Marketing Plan Worksheets

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Marketing Plan Worksheets

These worksheets will assist you in writing a formal marketing plan. Worksheets are a useful planning tool because they help to ensure that important information is not omitted from the marketing plan. Answering the questions on these worksheets will enable you to:

1. Organize and structure the data and information you collect during the situation analysis.

2. Use this information to better understand a firm's strengths and weaknesses, and to recognize the opportunities and threats that exist in the marketing environment.

3. Develop goals and objectives that capitalize on strengths.

4. Develop a marketing strategy that creates competitive advantages.

5. Outline a plan for implementing the marketing strategy.

<FL>These worksheets are available in electronic format on our text's Web site at http://ferrell.swlearning.com. By downloading these worksheets, you will be able to change the outline or add additional information that is relevant to your situation. Remember that there is no one best way to organize a marketing plan. We designed our outline to serve as a starting point and to be flexible enough to accommodate the unique characteristics of your situation.

As you complete the worksheets, it might be useful to refer back to the text of the chapters. In completing the situation analysis section, be sure to be as comprehensive as possible. The viability of your SWOT analysis depends on how well you have identified all of the relevant environmental issues. Likewise, as you complete the SWOT analysis, you should be honest about the firm's characteristics. Do not depend on strengths that the firm really does not possess. Honesty is also important for your listing of weaknesses.

I. Executive Summary

The executive summary is a synopsis of the overall marketing plan. It should give an overview of the entire plan and include the key elements of the marketing strategy and its implementation. The executive summary is easier to write if you do it last, after you have written the entire marketing plan.

II. Situation Analysis

A. The Internal Environment (refer to Exhibit 3-3)

Review of marketing goals and objectives

Identify the firm's current marketing goals and objectives.

State whether these goals and objectives are:

Consistent with the firm's mission

Consistent with recent changes in the external environment

Consistent with current customer needs, wants, and preferences

Review of current marketing strategy and performance

Describe the firm's current marketing strategy with respect to products, pricing, distribution, and promotion. Which elements of the strategy are working well? Which elements are not?

Describe the firm's current performance (sales volume, market share, profitability, awareness, brand preference) compared to other firms in the industry. Is the performance of the industry as a whole improving or declining? Why?

If the firm's performance is in decline, what is the most likely cause (e.g., environmental changes, flawed strategy, poor implementation)?

Review of current and anticipated organizational resources

Describe the current state of the firm's organizational resources (e.g., financial, capital, human, experience, relationships with key suppliers or customers). How are the levels of these resources likely to change in the future?

If resource levels are expected to change, how can the firm leverage additional resources to meet customer needs better than competitors?

If additional resources are not available, how can the firm compensate for future resource constraints (lack of resources)?

Review of current and anticipated cultural and structural issues

In terms of marketing strategy development and implementation, describe the positive and negative aspects of the current and anticipated culture