B2B companies have used marketing plans for many years now, but creating one that is actually good is another matter. Fortunately there are some simple tips to follow that can help you to do just that.
Marketing plans need to anticipate risks as well as manage and guide change in the marketplace. These plans help to align your company and allocate resources in the appropriate areas, aiding business control and highlighting ways to progress. The proliferation of suppliers, declining differentiation, increasingly rapid change within the industry, and shrinking margins are not good enough reasons to set aside less time for planning; in fact they are very good reasons to increase it.
Marketing plans also need to be living documents rather than ones that are delivered once per annum and then put on a shelf. These plans need to be touchstones that are periodically updated to make sure they have incorporated any changed circumstances.
Marketing plans need to be so distinctive that they could apply to no other company but yours.