A great number of private companies believe that effective marketing strategies are what they need to flourish on today’s highly competitive market. It follows that more educational institutions assign their students to create marketing plans which could be then used by the organizations. In case you have never done such a writing project before and are unaware of its peculiarities, you may find it useful to look through a worthy marketing plan example for students.
Why Prepare a Marketing Plan?
It goes without saying that a properly created marketing plan is a key to the success of your company. It will serve you as a helpful guide indicating what direction to move in when developing your business. Keeping a detailed marketing plan at hand, you will not be distracted by anything, as you will take the needed steps to attain your business objectives. It will help your HRs hire the employees with the required skills.
Your marketing plan has to roughly outline your business direction. It should clearly state the purpose of your undertaking and uncover the reasons that have made you pick the very business direction. By creating a coherent and logical plan, it will be easier for you to explain your colleagues what you are aimed at.
Producing interesting ideas is easy. However, even the most excellent ideas may cause a business collapse if they are not in line with your goals. A marketing plan is the tool that will help you and those interested in developing your ideas keep in mind the initially set goal. As to the brilliant ideas you have, keep them for the next projects.
How to Write a Marketing Plan
To get a clear understanding of how such a plan should be performed, you should browse the Net for a useful marketing plan example for students. You will find a huge number of guidelines, samples, tips and other items that may help you succeed in doing such a tough task.
Our aim is to assist you in preparing your plan. That is why we offer you to take a look the points described below. This is the way your project should be structured in:
- Executive Summary
- Goal
- Business Proposition
- Company Vision
- Customers
- Analysis of the Economic Situation
- Establishment, Client, Competitor, Partner, Atmosphere
- SWOT Analysis
- Marketing Division
- Item 1: Descriptions, reports on sales, targets and results, product use, resource specifications, prices
- Item 2: Descriptions, reports on sales, targets and results, product use, resource specifications, prices
- Chosen Marketing Concepts (Action Points)
- Explain why specific strategies have been selected. Discuss such items as a price, brand, discounts, quality, package, payment conditions, advertising, transportation difficulties, PR, etc.
- Possible Strategies
- Those which you do not intend to use but which have been taken into consideration
- Short & Long-Term Estimates
- Objectives & results: Quick outcome of the implemented strategies, anticipated long-term results, and the measures that have to be taken to reach them.
- Examination Schemes (How you will evaluate a successful outcome)
- Appendix
- Calculations and information provided to uphold the aforementioned material, reports presenting data from previous years
- Sector reports and marketplace estimates
Reading the information highlighted above is tiring not talking about creating a marketing plan step by step on one’s own. If you consider the abovementioned scheme too complicated, you may find another sample of a marketing plan online. However, it is hardly possible that you find exactly the pattern meeting your demands.
The point is that there are no the same corporations or establishments. Each organization has specific targets and needs. For this reason, it is hard to find a universal marketing plan suitable for all enterprises. Some professionals state that there should not be a universal template for a marketing plan to follow. Thus, consider your goals and try to identify the best way of presenting them on paper, i.e. in your marketing plan.
What to Avoid when Creating Your Marketing Plan
- Do not prepare the plan highlighting every single issue your educational establishment has been tackled with
- Do not produce a lengthy document which you will not be able to complete
- Avoid preparing a too sophisticated plan that will lose its usefulness
- Do not make an analysis just to make the one
What a Marketing Plan Should Be Focused on
- Specific issues to resolve
- Attainable objectives
- Easy-to-follow guidance
- Possible pitfalls and solutions
- Methods for achieving success
How to Work out a Marketing Plan
When developing such a plan, you need to identify the objectives set by the marketing department that have to be reached. In order to make it easier for yourself to set clear goals, you can use a marketing analysis or a strategic plan.
For example, your institution wants you to create a marketing plan concentrated on the points strengthening its position on the market. How to produce such a plan? First, make sure that there is a closely connected brand and the message the company tries to convey to consumers. The next step is to prepare some publications and online presentations highlighting attractive features of a brand. Note that you may be asked to add one more point to your marketing plan, i.e. identify the ways of increasing annual profits. In this case, it is worth asking a marketing department for help.
Below, there is a great example of a marketing plan. If you analyze it, it will be easier for you to make your own plan.
- CUSTOMER: Development Department
- UNDERTAKING: Annual Profit
- OBJECTIVES: (several key targets for a current year)
- Increase the number of participants
- Increase the sum of raised money
- Increase the donations received via the Internet
- Address former students
- ACTION POINTS: (a couple of marketing techniques to reach the targets)
- Work out the program focused on the brand’s annual profits
- General Idea
- Online Concept: Email and social networks marketing
- Printed Concept: booklets, postcards
- Communication Items: the words and expressions that can be used by the development department to promote the duration of messaging.
Now, let us discuss the admission pattern:
CUSTOMER: Admission Office
UNDERTAKING: Recruiting – boost the number of applications
TARGETS:
- Make it easier for online users to get information
- Attract more leads
- Attract more clients
ACTION POINTS:
- Redesign the Webpage
- Apply Email marketing
- Intensify SEO campaign
- Inbound marketing concept
If you prepare such outlines, you will not encounter any difficulties in setting and achieving your long-term goals. Moreover, it will keep you focused on the goals you can realize within the stated time frame. Keep in mind that you should address one point at a time. Otherwise, you will not be able to succeed if you decide to work in all the determined directions at once. Thus, whatever the number of objectives you want to attain is, choose a couple of the most urgent ones and begin working towards their realization. Make sure that you will be able to handle all items within the stipulated time span which is often an academic year.
The pieces of advice presented above are useful for those dealing with not only large projects but also the small ones. Being aware of all the peculiarities of creating marketing plans, you will be able to easily communicate even with the most demanding clients. You will be able to explain them why a specific undertaking cannot be handles right away. Certainly, the customers may be disappointed with your explanation. At least, they will understand the reasons for it.
How to Implement Your Marketing Plan
Once you are aware of the marketing plan definition, peculiarities and structural elements of a marketing plan, it is time to think how to put your knowledge into practice. You may consider a marketing plan as a present you intent to give to someone.
- The present is actually the result, i.e. achieved goals.
- The box is the means you will use to implement your strategy.
- The wrapping is the idea you will stick to.
