How to Create a One Page Marketing Plan

Why A One Page Plan?

The idea behind a one page marketing plan is to create something that has laser beam focus. Traditional marketing plans tend to be a wieldy, and while very important, they can often be difficult to use in a practical sense. A one page plan has the advantage of forcing you to think about exactly what you need. It strips away the nonessentials - it gives you a working marketing plan. So, let's dive straight into our one pager:

Mission and objectives: (1-2 lines) This needs to be as specific as possible. So rather than simply stating: we want to focus on audience development, try and put a number on it. "We want to increase our south eastern regional audience by 20% in the next 8 months." You may have several objectives, which is fine, but keeping them quantified and tightly defined will keep you and your team focused as you get to work on your marketing.

Customers: (1-2 paragraph) This is where you define your main customer persona. You can have a few of these if it is warranted. Be sure to make these as detailed as possible, and also to include a little bit about how they find you. You will need to include any new customers you plan on targeting as well.

Budget: (3-4 lines) Budget details here should show where the splits in the budget will be, e.g., offline versus online etc. Don't worry about getting overly specific here, this section is really all about getting an overall picture of what you have to work with. This can also be refined as you learn and change your plan as you execute.

Routes to Market (digital/inbound and outbound): This is potentially your largest section, but again specifics here are necessary so you can track success. Consider previous years data on what has worked and what has not, and don't forget to include a few experiments to try to keep your marketing game pushing forward.

Specific tactics: This should include any specific incentives or other programmes you intend to implement. This is a great chance to really think outside of the box. What kind of promotions might you consider? What are some affiliate programmes you could implement?

Content creation: Whether inbound or outbound marketing is your focus, you will need to produce content, and of course traditional collateral. Consider what you have already, and what you need to get produce to support your marketing initiatives. Here is where you need to outline your key messages.

Metrics, Measuring and Analysis: Here, you want to outline specifically how your marketing will be measured and tracked. It is a good idea to define exactly how often you will review information, so that you can create a heartbeat of measurement and analysis of your marketing activities. Those are the basics. If you really wanted to, you could slim this down even further to just focus on:

• What are my objectives (really)?

• Who are my customers?

• What are my messages?

• What avenues will I use to reach them?

• How will I measure my success?

With these you can add more detail with added customer personas and a map of the customer journey. These plus a content calendar and a message map (i.e., what are the core messages you will be focused on) would get you nearly all the way to a go to marketing plan that is easy for your team to take in and execute. Keep in mind, the idea of a one page marketing plan is to help you and your team focus and give you a usable document to work against. It is also not necessary for the one page plan to focus on a whole year - it could be shorter if that is what works best for your team. In short, if it isn't going to help your team - don't do it. If it does help you get some clarity on where you efforts need to focus - then go for it! If you are interested in seeing some sample one page marketing plans, give us a shout! We'd be happy to share a few with you. Happy planning!