Writing a Marketing Plan

Writing your marketing plan is one of the most important things you will ever do for your business.  It outlines the structure of your company as well as presents your goals and objectives in a clear and concise matter.  Your marketing plan makes all your ideas visual and lets you see everything together in a nice little package.  Who knows, you may realize something after you have written it that you would not have realized without it.The initial writing of your marketing plan requires a lot of background research.  Most importantly, you have to determine the market for your product (if there is one).  For example, there is a large market for jewelry, but a small market for just owl shaped diamonds.  Therefore, the marketing plan allows you to identify your market so that it can be targeted by your marketing endeavors.  As for doing the actual research, there are lots of resources and information online, as well as in libraries and book stores.  These resources contain the current market synopsis for your market, and this information can be implemented into your marketing plan.  Using your money wisely is critical to a business's success, and your marketing plan designates where funds are allocated to.  If you play it by ear, you're bound to wind up heavily in dept or even bankrupt.  It is essential to decide how your profits will be split (for the various expenses) months ahead of your business being launched.  An easy way to reduce risk is plan things very early on, and simply, a marketing plan makes that possible.The content of a marketing plan consists of several different sections.  There is the detailed description of your product, the price for the product, your target market and demographics, a list of your competitors and other competition, the budget, insurance and legal information, and of course plans for things such as advertising, marketing, and promotion.  Look at each of these sections as if it was its own document, and once each area is perfectly crafted, put it together into your full plan.  Writing a good marketing plan may sound difficult, but everything is made easier if you ask for help.  You would be much better off asking somebody who is already established in your field for help, tips, and information (such as what marketing tactics worked for them, demographics, etc.)  Many business veterans are willing to share their expertise for free, so take advantage of that fact with anything you do, as getting a second opinion from someone who knows what they are doing minimizes risk and increases the chances of success for your operations.