Not all marketing plans are excellent and effective. Certain qualities and requirements will have to be met before they even do what they are supposed to do and be considered effective. It is not hard to tell a possibly successful marketing plan apart from a mediocre one. Most of the time, successful or killer marketing plans follow a general framework. Here are the qualities that your marketing plan should possess in order to be effective and successful:

1. Focus on your market

You cannot please everybody, and this statement holds true even for businesses. You should be able to define your target and be specific about it. You have to decide on the gender, age group, and other factors. The rest of your plan will follow as soon as you are done defining your market. Other things that you have to consider are your target audience’s like and dislikes as well as their purchasing power.

2. Focus on the product

The focus on your product will depend on your target market. You cannot just advertise any product to just any market. Your potential consumers should be able to see how your product can benefit them. You should also be able to show what your product does and how they can use it. This is what you call creating customer value. You make your product valuable to them, making it as if it’s something they cannot live without. Explain to your target market why your product is great. But this will all start when you know the qualities that your customers value the most and the least about your service.

3. Have measurable specifics

In business, everything should be measured in numbers. You should also take note of the entire major and minor details, including the dates. While a great marketing plan needs to be strategic, the details and the tactics will make it more effective. Take note of the result of each activity so that it will be easier for you to measure your return on investment in the end. For example, you should be specific with your goals, and being specific means it should be quantifiable or measurable by numbers as they should not be vague. If you are just starting out, you should have both short-term and long-term goals for your business, and you also have to make sure that these goals are all attainable.

4. Promote accountability and responsibility

It is better to assign specific roles to each individual rather than collectively assign a task to a group. This is because more work gets done when it is performed individually than a group. Each member will feel more responsible and accountable if there are specific tasks assigned to them. The tendency is that they will be putting their best foot forward to avoid being reprimanded. Just make sure to recognize and reward their achievement if they did great, or call out their attention if they fail to meet the expected goals.

5. Do revisions and reviews

A real marketing plan is not just a mere plan – it is an entire process. It covers several steps from goal setting to tracking performance and measuring it through specific metrics or quantifiable units. There should be a schedule for when the marketing plan should be reviewed so that you can do an evaluation or assessment to measure its effectiveness. You should also be able to see if there is anything that needs to be changed. It should be constantly checked to see if everything goes well according to the plan.

6. Identify your competitors, and know how you should deal with them

It is hard to find a product nowadays with no competition. And when you have a competition, they will also offer the same product and target the same audience as you do. In order to get ahead of your competitors, you need to be able to define what makes your product special. What sets your business apart from the others? What is it that you have that your competitor doesn’t? If you have difficulty trying to figure out your competitive advantage, the best thing you can do is to ask your customers why they have chosen your product.