On the back of explaining exactly how brands can create a one-page marketing strategy, Simon Dell from marketing agency TwoCents, puts his two cents in on why marketing plans are critical for businesses.

In today’s competitive selling environment, your business needs to stand out from the crowd in order to thrive. Enter the marketing plan. Here are 10 reasons why your business needs one:

1. It helps you to fully understand your business and your market.
   A marketing plan will help you to define your target audience and become familiar with your competitors are. It also causes you to look at all factors that may affect your ability to operate in the marketplace – social, legal, etc.
2. It helps you to discover what makes your company unique.
   Once you know who your competitors are, it’s time to decide on how you want to position your business. What sets you apart from your competitors?
3. A plan enables clear decision-making.
   With the knowledge of your business and your market fresh in your mind, you can now assess the important marketing questions. What marketing channels and tactics are working well/not so well? Are your products meeting your customers’ needs, and are your prices working for your market? Consider such questions in terms of your objectives, timeframes and budget in order to make these issues more concrete.
4. It ensures your marketing objectives align with your business goals and strategies.
   A good marketing plan should be designed to contribute to achieving your overall business goals and the success of your business.
5. A marketing plan keeps you in control.
   A marketing plan will assist with the day-to-day operations of the business. It allows you to monitor your business’s resources, team, and overall company performance. It also prevents decisions being made out of panic or impulse.
6. It formalises ideas and concepts.
   Running a business is intense and sometimes marketing concepts can be a case of all talk and no action. A marketing plan provides the foundations to turn ideas into a reality. It will also help to avoid time-wasting, allowing you to still focus on your business.
7. It helps to establish tasks and deadlines.
   Modern marketing activities are all vastly different, and require creativity and boldness. Those responsible for executing such activities may be quite overwhelmed upon first glance. A marketing plan helps you to break tasks down into a step-by-step guide to achieving them in your desired timeline.
8. It will help to obtain financing.
   If you are seeking investors, a marketing plan is an essential document to show them. Presenting potential financial backers with a detailed marketing plan will instil them with confidence in your ability to achieve your company goals. 
9. All employees will understand the happenings within the company.
   It is important to keep all employees in the loop with the business’s marketing activities in case they affect the operations of the business. Your team members can also be your best advocates, and if they encounter somebody requiring a good or service that your company provides, it’s more than likely that they’ll promote the company they work for!
10. A marketing plan keeps you focused.
    With a plethora of tools, tactics and technologies available, a marketing plan eliminates distractions and keeps you focused on the ones relevant to your business. It also makes working towards goals easier, with the end-game of your business’s success and prosperity in clear sight!