business plan is a more comprehensive, big-picture overview of your company’s mission. In contrast, a marketing plan is a facet of your business plan that will help you advertise and reach your target audience.

Drafting up these plans may seem daunting at first, but once you understand how they operate, you’ll be prepared to take your business to the next level. This article will break down the difference between a marketing plan and a business plan and how both documents in tangent can help you move forward with your company’s development. Let’s dive in!

Business Plans

Image credit: PatriotSoftware.com

One of the most crucial things you can prepare is a business plan when starting or running a company. A business plan is a comprehensive document that outlines the operational and financial goals of a business and its overall strategy for achieving them. A successful business plan includes:

The company’s mission statement.
An analysis of its target market.
A statement of operations.
A detailed explanation of its services or products.

Creating a business plan is crucial because it will help you stay organized and focused on your long-term goals— essentially, it’s a roadmap of how you will achieve success and meet your business’s clearly outlined missions. The plan will aid you in making informed decisions, assessing risks, and measuring progress.

The length and detail of this plan will vary depending on the size and type of business you are running. However, having a solid business plan is essential for any business, especially start-ups. Start-ups often don’t have the resources that more established businesses do, so owners have to work harder to convince investors to fund or loan money to their projects. A business plan can help smaller or newer companies secure loans and other forms of funding.

In the following sections, I’ll outline the various elements you need to create a successful business plan by walking you through all the steps, from writing a summary to creating a budget.

Executive Summary

The executive summary is the first section of your business plan, and it should be approximately one to two pages long, depending on the overall size of your report. It should be well written, concise, and capture the essence of your company, as well as your aims and goals. The executive summary is crucial because it will give potential investors and lenders an in-depth look into your business plans.

This summary will represent the entirety of your plan, so make sure the document includes an overview of the following:

Your services and products: What will you be selling? Is it a physical good or a service? Will you sell a variety of items or focus on a specific product?
Your optimal target market: Who is your ideal customer base? What about their demographics or interests makes them the right fit for your product? How will you advertise to them?
Your competitive advantage: What makes your product stand out from the competition? Is there anything unique or especially compelling about what you have to offer?
Your financial projections: How much do you expect to profit? What financial aspects do you have to consider? How much of your budget are you allocating to various areas (from production to advertising and everything in between)?
Your management plan: Will you hire employees, and if so, what is your management strategy? Will you have an on-site location or sell online?

With these questions in mind, you’ll be able to write a compelling summary that covers your mission and the steps you’ll take towards achieving your goals.

With the executive summary out of the way, I’ll now walk you through the other essential sections of your business plan.

Products And Services

This part of your report should include detailed descriptions of your business’s products and services. You should have information on pricing, how long your products last, and an overview of the production process, including information about how your goods will be manufactured and delivered.

If you run a start-up or new business, this part of your plan is especially crucial because it will give potential investors a snapshot of what your business offers. It would be best to showcase what makes your brand unique and how you plan to compete in the market. What are your selling points? Why should customers choose you over your competitors? Highlight any benefits of your company to address how they will meet customer demand.

If you have any patents or trademarks, you can include that information here so that potential investors know that your intellectual property is legally protected.

Marketing Analysis

This section should outline who your competitors are and their influence in your chosen field. This analysis can include information about the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors and how difficult it may be to take market share from these businesses.

Doing detailed industry research will also help you identify areas where you could improve on what similar companies are doing. Once you know what is already offered in the market, you can develop competitive strategies to help your product stand out.

The marketing analysis can also detail your projections and expected demand for your products based on competing industries and companies. Knowing how receptive your target audience will be can help you determine your strategy, which I will go over in the next section.

Marketing Strategy

Once you’ve completed your analysis, it’s time to develop a strategy. This section should include your overall plan for how you will attract and maintain a customer base, as well as what advertising methods you will use to appeal to the right target markets.

It would help to tailor your strategy to your ideal buyers, and it should be realistic and achievable. You should consider your company’s strengths and how you can use them to your advantage in the market. For example, suppose you have a solid online presence. In that case, you may want to focus on digital marketing strategies. Or, if you have a niche product, you can find specific sites to target potential customers.

Additionally, you should provide information on the distribution channels you will use. This data may include where you are sourcing your products and how you plan to deliver them to your customers.

You can also specify how your company intends to communicate with customers by having a plan for after-sales service and how you will handle customer complaints or queries.

Financial Planning

Financial planning is essential for any business, although the process will look different depending on whether you’re a startup or run an existing company. Regardless of the current state of your business, you should enlist the help of accountants and economists to create a financial plan.

This section should include detailed information on your company's financial status, as well as projections for the future. All of this information will help to give investors a clear picture of your business' financial stability and growth potential.

If you have an existing business, you'll need to include the following documents:

Balance sheet: A balance sheet gives an overview of your assets and liabilities. This document includes information on your fixed and current assets, such as property, equipment, and inventory. You should also list your company's liabilities, such as loans and credit lines.
Cash flow statement: The cash flow statement will show how much money is coming in and out of your business, including information on your sales revenue, expenses, and investments.
Statement of comprehensive income: The statement of comprehensive income will detail your company's profits and losses over a specific period, allowing for a more holistic view of your company’s income.
Report on share capital: This report showcases how much money has been invested in your company in stocks.

If you’re a start-up, you’ll need to provide estimates for the first few years of operation, including information on expected sales, profits, and expenses. You should also outline how much money you’ll need to get your business off the ground and how you plan to obtain these funds through potential investors.

Determine your long-term goals for your business and how you plan to achieve them through measurable steps. This data should include expected sales revenue and profit margins. You should also have a plan for reinvesting profits back into the company and address how you will cover any future costs or losses.

Financial planning is an ongoing process, so you should update your business plan annually, especially if your company’s financial status changes. Keeping these documents in order will help you stay on track and ensure that your company meets its projected financial goals.

Your budget is a critical element of your financial plan and should prove to investors that you have a sense of how much money to allocate to various parts of your business. You can break down your budget into different sections, including personnel, development, production, and advertising costs.

Additionally, you can include a sales forecast that outlines your expected revenue and profit margins. These projections will help you to determine how much money you need to cover your costs and make a profit within your allotted budget.

Marketing Plans

Image credit: MarketingDonut.co

A marketing plan is a document that outlines an organization's advertising goals and strategies. It should cover product promotion, pricing, target markets, and advertising. The focus of marketing plans should be to advertise your product to consumers who are likely to purchase from you.

When creating a marketing strategy, you should consider your target audience, research competition in the market, and develop clear goals and strategies. It would help if you also considered what marketing channels you’ll use, including social media advertising, email marketing, influencer marketing, search engine optimization (SEO), content marketing, or other methods.

How Marketing Plans Compare To Business Plans

A marketing plan focuses solely on the marketing aspect of your business, so it is more detailed about this specific part of your plan. On the other hand, a business plan is an overarching document that outlines the company’s missions regarding product development and financial objectives and a brief overview of marketing goals and competitive challenges.

A marketing plan, while important, is less comprehensive and doesn’t provide as much general information about the company. Therefore, it’s important to remember that a marketing plan and a business plan should work together—the marketing plan provides the overall marketing strategy while the business plan offers a detailed roadmap for succeeding on multiple levels.

You can think of a marketing plan as a more detailed part of the overall business plan. The business plan is more important to present to potential investors because it provides a general overview of a company’s mission, but including a detailed marketing plan is an asset that will aid your business plan.

While business plans typically don’t have to be updated frequently, you should review marketing plans periodically to adjust to the outcomes of advertising efforts and marketing trends. Therefore, it is a more pliable document and is easier to adapt as your business changes and grows.

I’ll outline what elements you need to build a successful marketing plan in the following section.

Marketing Objectives

Your marketing objectives should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. Here are some solid examples of marketing objectives:

Increase conversion rates by 5% in six months by investing in Facebook advertising.
Build brand awareness by partnering with five new influencers this year.
Conduct A/B testing over one month with two different advertisements to determine which version yields more web traffic.

Keep in mind that you should align your objectives with the overall goals of your business. Whether you hope to increase profits or reach more customers, your efforts should reflect those aspirations. For example, suppose you desire to establish a better digital presence. In that case, you can advertise on social media. Or, if you want to improve customer communication, you can launch a live chat on your website.

Market research is the process of analyzing current market trends and adjusting your business strategy to meet the projected direction of the industry. You’ll need to know your current business positioning in the field, which involves taking a close look at target markets.

Your target market should be based on the products or services you offer. If you provide a product that appeals to a wide audience, your target market will be much broader than if you offer a product that only appeals to a niche group.

It’s also essential to understand potential buyers’ interests and where you can advertise to them. Does the majority of your target audience use social media? If so, which platforms? What publications do they read? What TV programs do they watch? You can conduct market research in several ways, including surveys, focus groups, interviews, and observational studies.

Once you have this information, you can begin developing buyer personas. A buyer persona is a fictional representation of your target customer. It includes demographic information like age, gender, income level, and job title, as well as your buyer persona’s interests, values, and needs. This information will help you determine where to focus your marketing efforts.

Competition

It's essential to understand your competition and stand out in the field if you want to succeed in the market. One of the most important things to do is research similar businesses. To learn about them, you can visit their stores or websites. What are they offering? What prices are they charging? How are they promoting their products? What do their customers say about them in reviews?

Once you find out what they offer, how much they charge, and how they’re promoting themselves, you’ll be able to address any flaws your competitors may have and develop schemes that are unique to your business.

You can also use tools like the SWOT analysis to analyze your competitors’ strengths and weaknesses. This information can help you decide which strategies to use by addressing both internal and external factors.

Now that you understand how to conduct market research and evaluate competing businesses, let’s look at the various strategies you can implement to ensure that your advertising efforts elevate your business.

Marketing Mix

A marketing mix combines marketing activities that you use to reach your target audience—product, price, place, and promotion.

The product description should include information on what you are selling, how you source it, and the benefits that it will provide to potential buyers. You can include high-quality images or models to showcase these goods.

You’ll also need to include price information, including how much it costs to produce your product and what price you are selling it for, based on your market research on similar items.

The place category will determine where customers can purchase your product. You can outline where your goods will be available, whether on online marketplaces, your website, or in-store.

The promotion section will include information on your advertising campaigns, including email campaigns, social media campaigns, SEO optimization, and more.

Marketing Strategies

Now that you have your objectives and marketing mix in place, it’s time to implement them. Each activity should have a goal associated with it. For example, if one of your goals is to increase website traffic, your next move could be to promote a contest on social media. Or, if you want to raise brand awareness, you can reach out to influencers for a paid partnership.

The more specific information you have about this audience, the better chance of reaching potential customers through advertising campaigns or social media posts that speak directly to their interests and concerns. If done correctly, this could lead to higher conversion rates from potential customers, as well as increased brand awareness among those who may not have been aware of your product before seeing these advertisements.

You should also allocate a budget for each objective and a timeframe for completing your goals. Be realistic about what you can achieve in the given timeframe, and make sure you allow enough time to see the results of your efforts.

Key Performance Indicators (KPI)

Key Performance Indicators (KPI) are metrics that measure how well you’re achieving your objectives. There are many different KPIs you can use, depending on your goals. Common KPIs include website traffic, conversion rate, leads generated, and customer satisfaction. You can also check out my article about how to use KPIs for email marketing for more ideas about KPIs that you can set in your business.

You should track your KPIs regularly and adjust your marketing activities as needed. If you find that you’re not achieving your goals, it’s time to reevaluate your plan and make changes.

Marketing Budget

Though you will likely already have an overall budget at this point in your business plan, the marketing budget can provide more detail on the distribution of your company’s financial resources towards advertising and promotions.

You should determine what percentage of your funds will go towards advertising efforts— the general advice is between 6-20% of your total budget.

How A Marketing Plan And A Business Plan Work Together

Image credit: MarketingInsiderGroup.com

Companies should have both a business and marketing plan—the business plan outlines the structure and goals of the company. In contrast, the marketing plan explains how you will achieve those goals through marketing activities. If you seek loans or meet with investors, having both of these documents at the ready will benefit your business.

I’ve already established their different purposes, but when used together, there are many benefits to having these documents.

These range from increased sales to more realistic projections. The following section will detail the perks of creating and implementing both plans.

Increased Sales

Business plans define the company’s goals, and the marketing plan provides specific steps to achieve these aims. When you have both plans in place, it’s easier to track your progress and make changes as needed, increasing the chances of achieving your objectives and improving sales.

If the overall goals of the business change, the marketing plan may also need to be altered. For example, if the business decides to focus on international sales, the marketing plan will need to reflect this change. Luckily, marketing plans are easier to update, so you can adjust the details as your business expands and evolves.

The more detail you put into these plans, the more likely you are to reliably and consistently track your progress based on your preset goals. While drafting them may be a lot of work initially, staying organized and adjusting your plans as needed will help increase sales in the long-run.

Realistic Projections

When creating these plans, it’s important to be realistic about what you can achieve by setting achievable goals and estimating the time it will take to complete each activity.

Once you write these plans, you’ll have a better idea of initial projections based on the in-depth market research required to make a budget and set your prices. You’ll also have more information about how to accurately track your marketing efforts using data collection tools and KPIs.

Consistency

If the business plan and marketing plan are consistent, it will be easier to achieve your objectives. The business plan provides a broad overview of the company, while the marketing plan explains how each marketing activity will help achieve the business’s goals.

Having these plans in place makes it easier to keep your business on track and on-brand. You can adjust your marketing plan as you go to keep up with new objectives or projects, keeping your business organized and streamlined.

Surpassing Your Competition

Creating these plans will help you surpass your competitors—when you clearly understand what you’re up against, it’s easier to create a strategy that will help you stand out.

Business plans help you understand your competition, like what strategies work and what aspects you can improve on. This knowledge will allow you to use your funds and resources on marketing channels to bring optimal value and income.

Once you have implemented these plans, it’s essential to monitor their effectiveness. By keeping track of how well your company matches your projections, you can identify patterns and adapt these plans according to your future goals.

Your business plan can be reviewed annually, which will give you an overview of where you are meeting your goals and what areas you may be falling short in. Does your work meet the standards and guidelines you initially planned?

In comparison, you should review marketing methods quarterly to track which ones are working best and which you can adjust to run your operation more successfully.

FAQ—Marketing Plan vs. Business Plan

Are marketing plans the same as business plans.

A marketing plan is a component of a business plan, but it is not the same thing. A business plan provides a structure and goals for the company, while the marketing plan explains how each marketing activity will help achieve those goals.

What Comes First, Business Plans Or Marketing Plans?

Creating a business plan before making a marketing plan is generally recommended. Keep in mind that the two projects should be consistent with each other and work together to present the most comprehensive, detailed overview of your business goals as possible.

What Is The Difference Between Marketing Plans And Business Plans?

Business plans are longer, more comprehensive documents that cover all aspects of your company’s operations and include the following:

An explanation of your company’s mission and an executive summary of your goals.
In-depth details about your products and services, including how they are produced and shipped.
A marketing analysis that provides detailed industry research and a comparison to similar brands.
Financial aspects of your business, including a budget.

Alternatively, marketing plans cover only the marketing aspect of your company and address the following areas:

Marketing objectives.
Marketing strategies.
Key performance indicators (KPIs).
Marketing budget.

While these plans serve different purposes, they can be used together to present an in-depth overview of your company to potential investors and are both valuable assets to track your business goals, successes, and areas to improve on.

Image credit: SimplyBusiness.co.uk

Although a business plan and marketing plan are two different documents, they work together to create a well-rounded view of the company. A good business plan will have realistic goals based on sound market analysis, while a good marketing plan will outline specific objectives to help achieve those projections.

When these two plans are put together, they can increase sales, create realistic projections, and help your business overcome competitive challenges. Therefore, drafting both is essential for having an organized, consistent, and lucrative business.

So, what are you waiting for? Using this guide for reference, start creating your marketing and business plans today!

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What is a Marketing Plan & How To Write One? [Easy Guide]

What is a Marketing Plan?

A marketing plan is a strategic guide that helps businesses map out their advertising and promotional strategies to attract prospective customers and connect with their intended audience. It offers clear and detailed direction on how to achieve business objectives through targeted marketing efforts.

Marketing Plan vs. Business Plan

Understanding the distinction between a marketing plan and a business plan is crucial for any organization aiming to navigate the complexities of strategic planning and resource allocation.

Marketing Plan: This is a focused document dedicated to the marketing segment of an organization’s strategy. It meticulously outlines the marketing objectives, strategies, and tactics that will be employed to achieve the desired market presence and customer engagement.
Business Plan: A business plan has a broader scope, encompassing every facet of the company’s operations. While it includes marketing, it also delves into finance, operations, human resources, and more, providing a comprehensive overview of the entire business.

Marketing Strategy vs. Marketing Plan

Differentiating between a marketing strategy and a marketing plan is essential for implementing effective marketing operations within a business. These two elements, while closely related, serve distinct functions in the marketing process.

Marketing Strategy: This aspect defines the overarching approach and long-term vision for a company’s engagement in the market. Each element of the marketing strategy is designed to align with the company’s top-level goals and contribute to realizing its vision statement. In essence, the marketing strategy answers the “what” and “why” behind a company’s marketing efforts, outlining what the company aims to achieve and why those goals are important.
Marketing Plan: In contrast, the marketing plan focuses on the “how” of reaching strategic objectives. It is a practical document that outlines specific actions, timelines, and resources required to execute the marketing strategy. It details the campaigns, channels, tools, and tactics that will be used to achieve the strategic goals outlined in the marketing strategy.

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Modern Marketing: Strategy and Execution

Learn from Inc. Magazine’s prize-winning editorial content about the basic concepts of digital marketing, including targeting, value proposition, and more.

Types of Marketing Plans

Marketing plans vary depending on their focus, scope, and objectives. Understanding the different types of plans is crucial for businesses aiming to target their marketing efforts and resources effectively. Here are some of the key types:

Go-to-market/Product Launch: This plan is specifically designed to introduce a new product. It outlines the target audience, market entry strategy, and advertising tactics to be employed.
Social Media : A social media plan is tailored to the unique dynamics of social media platforms. It details the advertising strategies to be used on these platforms, focusing on engaging with users and leveraging specific features to maximize reach and impact.
General Marketing Strategic Plan / Annual Marketing Plan: This comprehensive plan covers a company’s overall marketing activities for the entire year. It encompasses various marketing efforts and campaigns, outlining a cohesive strategy that supports the company’s annual goals.
Content Marketing Plan : Focused on content creation and distribution, this plan outlines the strategies, campaigns, and tactics for using content to achieve business objectives. It details how different types of content (blog posts, videos, infographics) will be used to attract and engage the target audience.
SEO Marketing Plan: Dedicated to search engine optimization, this plan outlines the strategies and actions to improve a website’s visibility in search engine results pages (SERPs). It focuses on keyword research, content optimization, link building, and other tactics to drive organic traffic to the website.

Benefits of a Marketing Plan

Having a structured plan is invaluable. It acts as a strategic roadmap, guiding businesses toward achieving their goals through well-organized and monitored marketing activities.

Here are five important benefits of creating a marketing plan:

Goal Setting: It allows your business to define clear marketing objectives and set measurable targets. This facilitates focused efforts toward lead generation, sales increase, market share expansion, brand awareness, and customer acquisition.
Strategic Direction: The plan provides a detailed outline of your promotional strategy, helping identify the target audience, their preferences, and the best methods to reach and engage them effectively.
Competitive Advantage: A plan helps you articulate and leverage your unique selling proposition (USP), ensuring you stand out in the market and secure a competitive edge.
Consistency and Integration: The plan fosters consistency and integration in marketing efforts, ensuring a unified brand message and customer experience across all marketing channels and touchpoints,
Long-term Sustainability: A comprehensive plan not only focuses on immediate goals but also lays the groundwork for sustained growth and adaptability to market evolution, customer demands, and emerging trends.

How To Write a Marketing Plan

Create a mission statement

The foundation of any effective marketing plan begins with a clear and concise mission statement. This crucial step sets the stage for all subsequent planning by articulating the core purpose and direction of your company’s marketing efforts. A mission statement serves as a compass, guiding your marketing strategies and ensuring they align with your organization’s broader goals.

Developing a mission statement is more than just a formality; it’s a strategic exercise that clarifies your marketing vision and sets a purposeful path for your team. With a compelling mission statement in place, you can craft a plan that resonates with your audience and drives your business toward its long-term objectives.

Set your goals/KPIs

Establishing clear goals and key performance indicators (KPIs) is a pivotal step in crafting a marketing plan that aligns with your company’s value proposition and ensures measurable success. This stage involves setting financial and non-financial objectives to guide your marketing efforts and evaluate their effectiveness.

Marketers who set specific goals are significantly more likely to report success. By defining financial and non-financial objectives, you create a comprehensive framework for guiding your marketing strategies. This dual focus not only drives economic value but also fosters qualitative improvements in your marketing efforts, ensuring a balanced approach to achieving your company’s vision.

Identify Your Target Market

Pinpointing your target market is a crucial step in any marketing plan. Understanding who your product or service is for and why forms the backbone of your marketing efforts and influences decisions on marketing channels, content creation, and overall outreach strategies.

A key outcome of market research is the development of buyer personas. These semi-fictional representations of your ideal customers are crafted based on real data and insights about your existing clientele. Buyer personas detail your target market’s characteristics, needs, and motivations, offering a detailed profile that guides your marketing strategies.

Conduct Competitive Analysis

Conducting a competitive analysis is integral to crafting a robust marketing plan. This process involves identifying your main competitors, understanding their strategies, and evaluating how your business can establish a distinctive and superior position in your niche. Through this analysis, you’ll gain insights into the competitive landscape, helping you to leverage your own strengths and identify areas for improvement.

Understanding both the internal and external factors that influence your market positioning is crucial. They include:

Internal factors: Examine what could impact your competitive advantage, such as your team’s expertise, proprietary technology, or customer service practices.
External factors: Look beyond your immediate competitive environment to broader market conditions that could affect your position. This includes economic trends, regulatory changes, and technological advancements.
Economic considerations: Assess how the current economic climate might influence consumer purchasing behavior and, consequently, your market strategy.
Sociological trends: Understand shifting societal values, lifestyles, and consumer behaviors and how they offer new market opportunities.
Industry trends: Keep an eye on overarching trends within your industry, including emerging technologies, shifts in consumer preferences, and new regulatory frameworks.
Set Your Budget

Your marketing budget is the planned amount of money you’ll spend to achieve your marketing goal. Knowing the financial resources you have available for marketing activities allows you to craft a plan that maximizes impact while maintaining fiscal responsibility. This financial foresight prevents overspending and ensures that every dollar spent contributes to achieving your marketing objectives.

This overview should include all sources of funding and any constraints or stipulations attached to them. Having a comprehensive understanding of your financial resources sets the groundwork for all subsequent planning and decision-making.

Execute your Plan

Execution involves the detailed scheduling of marketing activities, assigning responsibilities to team members, and setting deadlines that align with the marketing plan’s timelines. It’s about bringing the plan to life through a series of coordinated efforts, from launching advertising campaigns to engaging with customers on social media platforms. This phase is where the theoretical aspects of the plan, such as target audience engagement and brand messaging, are put into practice through concrete actions like content creation, digital marketing, and promotional events.

In conclusion, a well-crafted marketing plan is the linchpin of successful marketing efforts, offering a strategic blueprint that guides businesses through the intricate landscape of market engagement and customer interaction. From the initial stages of understanding the marketing plan’s scope and its relationship with the overarching business strategy to the detailed planning and execution of marketing activities, each step is vital in steering an organization toward its desired market position.

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How to Write an Effective Marketing Plan

Male entrepreneur showing a female mentor a snapshot of his marketing plan on his phone.

Alan Gleeson

3 min. read

Updated October 27, 2023

A marketing plan is a core component of a business plan. It relates specifically to the marketing of a particular product or service and it describes:

An overall marketing objective
A broad marketing strategy
The tactical detail related to specific marketing activities
The various costs associated with these activities
Those tasked with delivering these activities by name

The starting point for any marketing plan is an analysis of the strategic context, as a typical objective for most plans is promoting a good or service as effectively as possible. An assessment of the company, its environment and its customers helps to ensure that the author of the plan obtains a holistic view of the wider context. In turn this helps them to focus their energies and resources accordingly. This is particularly important given that most marketing managers will be subject to that all-too-familiar constraint—limited resources (invariably financial). In effect, a marketing plan is produced to ensure that limited resources are allocated to activities that are likely to bring the maximum return.

An assessment of the context will include analysis of both internal and external factors. There are a number of frameworks and tools designed to assist you with this:

A SWOT analysis forces you to consider internal Strengths and Weaknesses alongside external Opportunities and Threats.
Porter’s Five Forces is a framework designed to assist you in considering the broader competitive and environmental context.

It is also vital that you have a thorough understanding of your customers; look to whether segments exist within your broad customer group that can be profitably served utilizing specific and targeted marketing activities.

Following an analysis of broader conditions, a marketing strategy can then be put in place. This strategy needs to include financials so that all activities can be assessed in the context of their cost as a portion of the overall marketing budget. Regardless of the product or service, the objectives tend to be similar for most managers; create awareness, stimulate interest in the offering, and ultimately (profitably) convert this awareness into sales. All these factors are intertwined and, hence, the importance of effective market planning.

Using a local restaurant as an example, their marketing activities are going to be predominantly concentrated within a two to three mile radius of their restaurant, as this area is where the vast majority of their customers are likely to come from. Tactically, there is no point in such a restaurant advertising on TV (even locally) as the cost would be prohibitive in the context of their business model. They are limited in terms of capacity (number of seats) and their average cost per head so that, even if they created huge awareness and interest via TV advertising, the resultant revenues would still be unlikely to cover the cost of the specific marketing activity. On the other hand, stuffing leaflets through local letterboxes is extremely targeted and comes at low relative cost, which explains the sheer volume of fast-food fliers most of us get on a daily basis.

The reader of the plan should clearly be able to relate to the marketing initiatives in terms of the message, the target audience and the means to accessing this audience. A good marketing plan will detail specifics, i.e., a number of marketing activities, their respective costs, and the expected return on investment. Measuring return on marketing has historically been one of the greatest challenges the industry has faced. The advent of PPC (pay-per-click) advertising via the Internet has finally resulted in managers being able to track sales resulting from specific campaigns and adverts. However, this is just one means of advertising, and calculating effective ROI (return on investment) figures for other forms, such as billboards and TV, remains as elusive as ever.

In summary, a marketing plan should enable marketing managers to document their assessment of the opportunity in terms of effective allocation of limited resources. While most managers would love the luxury of a seven-figure marketing budget to spend on every conceivable advertising medium, the reality is that most need to market effectively on a pittance. A marketing plan assesses the most efficient means to attract potential customers and ultimately convert them to sales. Without a plan, a business is essentially rudderless and marketing activities are more likely to be reactive and, hence, considerably less effective.

See why 1.2 million entrepreneurs have written their business plans with LivePlan

Alan Gleeson is a CMO, consultant and entrepreneur with a background in marketing and SaaS. He currently works for Contento, a company building a Headless CMS for Tech Companies. Gleeson has experience in a variety of industries including financial services, technology, and SaaS.

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Table of Contents

9 Min. Read

How to Create a Unique Value Proposition + Examples

7 Min. Read

3 Key Steps to Create a Promotional Plan

8 Min. Read

How to Create A Digital Marketing Plan and Strategy

How to Create a Sales Plan for Your Business

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Business Plan vs. Marketing Plan: What’s the Difference?

The main difference between a Business Plan and Marketing Plan is that a Business Plan outlines overall goals and strategies for the entire company, while a Marketing Plan focuses specifically on promoting products or services.

Before we move to more differences, let’s first understand Business Plan and Marketing Plan:

Business Plan : A business plan is like a map that shows how a business will work and grow. It includes goals, how to reach them, and how to handle challenges. It helps people understand what the business does and how it will make money.
Marketing Plan : A marketing plan is a plan that explains how a business will let people know about its products or services. It includes ways to reach customers, like ads or social media. The goal is to make people interested in what the business offers.

Now, let’s get to Business Plan vs Marketing Plan:

Major differences between Business Plan and Marketing Plan

So, these are the main differences between the entities.

Brand Marketing vs. Growth Marketing
B2B Content Marketing vs. B2C Content Marketing
Affiliate Marketing vs. Pyramid Scheme

You can see other “differences between…” posts by clicking here .

If you have a related query, kindly feel free to let me know in the comments below.

The Difference Between a Marketing Plan & a Business Plan: How to Distinguish Between the Two (& Use Both to Accelerate Your Success)

Table of contents.

Image of a man standing over a few key marketing concepts.

Planning to succeed

They say that ‘if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.’ This is a major factor in why 9 out of 10 businesses never make it past the 5-year mark. So if planning is on your mind, you are already ahead of the game.

But when you start to look at possible plans for your new enterprise, it gets confusing very quickly. You may have heard people talking about both business plans and marketing plans. Are these the same thing, or are there differences? If so, which should you choose—or do you need both?

In this article, I’ll take a close look at business and marketing plans, discussing how they fit into your overall success strategy. I’ll clarify what each plan is for and explain how to leverage them to your advantage.

Business plan vs. marketing plan

Business plans and marketing plans are distinct and have different purposes. Yet they both play a vital role in ensuring business success. So how are they different?

Business plan

A business plan sets out the overall strategy for your business. It defines the company’s overall aims, and objectives then maps out a course for achieving them.

This plan keeps the executive team focused on the right goals, ensuring that everyone works together to achieve success. It also plays a crucial role in helping the start up and small business raise money. Banks and other investors will expect to see a business plan that clarifies how their money will be used—and how they will achieve a return on investment.

A sound business plan will typically include:

Market research data
Competitive analysis
A mission statement
Financial projections
A sales and marketing strategy
An operating plan

Marketing plan

A marketing plan is much narrower in its focus. As the name suggests, it is only concerned with how you will achieve sales. Of course, every business needs healthy sales to survive, so marketing deserves special attention.

A typical marketing plan might cover:

The target market
The value proposition of the brand
The sales targets for future quarters
Campaigns to be executed
A timeline for completing campaigns
The metrics used to measure success

A marketing plan is essentially a sub-set of a business plan, providing extra detail on one critically-important area of operation.

Creating your business plan

There are many ways to write your business plan, but the two most popular options are:

Traditional business plan format
Lean startup plan format

Let’s examine how you should structure each of these:

Traditional business plan

Conventional business plans are more comprehensive, including a lot of detail. This format is a good choice if you’re aiming to raise money from banks or financial institutions. Your plan is likely to include these elements:

Executive summary: a top-level overview of what the business will do and why it’s likely to be successful
Company description: detail about the problems your business solves and why your company is qualified to provide solutions
Market analysis: insights into the current state of the market, strengths and weaknesses of competitors, and opportunities to innovate
Organizational structure: details concerning the legal structure of the business and the executive team who will lead operations
Products and services: explain the offers you will present to the market and how you will gain a competitive advantage
Marketing and sales: your strategy for reaching potential customers and achieving sales
Operating plan: outline how the business will operate in terms of locations, number of employees, etc.
Funding requirements: detail the financial requirements of the business and how you expect these to be fulfilled
Financial projections: show your forecasts for revenue and expenses in the quarters ahead
Appendix: add any additional supporting documents that strengthen your case

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Lean startup plan

If you’re looking to raise money from venture capital companies or angel investors, the lean startup plan might be the right choice. This format is designed to be a quick read, giving busy investors the critical info they need to make a decision.

Core components of a lean startup plan typically include:

Business overview: provide a clear overview of what your business will do and how it will operate
Key partnerships: list the manufacturers, suppliers, subcontractors, and other strategic partners critical to your success
Key activities: describe how your business will gain an edge over competitors (from innovative technology to a more efficient sales system)
Key resources: explain how intellectual property, staff, capital, or other assets will help you succeed
Value proposition: provide a compelling statement that shows how your company is different and what this means to investors and stakeholders
Customer relationships: show how your business will interact with prospects and clients (define the entire customer experience)
Customer segments: demonstrate a clear understanding of who your most important prospective customers are
Channels: define the key channels you will use to reach people in your target market
Cost structure: explain whether you will prioritize reducing costs or maximizing value to customers
Revenue streams: break down all the income streams your company will use to generate sales and profit

Creating your marketing plan

Once you’ve achieved any funding required and gotten your business off the ground, it’s time to focus on your marketing strategy. You can use the ‘Marketing & Sales’ element in your business plan as your starting point, expanding as necessary to create a comprehensive and detailed marketing plan.

You may include any or all of the following elements:

Business objectives: it’s essential that your marketing plan stays aligned with the overall business targets, so this is an excellent place to start
Marketing goals: define exactly what you want to achieve in terms of increased sales, higher margins, improved average order value, etc.
Market research: provide informed insights into the size and growth of your intended market, together with the opportunities it presents
Target audience: identify the demographics of your intended audience, and describe your ‘perfect customer’ avatar
Messaging: describe the brand messages, unique selling propositions, and competitive advantages you intend to convey
Pricing and positioning: determine whether you will be seeking volume sales with lower prices or higher margins with premium positioning
Budget: outline the spending requirements for your proposed campaigns, ensuring that all likely costs are included
Timing: set out a timeframe for executing the marketing plan, including timescales for all advertising and promotional campaigns
Roles: clarify who will be involved in putting the plan into action, including managers, employees, agencies, and suppliers
Key Performance Indicators: define what success will look like in terms of metrics that move the needle in your business

Get the right plan

Whatever the nature of your business, you should have both a business plan and a marketing plan in place. These will be the guides that keep you firmly on track for success.

But putting these plans together from scratch can be daunting. That’s where I can help. As a marketing broker with over ten years of experience, I’ve helped countless businesses get their startup off the ground.

If you need help turning your new venture into an unstoppable success, be sure to get in touch. We can talk through your business and marketing needs, keeping you on track to grow sales and profits.

With the right plan to follow, there’s no limit to how much you can achieve. Let’s make it happen!

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What Is a Marketing Plan?

Understanding marketing plans, how to write a marketing plan, marketing plan vs. business plan.

Marketing Plan FAQs

The Bottom Line

Marketing Essentials

What Is a Marketing Plan? Types and How to Write One

James Chen, CMT is an expert trader, investment adviser, and global market strategist.

Pete Rathburn is a copy editor and fact-checker with expertise in economics and personal finance and over twenty years of experience in the classroom.

Investopedia / Zoe Hansen

A marketing plan is an operational document that outlines an advertising strategy that an organization will implement to generate leads and reach its target market . A marketing plan details the outreach and PR campaigns to be undertaken over a period, including how the company will measure the effect of these initiatives. The functions and components of a marketing plan include the following:

Market research to support pricing decisions and new market entries
Tailored messaging that targets certain demographics and geographic areas
Platform selection for product and service promotion: digital, radio, Internet, trade magazines, and the mix of those platforms for each campaign
Metrics that measure the results of marketing efforts and their reporting timelines

A marketing plan is based on a company’s overall marketing strategy.

Key Takeaways

The marketing plan details the strategy that a company will use to market its products to customers.
The plan identifies the target market, the value proposition of the brand or the product, the campaigns to be initiated, and the metrics to be used to assess the effectiveness of marketing initiatives.
The marketing plan should be adjusted on an ongoing basis based on the findings from the metrics that show which efforts are having an impact and which are not.
Digital marketing shows results in near real-time, whereas TV ads require rotation to realize any level of market penetration.
A marketing plan is part of a business plan, which describes all of the important aspects of a business, such as its goals, values, mission statement, budget, and strategies.

The terms marketing plan and marketing strategy are often used interchangeably because a marketing plan is developed based on an overarching strategic framework. In some cases, the strategy and the plan may be incorporated into one document, particularly for smaller companies that may only run one or two major campaigns in a year. The plan outlines marketing activities on a monthly, quarterly, or annual basis while the marketing strategy outlines the overall value proposition.

Types of Marketing Plans

There are a variety of different marketing plans that suit different businesses and different business needs.

New Product Launch: This is a marketing plan that outlines how a new product will enter the market, who it will target, and in what way advertising will be done.

Social Media: A social media marketing plan focuses on the advertising strategies on different social media platforms and how to engage with the users on these platforms.

Time-Based: Time-based marketing plans, such as those that are executed quarterly or annually, focus on the time of the year, the current condition of the business, and the best strategies in that period.

Mission and Value Proposition

A marketing plan considers the value proposition of a business. The value proposition is the overall promise of value to be delivered to the customer and is a statement that appears front and center of the company website or any branding materials.

The value proposition should state how a product or brand solves the customer's problem, the benefits of the product or brand, and why the customer should buy from this company and not another. The marketing plan is based on this value proposition to the customer.

Establishing your key performance indicators (KPIs) will allow you to measure the success of your marketing plan in relation to your company's value proposition. For example, if your goal is to engage with a certain demographic in a certain region, you can track social media and website visits.

The most effective digital marketing techniques in 2020 according to marketers are content marketing and marketing automation.

Identify Your Target Market

The marketing plan identifies the target market for a product or brand. Market research is often the basis for a target market and marketing channel decisions. For example, whether the company will advertise on the radio, on social media, through online ads, or on regional TV.

Knowing who you want to sell to and why is an extremely critical component of any business plan. It allows you to focus your business and measure its success. Different demographics have different tastes and needs, knowing what your target market is will help you market to them.

Strategy and Execution

The marketing plan includes the rationale for these decisions. The plan should focus on the creation, timing, scheduling, and placement of specific campaigns. The plan will include the metrics that will measure the outcomes of your marketing efforts. For example, will you advertise on the radio or on social media? What time will you air advertisements if they are on the radio or TV? The strategy may include flighting scheduling , which includes the times when you can make the most of your advertising dollars.

Set Your Budget

A marketing plan costs money. Knowing your budget for a marketing plan will allow you to create a suitable plan within that context, stick to it, and prevent runaway costs. It will also help you allocate to different areas of your marketing plan.

Adjust Your Plan

A marketing plan can be adjusted at any point based on the results from the metrics. If digital ads are performing better than expected, for example, the budget for a campaign can be adjusted to fund a higher-performing platform or the company can initiate a new budget. The challenge for marketing leaders is to ensure that every platform has sufficient time to show results.

Without the correct metrics to assess the impact of outreach and marketing efforts, an organization will not know which campaigns to repeat and which ones to drop; maintaining ineffective initiatives will unnecessarily increase marketing costs.

Digital marketing shows results in near real-time, whereas TV ads require rotation to realize any level of market penetration. In the traditional marketing mix model, a marketing plan would fall under the category of "promotion," which is one of the four Ps , a term coined by Neil Borden to describe the marketing mix of product, price, promotion, and place.

A business plan details how a business will operate and function in its entirety. A business plan is a roadmap for a business. It will cover the goals, missions , values, financials, and strategies that the business will use in day-to-day operations and in the achievement of its objectives.

A business plan will include an executive summary, the products and services sold, a marketing analysis, a marketing strategy, financial planning, and a budget , to name but a few items.

As mentioned, a business plan will include a marketing plan, which focuses on creating a marketing strategy on how to bring awareness to the public of the company's product or service, how to reach the target market, and generate sales.

Example of a Marketing Plan

John came up with a new business idea that he believes is a niche offering in the market. He decides to start a business and his first step is creating a business plan that outlines all of the objectives, goals, values, pitfalls, and finances of his company.

John is able to raise enough capital from friends and family to get started, hires a few employees, and eventually creates his product. He now has to start selling his product and generate sales to keep his business operating.

To achieve this, John, with the help of a marketing company, creates a marketing plan. The marketing plan consists of market research that details the target market for John's product, which is recently retired men.

The marketing plan then comes up with the best methods of reaching this target market. The marketing plan stresses radio and television as opposed to social media as older, retired men use social media less than traditional forms of media, according to the market research that was conducted.

The ads are tailored to the target market, showing how John's product will benefit their lives, particularly when compared to market alternatives. Once the marketing plan has been executed, the marketing team analyzes how the efforts translate into sales.

What Is a Marketing Plan Template?

A marketing plan template is a document that an individual can use to create a marketing plan. The marketing plan template will contain all the important elements and the various needed language with blank sections. A user can insert their own information related to their business in the blank sections to ultimately create their own marketing plan.

What Is an Executive Summary in a Marketing Plan?

The executive summary of a marketing plan provides a brief overview of the entire marketing plan. The executive summary will contain the key findings of the market research, the company's objectives, marketing goals, an overview of the marketing trends, the description of the product or service being marketed, information on the target market, and how to financially plan for the marketing plan.

What Is a Top-Down Marketing Strategy?

A top-down marketing strategy is a traditional marketing strategy. This is where a business determines who it should sell to and how, and the customer base is largely passive and spurred to take action once they hear the advertisement. For example, a top-down marketing strategy would include ads on radio or television. Top-down marketing strategies are usually determined by the executives of a firm. It usually consists of what a firm desires to do and then determining a way to do it.

What Is a Bottom-Up Marketing Strategy?

A bottom-up marketing strategy focuses on discovering a workable strategy and then building on that strategy to create an impactful advertising campaign. Today's consumer wants to relate to a product or service in a meaningful way and a bottom-up marketing strategy is better suited to this. A bottom-up marketing strategy should focus on the target market and how better to create value for them.

How Much Does a Marketing Plan Cost?

The cost of a marketing plan will vary based on the company, the complexity, and the length of the overall strategy. The cost can range anywhere from $10,000 to $40,000.

A marketing plan is the advertising strategy that a business will implement to sell its product or service. The marketing plan will help determine who the target market is, how best to reach them, at what price point the product or service should be sold, and how the company will measure its efforts.

Constantly monitoring and adjusting a market plan is an important part of running a business as it shows what are the best and worst ways to generate sales. Without a successful marketing plan, a business may not be able to continue operating for very long.

Statista. " Most Effective Digital Marketing Techniques According to Marketers Worldwide in 2020 ."

Laire. " How Much Does a Marketing Plan Cost? "

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What Is a Marketing Plan? Types and How to Write One 5 of 25
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Business Plan vs Marketing Plan: What’s the Difference?

You can’t expect the win the confidence of investors unless you prepare the right documents. Investors are highly selective when choosing businesses in which to invest. If they believe your business is poised to grow and succeed, they may offer to purchase an ownership stake in it. You’ll have an easier time winning investors’ confidence by providing them with a business plan and marketing plan. What’s the difference between these two documents exactly?

What Is a Business Plan?

Many investors will require you to provide a business plan when seeking financing for them. Some banks require a business plan for financing as well. Whether you’re trying to obtain equity financing from an investor or debt financing from a bank, you’ll probably need to prepare a business plan.

What Is a Marketing Plan?

A marketing plan, on the other hand, is a smaller and more specific document that focuses strictly on your business’s marketing activities. Marketing, of course, is the promotion of your business and its goods or services. While different businesses sell different types of goods and services, they all engage in marketing activities to attract customers. In a marketing plan, you can explain how your business intends to attract new customers through marketing activities.

You can include your marketing plan in your business plan. Alternatively, you create a separate marketing plan that’s distinguished from your business plan. Most business plans have a section for marketing. After creating a marketing plan, you can either place it in this section or use it as a separate and independent document.

Differences Between Business Plans and Marketing Plans

Business plans and marketing plans aren’t the same. Business plans consist of multiple parts, each of which covers a specific aspect of your business. Most of them contain an executive summary, business description, goods and services and marketing section. In comparison, marketing plans only cover your business’s marketing activities.

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Marketing Strategy vs. Marketing Plan: What’s the Difference?

Is there really a difference between a marketing strategy and a marketing plan? Are they two sides of the same marketing program coin?

While the terms are commonly used interchangeably, they’re two very different concepts in the real world. It may seem like splitting semantic hairs, but understanding the difference between marketing strategy vs. marketing plan is crucial to the success of your campaigns and your progress toward overarching business goals.

Let’s compare and contrast the concepts in greater depth so you’re prepared when it comes time to take your marketing to the next level .

What Is a Marketing Strategy?

A digital marketing strategy is the “why” behind your marketing. Every piece of marketing collateral you create will be informed by this documentation, which means it works hand-in-hand with your content strategy .

Basically, a marketing strategy is a reflection of your short-term and long-term business approach. This strategy should also be a distillation of your brand values, voice, mission and messaging. For example, if your business aims to scale up quickly, the strategic marketing vision you develop needs to support that objective, perhaps by focusing on consumer acquisition or ramping up your online presence.

A good marketing strategy will encompass your unique selling proposition, all that your business hopes to achieve and its brand identity.

What Is a Marketing Plan?

Your marketing plan is the “how” to your strategy’s “why.” Ideally, a marketing plan should be just that — a plan of action for how you will execute your strategy to accomplish each marketing goal.

The process of creating a tactical marketing plan is about addressing the real-world steps you will take to create, promote, track and measure your campaign, programs and assets. The workflows and procedures you develop will provide a roadmap for making your strategy actionable.

How a Marketing Strategy and Plan Work Together

To use a not-at-all-complicated metaphor, let’s say your business needs a ship to sail through your marketing campaign. That ship needs a direction in which to travel (i.e., a strategy) and the sails to power it (i.e., a plan).

Marketing strategy and plan work hand in hand, with the latter taking cues from the former. Everything laid out by your strategy should be addressed with a plan — one that defines the processes for tactical marketing.

However, the lines can be a bit blurred. Strategic planning is one oft-used phrase that can create confusion. In reality, strategic planning is just high-quality planning informed by a thorough marketing strategy.

Needless to say, a strategy without planning is like a winning idea without a way to realize it; and planning without a strategy will lead to a rudderless ship.

the ship (your business) needs not only a direction (i.e., a strategy) but also the sails to power it (i.e., a plan).

How to Create a Marketing Strategy

Strategy is not an amorphous concept. It takes real work and thinking to establish a good marketing strategy that ultimately facilitates business success.

Here are some basic steps to crafting a comprehensive strategy:

Identify each marketing objective: Strategy begins with your goals, both now and in the future. For example, if your business plan is to expand into new markets, the strategic marketing approach may be to make inroads with new customer segments. Brainstorm how your marketing can reflect other short-term goals and long-term ambitions, like becoming an authority in your industry.
Refine your audience: Defining your audience enables you to resonate with buyers and push customers through the marketing funnel. A strategic marketing priority is to develop buyer personas. These personas will be central to deciding on the angle and value prop of the marketing you create.
Establish your brand guidelines: Your brand needs to be codified in a way that ensures every piece of marketing content will be identifiable and conforms to your standards. This means outlining editorial voice, graphic design preferences and all other critical brand elements. Having a unified presence leads to a better customer experience. Without a single source of truth for how the brand should be represented, your actual marketing may devolve into disparate shots in the dark.
Assess opportunities and threats: Your level of strategy will influence how prepared you are to capitalize on a market research opportunity or manage risks. Research competitors to understand what they’re doing — and, more importantly, what they’re not doing. Know how you’ll leverage your competitive advantage to meet a new market need or shifting consumer preferences.

Importantly, strategy is not static. It needs to be constantly updated and fine-tuned to keep your business on track and achieve changing marketing objectives.

How to Create a Marketing Plan

Returning to the question of “how” shows us the best way to create a marketing plan that works. Ask yourself these questions as you set out to develop your plan of action:

How will we reach consumers? The answer to this question will help define your marketing mix. What types of marketing will you utilize to reach leads, prospects and existing customers? Content marketing, digital marketing, search marketing, social media marketing , event marketing and all other types of marketing are in play here.
How will we create marketing materials? Clearly defined workflows and processes will support the creation of high-quality marketing materials. You need to suss out who owns which project phases, how cross-functional teams will collaborate and what quality controls are in place (like checking for adherence to brand guidelines).
How will we share content and collateral? Not only must you choose your marketing mix, but also your selection of marketing channels. Once again, there are many types to consider: direct mail, social media, email, your website, pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, organic search, etc. Each distribution channel will have its place in planning.
How will we track campaigns and measure results? Data is the lifeblood of strategic marketing. You’ll need to create a list of key performance indicators (KPIs) with which to track campaigns. These may include anything from conversion rates to cost per lead.

Marketing Strategy and Marketing Plan Examples in Action

Let’s look at some examples of how the waterfall of business objectives to marketing strategy to marketing plan works in real life:

Business goal: To pivot or reinvent the business, whether due to a merger, new market need or modernization effort.
Marketing strategy: Launch a rebranding campaign; craft new messaging to align marketing with the business’s new direction; create new brand guidelines.
Marketing plan: Pursue a website redevelopment; create a marketing plan template to ensure all new efforts adhere to guidelines; reoptimize website content and copy; coordinate a rollout of new colors, logos and fonts to all social media platforms; hire a marketing agency to consult on best practices.

It’s much easier to see the differences between marketing strategy vs. marketing plan in such a scenario, but also easier to grasp how they work in conjunction. Let’s consider another:

Business goal: To launch a new service or product line.
Marketing strategy: Research competitors and the existing market; develop a new set of buyer personas; outline the marketing funnel and customer journey; generate leads for the proposed expansion.
Marketing plan: Create content around the new product for outreach (e.g., blogs, emails, white paper, one-pagers, etc.); decide which assets to gate in exchange for a name and email address; balance customer acquisition with retention by creating a loyalty program.

Getting the picture?

Business goal: To increase revenue or raise sales by a certain percentage.
Marketing strategy: Support sales enablement with high-quality marketing content and collateral; revitalize or refine the value proposition; reach out to new customer segments.
Marketing plan: Track KPIs related to conversions; focus on high-performing channels; leverage customer data to make upsell or cross-sell recommendations; start a retargeting campaign.

One more for good measure:

Business goal: To become an industry leader.
Marketing strategy: Highlight brand strengths and competitive advantages; present the brand as friendly, knowledgeable and authoritative; raise brand awareness and cultivate brand evangelists.
Marketing plan: Build influencer marketing relationships; publish thought leadership content and/or guest blogs; use social media for customer service and conversations; conduct webinars.

Level Up Your Marketing Campaign

When a marketing strategy and marketing plan are in harmony, what they create is music to your business’ ears. Alignment between the two gives your brand its best chance to impact consumers, raise its profile and succeed in its key business objectives.

Editor’s Note: Updated December 2022.

Dominic Tortorice

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Difference Between a Business Plan and a Marketing Plan

by Cheryl Munson

Published on 29 Jul 2019

To understand the relationship between business plan and marketing plan, think of them in terms of a pizza. A business plan is the whole pie. A marketing plan is a slice of the pie, but a very important slice. The difference between business plan and marketing plan is that a company's business plan provides an overview of every aspect of a company while its marketing plan focuses on strategies and efforts to generate sales and revenue.

A marketing plan is part of a business plan; a business plan is an organization-wide plan that covers every aspect of a company's operation.

Business Plan Examples

A business plan typically includes the following:

An overview of the business
A description of products or services and how they are produced
A description of the business model for the company
Identification of the executive leadership and management team
Cash flow statements
Charts and graphs on financial projections related to sales, costs, expenditures and more.

In short, a business plan sets out the company's future objectives and strategies for achieving them in the the medium- and long-term. One aspect of the business plan may be a summary of how the company is going to market its products and services, and who it is going to market them to. This is the marketing summary; a high-level view of the marketing plan.

As a basic example, a business plan for a pizza shop would state the location of the business along with all related expenses like monthly rent and utilities, a description of the types of pizza and other foods to be produced and the costs associated with these like ingredient and labor costs, projected monthly gross and net profits based on financial data from other pizza shops in the area and a basic run-down of the company's day-to-day operation.

Parts of a Marketing Summary

An organization's marketing plan is included in the overall business plan; however, it is written in summary format. Included in a marketing summary are the marketing objectives, and the strategies and tactics the company will utilize to generate sales and revenue. The marketing summary section of the business plan also gives a general overview of advertising plans that will be implemented to achieve marketing objectives and goals.

Detailed Marketing Plan Example

The complete marketing plan is a separate, comprehensive document that goes into more detail about objectives, goals and tactics. This document guides the implementation of efforts by the company's marketing, sales and advertising departments.

One marketing plan example for a pizza shop could be an effort to attract tourists during the summer vacation season. After identifying the marketing goal, the plan details the ideal consumer persona, the shop's competitors, the marketing campaign's cost and the type of marketing the pizza shop will employ to attract its ideal consumers, such as offering an order of wings with every large pie sold.

The marketing department uses the plan to align how products and services are to be positioned in the marketplace in terms of distribution channels and pricing. The plan describes in detail monthly, quarterly and annual sales volume goals that need to be reached by the sales team.

The plan also includes a section that sets forth the communications platform for the advertising team and/or outside advertising agency to use to develop advertising, promotions and events that align with the communications messaging strategy to reach customers and clients in the marketplace.

Business Plan Audience

Generally speaking, the business plan is shared only with key executives within the company and external members of the financial community. It is typically written to target potential investors, stockholders and accountants. It is most often used to generate funds to provide working capital to execute the plans and programs the company has identified as necessary to maintain a competitive position and sustainable success in the marketplace.

When a business plan is shared with these individuals and groups, it may be presented with one or more marketing plan examples and the presentation may even illustrate the relationship between business plan and marketing plan in an effort to sell the idea more effectively.

Marketing Plan Audience

The marketing plan is not shared with consumers and clients, but the contents are aimed at them. The complete plan is an internal document that is usually shared only with those responsible for marketing, sales and advertising efforts. The marketing plan includes results from research that help identify tactics to communicate with customers to get them to purchase products.

The plan includes strategies on pricing and incentives to gain new clients for a service-oriented business and increase sales volume with retail distributors. The marketing plan is an internal strategic document developed to win customers, clients, achieve sales and distribution goals, compete with other businesses and increase the company’s market share.

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COMMENTS

Marketing plan vs business plan: What's the difference?
Timeline. Another key difference between the two is how far into the future they look. Business plans, for example, tend to cover a much longer period than marketing plans. A typical window for a business plan, for example, is about five years. A typical window for a marketing plan, on the other hand, will be a year to three years.
Business Plan vs. Marketing Plan: What is the Difference?
While the business plan provides a comprehensive view of the entire business, the marketing plan hones in on attracting and retaining customers. Discover the distinctions between a business plan and a marketing plan. Understand their unique roles, structures, and how they interplay in business success.
What is a Marketing Plan & How to Write One [+Examples]
Marketing Plan vs. Business Plan. A marketing plan is a strategic document that outlines marketing objectives, strategies, and tactics. A business plan is also a strategic document. But this plan covers all aspects of a company's operations, including finance, operations, and more. It can also help your business decide how to distribute ...
Marketing Plans vs. Business Plans: What's The Difference, and Why Do
A business plan covers the entire business, including overall strategy, financial plans, target markets, sales, products and services, operations, and how they all relate to each other. A marketing plan, in contrast, focuses on the marketing: marketing strategy, target markets, marketing mix, messaging, programs, etc. Cash flow is vital for a ...
What Is a Marketing Plan? And How to Create One
Marketing plan vs. marketing strategy vs. business plan. In researching what a marketing plan is, you may come across the related concepts of marketing strategy and business plan. Think of all three as written roadmaps for developing your business. You'll find similarities among them, including your business objectives and information on your ...
What Is the Difference Between a Marketing & Business Plan?
A business plan covers the entire business, from strategy and mission to financial plans, and operational strategy. A marketing plan contains specific strategies for getting the product to market ...
What is a Marketing Plan & How to Create One [with Examples]
Marketing plan v.s business plan. While both marketing plans and business plans are crucial documents for businesses, they serve distinct purposes and have different scopes. Here's a breakdown of the key differences: Business plan is a comprehensive document that outlines all aspects of your business, including:
Business Plan vs. Marketing Plan
Business Plan vs. Marketing Plan What's the Difference? A business plan and a marketing plan are both essential documents for any organization, but they serve different purposes. A business plan outlines the overall goals, objectives, and strategies of a company, providing a comprehensive roadmap for its operations and growth. It includes ...
Marketing Plan vs. Business Plan: What's The Difference?
Learn how to create a business plan and a marketing plan for your company. A business plan is a comprehensive overview of your mission, goals, and strategy, while a marketing plan is a detailed plan for reaching your target audience.
What is a Marketing Plan & How To Write One? [Easy Guide]
Marketing Plan vs. Business Plan. Understanding the distinction between a marketing plan and a business plan is crucial for any organization aiming to navigate the complexities of strategic planning and resource allocation. Marketing Plan: This is a focused document dedicated to the marketing segment of an organization's strategy. It ...
How to Write an Effective Marketing Plan
A marketing plan is a core component of a business plan. It relates specifically to the marketing of a particular product or service and it describes: An overall marketing objective. A broad marketing strategy. The tactical detail related to specific marketing activities. The various costs associated with these activities.
Create a Marketing Plan [+20 Free Templates]
Scroll down to the end of this post to access seven full marketing plan templates. Marketing Plan vs. Business Plan. Marketing plans and business plans are both essential pieces of business strategy, but their purpose is different. The terms are often used interchangeably or together: marketing business plan.
Business Plan vs. Marketing Plan: What's the Difference?
Marketing Plan: A marketing plan is a plan that explains how a business will let people know about its products or services. It includes ways to reach customers, like ads or social media. The goal is to make people interested in what the business offers. Now, let's get to Business Plan vs Marketing Plan: Major differences between Business ...
Marketing vs. Business Plans Explained
Banks and other investors will expect to see a business plan that clarifies how their money will be used—and how they will achieve a return on investment. A sound business plan will typically include: Market research data. Competitive analysis. A mission statement. Financial projections. A sales and marketing strategy.
What Is a Marketing Plan? Types and How to Write One
Marketing Plan: A marketing plan is a business's operational document for advertising campaigns designed to reach its target market . A marketing plan pulls together all the campaigns that will be ...
Business Plan vs Marketing Plan: What's the Difference?
In a marketing plan, you can explain how your business intends to attract new customers through marketing activities. You can include your marketing plan in your business plan. Alternatively, you create a separate marketing plan that's distinguished from your business plan. Most business plans have a section for marketing.
Marketing Strategy vs. Marketing Plan: What's the Difference?
How a Marketing Strategy and Plan Work Together. To use a not-at-all-complicated metaphor, let's say your business needs a ship to sail through your marketing campaign. That ship needs a direction in which to travel (i.e., a strategy) and the sails to power it (i.e., a plan). Marketing strategy and plan work hand in hand, with the latter ...
Business Plan vs Marketing Plan
Business plan and marketing plan differ from each other in the following ways; 1. A business plan is drawn up to enable a business identify its goals and missions, while the marketing plan explains how the business will achieve, if not exceed, those goals and missions. 2. The business plan provides a wide overview of the business which includes ...
Difference Between a Business Plan and a Marketing Plan
The difference between business plan and marketing plan is that a company's business plan provides an overview of every aspect of a company while its marketing plan focuses on strategies and efforts to generate sales and revenue. Tip. A marketing plan is part of a business plan; a business plan is an organization-wide plan that covers every ...
Marketing Plan vs Business Plan: What's the Difference?
Sign up for a free Jotform account at: https://link.jotform.com/wxTzmhZQqE Do you know the difference between a marketing plan and a business plan? While the...
What Is a Marketing Plan? And How to Create One
A marketing plan is a document that a business uses to execute a marketing strategy. It is tactical, and, as later sections of this article explore, it typically includes campaign objectives, buyer personas, competitive analysis, key performance indicators, an action plan, and a method for analysing campaign results.
How To Write A Business Plan (2024 Guide)
Describe Your Services or Products. The business plan should have a section that explains the services or products that you're offering. This is the part where you can also describe how they fit ...
6 Best Digital Marketing Strategies with Examples in 2024
Digital Marketing Strategy Vs Marketing Tactics. Get this thing clearly: marketing strategy and marketing tactics are 2 different things. ... Returning customers increases the retention rate of the business. 7. Have an SEO plan in place. SEO is all about the game of keywords. It helps you get organic traffic by using the right set of keywords ...

Marketing plan vs business plan: What’s the difference?

The bottom line

Business Plan vs. Marketing Plan

1. Executive Summary

2. Company Description/Overview

3. Products or Services Offered

4. Market Analysis

Industry analysis

Competitor analysis

Target market analysis

SWOT analysis

5. Marketing and Sales Strategies

Marketing and advertising plan

Sales strategy and tactics

Pricing strategy

6. Operations and Management

Operational plan

Technology plan

Management and organizational structure

Personnel plan

7. Financial Plan

Startup Costs

Financial projections

Break-even analysis

Funding requirements and sources

Key performance indicators (KPIs)

8. Appendices

1. Marketing Objectives

2. Target Market

What Problem Are You Solving?

Research Your Market and Competition

Talk to Potential Customers

Create Customer Profiles

3. Value Proposition

4. Marketing Activities

5. Marketing Budget

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What is a Marketing Plan & How to Write One [+Examples]

What is a marketing plan?

Featured Resource: Free Marketing Plan Template

How to Write a Marketing Plan

Marketing Plan vs. Business Plan

Free Marketing Plan Template

You're all set!

Marketing Strategy vs. Marketing Plan

1. State your business's mission.

2. Determine the KPIs for this mission.

3. Identify your buyer personas.

4. Describe your content initiatives and strategies.

Build out your marketing plan with this free template.

6. Define your marketing budget.

7. Identify your competition.

8. Outline your plan's contributors and their responsibilities.

1. Quarterly or Annual Marketing Plans

2. Social Media Marketing Plan

3. Content Marketing Plan

4. New Product Launch Marketing Plan

5. Growth Marketing Plan

1. Louisville Tourism

Why This Marketing Plan Works

2. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

3. Visit Oxnard

4. Safe Haven Family Shelter

5. Wright County Economic Development

6. The Cultural Council of Palm Beach County

7. Cabarrus County Convention & Visitors Bureau

8. Visit Billings

What is a typical marketing plan?

What should a good marketing plan include?

What are the most important parts of a marketing plan?

What questions should I ask when making a marketing plan?

How much does a marketing plan cost?

What is a marketing plan template?

1. Create an overview or primary objective.

5. Define your marketing budget.

6. Identify your competitors.