Marketing Plan Guidelines And Sample Page 4
ADVERTISEMENT
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19Assessing the Marketplace
66
Section One
Consumer Expenditure Study: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics—income and
■
expenditures by household, classifi ed by various demographics.
LifeStyle Market Analyst—lifestyle information about geographic areas,
■
lifestyle interest groups, and age and income groups.
Mediamark Reporter—information about demographics, lifestyles, product
■
and brand usage, and advertising media preferences.
Scarborough Arbitron—local market consumer information for various
■
media in 75 local markets for consumer retail shopping behavior, product
consumption, media usage, lifestyle behavior, and demographics.
Simmons Study of Media and Markets—products and consumer
■
characteristics; various media audiences and their characteristics.
Sourcebook America—demographic data, including population, spending
■
potential index, income, race, and Tapestry data, presented by state, county,
DMA, and zip code, as well as business data by county and zip code.
Rand McNally Commercial Atlas and Marketing Guide—maps and tables
■
showing demographic, industrial, transportation, railroad, airline, and
hospital data.
“Survey of Buying Power,” Sales and Marketing Management—current state,
■
county, city, and town estimates of population by age, retail sales by store
group, effective buying income, and buying power index.
Annual & 10-K reports from Thomson One Banker, Edgar, and LexisNexis—
■
business descriptions, product listings, distribution channels, possible impact
of regulations and lawsuits, and discussions of strategic issues.
Academic—market research reports on a variety of
■
consumer products.
Mintel Reports Database—market research reports focusing on consumer
■
products, lifestyles, retailing, and international travel industry.
LINGUISTIC AND VISUAL SUGGESTIONS
Again, recall that all marketing plans differ, because all firms differ. However, just
as rules exist that dictate what makes for good writing, some rules or guidelines
apply to all well-written marketing plans.
Maintain a professional attitude in the writing and presentation.
■
Keep descriptions and summaries concise. Get to the point.
■
Use standard, edited English.
■
Proofread the entire plan multiple times to catch grammatical, spelling, or
■
other such errors that could dampen the professionalism of the writing.
Adopt a businesslike tone; avoid fl owery or jargon-fi lled writing.
■
Employ direct, rather than passive, and present, rather than past, tense
■
whenever possible (e.g., “We plan to achieve 30 percent growth in two years”
rather than “The plan was that 30 percent growth would be achieved by the
fi rm within two years”).
Be positive.
■
Yet avoid meaningless superlatives (e.g., “Our goal is tremendous growth”).
■
Be specifi c; use quantitative information whenever possible.
■
Insert graphics to convey important concepts succinctly, including photos,
■
graphs, illustrations, and charts.
However, avoid using so many visual elements that they clutter the plan.
■
ADVERTISEMENT
0 votes
Related Articles
Related forms
Related Categories
Parent category: Business