It is important to know the concept of marketing before going on to understand the concepts like marketing plan development. Marketing in simple words can be defined as the process, that involves letting the customer know about your product or service. It is with the help of marketing that the organization aims to generate sale of its products and also create the demand. Now, let's understand the concept of marketing plan. A marketing plan is an official document in the written form. It consists of the action plan that is to be implemented in order to conduct the marketing of a product, brand, etc. It mainly aims at increasing the product sale. But apart from increasing the sale, it also aims at increasing the popularity of the product or in short, advertising the product by informing the masses about the product features, and schemes and offers pertaining to its sale. Marketing Plan Development Objectives The very first and also the most important step in this process is of setting your objectives. Know what you want to achieve through marketing. Is it increase in sales or is it just product awareness. Plan your efforts accordingly. Make sure that whatever you are targeting to achieve is feasible and can be achieved in a definite time frame and within the available resources. Well-defined objectives always prove important in adding meaning to your effort and giving a definite direction to your work. Market Analysis When you set your objectives and also check their feasibility, start with the important activity of market analysis. It involves knowing the knowledge of customer's needs and demands, and also includes determining the current position of your organization in the market. Identify the assets and the strong points of your organization and at the same time, also try to analyze the weak points. Moreover, your market analysis should also consist of product analysis. Developing Strategies With the knowledge of objectives and a detailed analysis of the market, you can now move further to develop your key marketing strategies. It refers to some unique strategies exclusively developed by your organization in order to promote your sales or product. For instance, some commonly implemented strategies in the travel and tourism sector include offering discounts on air travel, or hotel stays, or even providing some complementary customer service. Budget Analysis Marketing is not possible without money, therefore before striding to start the actual marketing, you need to carry out the analysis of your budget at the marketing planning level itself. A detailed analysis of the monetary resources available, and the required budget would help in developing a cost-effective plan. Manpower Analysis Analyze and determine the current capacity of manpower that you currently have. Set a timetable for the marketing staff that wouldn't stress them too much. Setting Time lines Last but not the least, is the activity of setting deadlines for the completion of this activity. Do not be in a hurry while deciding the deadlines. Factors such as appropriate market analysis, exact estimation of the budget, analysis of the available resources, and at the end, proper product development should be given due consideration, before setting up the time frame to complete the work. Progress Checking As a responsible marketer, it is important for you to set up measures to check the progress of the ongoing work. You need to have a timely check on the progress of the marketing activity, as to whether it is done according to the management's instructions, whether it is heading in the proper direction, and whether the organizational objectives are being met or not. Moreover, timely budget and manpower review should also be done. Remember that planning is necessary for every activity, and this applies to marketing too! But see that in the course of planning, you do not forget your organizational goals, objectives, and mission statements. As these are the most important components of the organization, and every step of yours should lead you towards achieving them.