Marketing

KEL146

TIM CALKINS

Technical Note:

Writing Great Marketing Plans
If you are unable to write a great marketing plan, it is highly unlikely that you will execute great marketing programs, and even more unlikely that you will deliver great results. Marketing plans are where ideas come to life. The marketer’s world is full of ideas: new product ideas, promotion ideas, cost-saving ideas,public relations ideas, and more. Until the ideas actually find a place in a plan, however, they are simply idle thoughts. The ability to write great marketing plans is a critical skill for any marketing leader. Acquiring that skill takes practice, but it also requires approaching marketing plans with a strategic framework. This technical note provides recommendations on how to write great marketingplans. The note has three parts. Section 1 defines marketing plans, and highlights why becoming good at writing them is so important. Section 2 lays out an approach to writing marketing plans. Finally, Section 3 provides keys to success. Like all skills, writing great plans requires practice and refinement. Few things will be more important in a marketing or general management career, however, sothe time spent developing this skill will be a good long-term investment.

Section 1: Why Do We Care About Writing Great Plans?
A marketing plan is a document that lays out your recommendations for a business. It describes what you hope to accomplish and what precisely you will do: your objectives, strategies, and tactics. People write marketing plans for two main reasons: to communicate a planand to gain support. Virtually every marketing executive writes marketing plans. Brand managers create marketing plans for their brands, and present these to category managers. Category managers create marketing plans for their categories, combining several brand plans, and present the plans to general managers. General managers develop plans for their divisions and present the plans to the CEO.CEOs create marketing plans for their companies, and review the plan with the board of directors and key investors and analysts.

©2005 by the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University. This technical note was prepared by Professor Tim Calkins. Technical notes are developed solely as the basis for class discussion. Technical notes are not intended to serve as endorsements, sources ofprimary data, or illustrations of effective or ineffective management. To order copies or request permission to reproduce materials, call 800-545-7685 (or 617-783-7600 outside the United States or Canada) or e-mail custserv@hbsp.harvard.edu. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, used in a spreadsheet, or transmitted in any form or by any means— electronic,mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without the permission of the Kellogg School of Management.

TECHNICAL NOTE: WRITING GREAT MARKETING PLANS

KEL146

It is important to remember that even though the marketing executive or general manager is ultimately responsible for the plan, it is best created together with the cross-functional team. Sales, operations, finance, and R&D allprovide critical input. Creating a marketing plan without the involvement of cross-functional groups is a bad idea because the resulting plan will almost certainly overlook critical factors. Marketing plans come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Some organizations rely heavily on written plans. Other organizations rely on presentations. Procter & Gamble has a reputation for using detailed memos.Kraft Foods uses presentations. Some organizations use both. Written or presented, however, the basics are the same. Complete marketing plans are typically written once a year. However, in some cases a manager will write a series of different plans in a single year, responding to changing conditions. If a business is performing poorly, for example, a manager may well take a fresh look at it and...