A marketing plan is essential when starting a new business or product. This plan outlines your marketing activities, including increasing brand awareness, building competitive advantage, expanding your customer base, and generating new leads.
Marketing plans can be complex because they contain many details about overall marketing objectives and ancillary activities. That's why it's important to write a summary of your marketing plan.
What is a marketing plan summary?
As the name suggests, an executive summary is an overview of your marketing plan. Its main purpose is to bring the complex issues and patterns of your big marketing plan to the basics and define your short- and long-term goals. In one or two pages, outline the main findings of your marketing research and provide an overview of your brand goals, marketing objectives, and related activities.
Reference information. A marketing plan summary usually consists of one or two pages that provide an overview of your marketing plan.
How to write a marketing plan summary
The summary should include the main elements of your marketing plan, as well as information about your company and brand, products or services, market, and overall direction. While a marketing plan usually consists of sections divided into subheadings, the summary is usually written as a series of paragraphs, with each paragraph focusing on a specific part of the marketing plan.
How to write a resume and what information to include in each paragraph:
1. Write an entry.
It should start with an introduction that briefly explains what the reader can expect. This provides useful context and makes the following points easier to understand. Briefly explain the project, the purpose of your marketing plan and the main potential benefits for customers. The introduction should be simple, short, and to the point.
Example : This plan is for XYZ, a company that sells gadgets to the IT industry. We have created a new gadget for the healthcare sector and it shows that we have a unique opportunity to expand our marketing plans into new markets.
2. Describe your company and your team.
Briefly describe your business, including history, structure, customer base and sales figures. List the key people involved in the business, their roles and responsibilities, relevant skills and experience, and their responsibilities in achieving your marketing objectives. List all relevant external service providers (such as accountants, marketers, and suppliers), as well as your business name, location, and contact information.
Example : Company XYZ has been operating since 2010 and is located in Anaheim, California. We sell gadgets to the IT industry designed to improve energy efficiency and reduce operating costs.
3. Describe market conditions and trends.
Identify the market and industry sectors in which you sell your products and services and the key trends influencing them. List the factors influencing the market, current innovations, and major players or contributors.
Example : There are many large companies that sell the same gadgets to the IT sector and many small specialized companies. Innovation in this market can be disruptive, but only if it results in significant cost savings or efficiency gains.
4. Describe the goods or services to be sold.
Describe your products or services and explain their main features and benefits. Explain your unique selling proposition to show how your products or services are different or better than your competitors' offerings.
Example . We have created a new health gadget out of our marketplace. This new product offers healthcare organizations greater efficiency and cost savings over existing products. Similar products exist in other industries, but there are currently no gadgets designed specifically for the healthcare industry.
5. Define your customer base and related marketing activities.
Explain the key aspects of your target audience and how you define those customers. Briefly explain where you found your target customers and how you will reach them. Define your promotional strategy, including key objectives and associated timelines. Explain your marketing priorities and how they relate to specific businesses (such as entering new markets or creating new products). Explain what methods you use to promote your products or services.
Example . Our target market is large medical companies including hospitals, clinics and medical device manufacturers. We are planning a marketing campaign through direct sales and social media marketing. [ Learn more about setting up an email marketing campaign that you can include in your marketing plan/execution summary .]
6. Define financial plans and forecasts.
Clearly identify key financial information related to short- and long-term marketing activities. Provide line-by-line budget information to determine the success of individual activities and related measures.
Example : Our annual marketing budget is $100,000, split between the following marketing activities.
7. Summarize your overall goals and related strategies.
Briefly describe the project objectives and the strategies used to achieve them. Complete a few sentences that encourage the reader to reconsider your marketing plan.
Example : We have developed a marketing plan that has helped us to quickly connect with key players in the healthcare industry and become the leading gadget supplier in this market. We use our sales experience in the IT industry to demonstrate the benefits of our products.
More resume writing tips
These tips will help you create an effective resume for your marketing plan:
Write your resume at the end.
A summary is a brief description of your marketing plan. Write a comprehensive marketing plan before submitting your plan summary. Once you have all the information from your marketing plan, you can decide what's important about your resume.
Anyone reading your resume should have a good understanding of your marketing goals. Tell your story. Explain what your company does and why you chose it. Talk about what's important to you, the people who will help you achieve your goals, and what you want to achieve with your marketing.
Bottom line: Your product story engages readers and encourages them to read your entire marketing plan.
Take note.
When creating a marketing plan, take note of everything that stands out. This can include interesting stats, memorable moments, key insights into your competitors, stories about leaders, insights to help you move forward, and major news events. Check out your favorite brands, write something interesting that you read in a blog or article, or think of an interesting tool or technology that you could apply to your business. These ideas can be your inspiration for a persuasive resume.
Do your research.
Your resume should include key findings and conclusions, market and competitor analysis, and budget and financial considerations. Your overall marketing plan contains more detail, but the summary should contain important research information to get your reader interested in your marketing plan.
Check your language.
A resume is a professional document, so you should write it professionally. However, your language should reflect who you are as a person and as a company.
Work experience tells your story. What's your style? What is the style of your audience? The tone of this document should match the marketing materials and the voice of the company.
Avoid clichés and exaggerations as they are impractical and can mislead readers. Clichés don't match the reality of your situation because you can promise more than you can deliver. Is your company the best in its category among all competitors? What defines "better"? Make sure your claims are specific and measurable.
Remember to trade.
Remember that the purpose of your job is to promote your business. The table of contents should summarize what the reader wrote in the marketing plan as follows. Include the most important and interesting information and a brief explanation of key points that will be helpful to the reader. [ Learn more about effective offline marketing strategies you can incorporate into your marketing plan .]
Keep it up today.
Your marketing plan should change over time, just like your resume. Include significant changes in your products, services or technologies or in your market and competitive landscape. For example, COVID-19 has forced many companies to change their marketing strategies and business practices. Your resume should reflect the changes your company has made to its marketing plan to adapt to changes in the marketplace.
Tip : Treat your resume like a living, dynamic document, just like your marketing plan. Write for your business with the expectation that it will change over time to reflect major changes in the marketplace.
The importance of staying in the marketing plan
A marketing plan has many benefits
- This will help you understand the needs of your target audience.
- This allows you to market your products to meet the specific needs of your customers.
- Determine what content you need to create to support your marketing efforts.
- It defines competitive advantage and unique advantage.
A marketing plan is your guide to effectively marketing your business. The summary highlights the most important goals, activities, and research findings of your marketing plan. It's designed to grab your readers' attention and give them a quick idea of where your business is headed and how you intend to get there.
Additional reporting by Sean Peake
