Deloitte’s CMO study reveals that marketing is the main driver for revenue growth for 38.4 % of the surveyed companies. These organizations spend about 14.5% of their total budgets on sustaining marketing efforts. Through marketing, you can grow your business, attract prospects, increase sales and brand awareness. To achieve your business goals, you must create the right marketing strategy and plan. Here’s the ultimate guide to creating a powerful marketing template for huge sales and massive ROI.
Marketing Strategy vs Marketing Plan
The terms marketing strategy and marketing plan are often used interchangeably. But they’re different concepts.
A marketing strategy comprises the purpose and objectives of your business’ marketing efforts. It answers the what and why of your campaigns. On the other hand, a marketing plan describes how your marketing efforts apply. It shows how to implement your marketing activities to reach your business goals.
Marketing Plan Template
An effective marketing plan template identifies your target audience, how you can reach your prospects and how you can retain customers for repeat purchases. It’s the blueprint you follow to attract unlimited clients and improve your business’ sales. The main points covered by a basic marketing plan include
- An outline of your business’ objectives and marketing goals;
- Your marketing position in the industry;
- An execution timeline for your marketing campaigns;
- KPIs (key performance indicators) to measure your business’ marketing success;
- A clear description of your buyer persona;
- An overview of your marketing infrastructure and capabilities.
Your marketing scope depends on your business’ nature. The key is to prepare a clear marketing plan. It’ll help you think strategically about your marketing efforts. To reach your goals, use the following marketing plan template.
Create a Marketing Plan Template in Excel
You can create a marketing plan template in excel to streamline the process. Set realistic goals using a SMART system. Identify a specific result in your marketing activities. Measure your goal and highlight the actionable tactics to achieve the goal. Make sure it’s relevant and set a deadline to achieve the scope. Your marketing plan should include the following sections:
- An executive summary;
- Overview of your target audience;
- Your business’ unique selling proposition (USP);
- Your market pricing and positioning;
- A determined distribution plan, highlighting how your clients will purchase your services or products;
- Offers and special deals to attract new customers and retain existing clients;
- Marketing materials such as your website, brochures, catalogues and business cards;
- Promotion channels such as offline or online ads, press releases, trade show marketing, event marketing;
- Online marketing channels such as SEO, PPC, social media advertising, keyword strategy;
- Conversion strategies, including social proof or sales scripts;
- Partnerships and collaborations with other companies, which allow you to attain new customers;
- Customer retention strategies for repeat purchases and client loyalty;
- Financial projections, which include promotional expenses and expected results regarding new clients, profits and sales. Using a marketing excel sheet will help you crunch the numbers as accurately as possible. Although your financial projections aren’t precise, you can identify what promotional strategies and expenses achieve the highest ROI. You can seamlessly integrate your reports with c# code to read excel file.
Conclusion
A well-structured marketing plan is the roadmap to achieve your business goals. Consider it a living document, which you must revisit and revise to measure its relevance and effectiveness to your business’ market positioning. Marketing plans must scale and evolve alongside your business to sustain and promote growth. If you’re ready to achieve your business’ goals, get started with the marketing excel sheet outlined in this article. You’ll be on your way to success
Author Bio
Patrick Watt is a content writer, writing in several areas, primarily in business growth, value creation, M&A, and finance. Other interests also include content marketing and self-development. Say hi to Patrick on Twitter @patrickwattpat
