Prior to starting your Marketing Plan, please write a brief paragraph outlining your plan for the project.

Theexecutive summary sectionshould be written last, once you have completed your marketing plan.This section should present a brief summary of the main goals and recommendations of the plan.After reading this section, the reader should have a clear understanding of your marketing plan.

Atable of contentsshould follow the executive summary.

For the section titledcurrent market situation, describe your current situation in terms of a description of the market, summary of your product(s), a review of your competition and a review of your distribution strategy.This section should be a snapshot of what the market looks like today.This should be a significant portion of your marketing plan.

Complete aSWOT Analysis.Talk about the current strengths and weaknesses of your company.In thethreats and opportunities analysis section, discuss external forces that affect your business.

For theobjectivessection, create at least three objectives for your next marketing cycle (1 year) and make sure you state them in specific, measureable and time bound terms.For example:Increase sales of base product (original lemonade) by 25% over the last cycle.Include a brief explanation of each objective.

In thetarget market & positioningsection, review your target market and your positioning strategy.Consider adding a secondary target market and perhaps repositioning your product.Ensure that your marketing mix strategies are working towards providing value for your chosen target markets and also reinforcing your positioning strategy.

Themarketing mix decisionssection is very important and should outline specific activities in each of the mix elements (product, price, promotion and place) that your company will undertake in the next business cycle.This should be the longest, most comprehensive section of your paper.

Product:What changes do you want to make to your product?When? How?Do you want to expand your product line?

Price:What type of pricing strategies will you look at?Bundling?Line pricing?

Promotion:Any new ad campaigns?What about promotional deals?Contests?

Place:New location?Expanded locations?Other ways you could distribute yourproduct to the consumer?

Thebudgets and controlssection would normally be included in your marketing plan, but for our purposes, it will be omitted.You will be assessed on whether your plan is realistic, but you will not have to forecast sales or create a budget.