[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"detail-sidebar-cat-1-en-105":3,"doc-seo-240167-105":53,"doc-detail-240167-en":126},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",[7,14,19,24,29,34,39,44,49],{"id":8,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":11,"show_sort_weight":12,"slug":13},11,1,"Template","Presentations",90,"presentations",{"id":15,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":16,"show_sort_weight":17,"slug":18},12,"Resumes",80,"resumes",{"id":20,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":21,"show_sort_weight":22,"slug":23},14,"Invoices",70,"invoices",{"id":25,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":26,"show_sort_weight":27,"slug":28},15,"Posters",60,"posters",{"id":30,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":31,"show_sort_weight":32,"slug":33},16,"Social Media",50,"social-media",{"id":35,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":36,"show_sort_weight":37,"slug":38},17,"Forms",40,"forms",{"id":40,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":41,"show_sort_weight":42,"slug":43},18,"Letters",30,"letters",{"id":45,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":46,"show_sort_weight":47,"slug":48},21,"Paper Templates",5,"papers-templates",{"id":50,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":51,"show_sort_weight":4,"slug":52},158,"General","general-158",{"code":4,"msg":54,"data":55},"ok",{"site_id":56,"language":57,"slug":58,"title":59,"keywords":60,"description":61,"schema_data":62,"social_meta":119,"head_meta":121,"extra_data":123,"updated_unix":125},105,"en","5-steps-to-creating-a-marketing-plan-marketing-plan-creation-steps","5 Steps to Creating a Marketing Plan - marketing plan creation steps","","5 Steps to Creating a Marketing Plan outlines a practical annual marketing planning process for aligning team efforts with business goals. It explains why a marketing plan prevents budget uncertainty and helps set campaign direction. The guide covers conducting a situation analysis with SWOT and competitor review, defining target audiences and refining buyer personas, writing SMART goals, analyzing tactics and channels to reach goals, and setting a budget before execution. Ready-to-use templates are referenced to streamline planning.",{"@graph":63,"@context":118},[64,80,101],{"@type":65,"itemListElement":66},"BreadcrumbList",[67,71,74,77],{"item":68,"name":69,"@type":70,"position":9},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":72,"name":10,"@type":70,"position":73},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/",2,{"item":75,"name":11,"@type":70,"position":76},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/presentations/",3,{"item":78,"name":59,"@type":70,"position":79},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/5-steps-to-creating-a-marketing-plan-marketing-plan-creation-steps/240167/",4,{"url":78,"name":59,"@type":81,"image":82,"author":87,"headline":59,"publisher":90,"fileFormat":93,"inLanguage":57,"description":61,"dateModified":94,"datePublished":95,"encodingFormat":93,"isAccessibleForFree":96,"interactionStatistic":97},"DigitalDocument",{"url":83,"@type":84,"width":85,"height":86},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/5-steps-to-creating-a-marketing-plan-marketing-plan-creation-steps/240167.png","ImageObject",442,249,{"name":88,"@type":89},"Đào","Person",{"url":68,"name":91,"@type":92},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-29","2026-09-11",true,{"@type":98,"interactionType":99,"userInteractionCount":25},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":100},"ViewAction",{"@type":102,"mainEntity":103},"FAQPage",[104,110,114],{"name":105,"@type":106,"acceptedAnswer":107},"Why does an annual marketing plan matter for a company?","Question",{"text":108,"@type":109},"An annual marketing plan keeps marketing aligned with business goals, guides campaign direction, and makes it easier to estimate the budget needed across projects, hiring, and outsourcing.","Answer",{"name":111,"@type":106,"acceptedAnswer":112},"What should be included in the situation analysis step?",{"text":113,"@type":109},"You should assess strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats using a SWOT analysis, and also perform a competitor analysis to identify gaps and opportunities.",{"name":115,"@type":106,"acceptedAnswer":116},"How do you write effective SMART goals for marketing?",{"text":117,"@type":109},"SMART goals should be specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound, including a clear timeframe for completion.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":78,"og:type":120,"og:title":59,"og:site_name":91,"og:description":61},"article",{"robots":122,"canonical":78},"index,follow",{"doc_id":124,"site_id":56},240167,1791724843,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":127},{"doc_id":124,"user_id":128,"nickname":88,"user_avatar":129,"doc_module":9,"category_id":8,"category_name":11,"doc_title":59,"doc_description":61,"doc_content":130,"file_id":131,"file_url":132,"file_type":133,"file_size":134,"view_count":25,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":9,"is_downloadable":9,"audit_status":9,"page_count":135,"language":136,"language_code":57,"site_id":56,"html_lang":57,"table_of_contents":137,"faqs":138,"seo_title":139,"seo_description":61,"update_tm":140,"read_time":79},1374402968488,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_29158cc5080c5b710cf443261637dec0","5 Steps to Creating a Marketing Plan  \nLaunch a killer marketing plan with these tips and ready-to-use templates.  \nA free marketing resource from  \nInbound 281  \n[inbound281.com](inbound281.com)  \nWhy You Need a Marketing Plan  \nAn annual marketing plan helps you set your marketing on the right course to make your company's business goals a reality. A high-level plan will guides the direction of your team's campaigns, goals, efforts and growth.  \nWithout a marketing plan, things can get messy--and it's nearly impossible to put a number on the budget you'll need to secure for the projects, hiring, and outsourcing you'll encounter over the course of a year if you don't have a plan.  \nTo make your plan's creation easier, we've put together a list of what to include in your plan and a few different planning templates where you can easily Øll in the blanks.  \nYou'll also Ønd a do-it-yourself marketing plan generator.  \nWe hope you Ønd this information helpful. If you have any questions, feel free to reach me at 800-834-4910 or at [inbound281.com](inbound281.com).  \nMark Parent  \nMark Parent, President & CEO  \n[mparent@inbound281.com](mparent@inbound281.com)  \n5 Steps to Creating a Marketing Plan  \n[Source credit: HubSpot.com. Rebecca White @Rebecca_White94](Source credit: HubSpot.com. Rebecca White @Rebecca_White94)  \nDo you take a good, hard look at your team's marketing strategy every year?  \nYou should. An annual marketing plan helps you set your marketing on the right course to make your company's business goals a reality. Think of it as a high-level plan that guides the direction of your team's campaigns, goals, and growth.  \nWithout one, things can get messy--and it's nearly impossible to put a number on the budget you'll need to secure for the projects, hiring, and outsourcing you'll encounter over the course of ayear if you don't have a plan.  \nKeep in mind there are variations to the marketing plan you need, depending on your industry and the goals of your marketing team. To make your plan's creation easier, we've put together a list of what to include in your plan and a few different planning templates where you can easily Øll in the blanks.  \nDownload Now: Free Marketing Plan Template [Get Your Copy]  \nTo start, let's dive into how to create a marketing plan and then take a look at what a highlevel marketing plan has inside.  \n1. Conduct a situation analysis.  \n2. DeØne your target audience.  \n3. Write SMART goals.  \n4. Analyze your tactics.  \n5. Set your budget.  \n1. Conduct a situation analysis  \nBefore you can get started with your marketing plan, you have to know your current situation.  \nWhat are your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats? Conduct a basic SWOT analysis is the Ørst step to creating a marketing plan.  \nAdditionally, you should also have an understanding of the current market. How do you compare to your competitors? Doing a competitor analysis should help you with this step.  \nThink about how other products are better than yours. Plus, consider the gaps in acompetitor's approach. What are they missing? What can you offer that'll give you a competitive advantage? Think about what sets you apart.  \nAnswering questions like this should help you Øgure out what your customer wants, which brings us to step number two.  \n2. Define your target audience  \nOnce you have a better understanding of the market and your company's situation, make sure you know who your target audience is.  \nIf your company already has buyer personas, this step might just mean you have to reØne your current personas.  \nIf you don't have a buyer persona, you should create one. To do this, you might have to conduct market research.  \nYour buyer persona should include demographic information such as age, gender, and income. However, it will also include psychographic information such as pain points and goals. What drives your audience? What problems do they have that your product or service can Øx?  \nOnce you have this inform","cbCaifaNnrvbvv2B","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaifaNnrvbvv2B","pdf",4585182,10,"English","# Why You Need a Marketing Plan\n## Situation analysis (SWOT and competitor analysis)\n## Define your target audience\n## Write SMART goals\n## Analyze your tactics\n## Set your budget","[{\"question\":\"Why does an annual marketing plan matter for a company?\",\"answer\":\"An annual marketing plan keeps marketing aligned with business goals, guides campaign direction, and makes it easier to estimate the budget needed across projects, hiring, and outsourcing.\"},{\"question\":\"What should be included in the situation analysis step?\",\"answer\":\"You should assess strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats using a SWOT analysis, and also perform a competitor analysis to identify gaps and opportunities.\"},{\"question\":\"How do you write effective SMART goals for marketing?\",\"answer\":\"SMART goals should be specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound, including a clear timeframe for completion.\"}]","5 Steps to Creating a Marketing Plan - marketing plan creation steps | PDF",1789158020]