Using the Marketing Strategy Template

This Marketing Strategy Template will let you organize your marketing activities, making it easier to coordinate your marketing mix research, opportunity identification, strategy selection, implementation planning, and analysis. Fill out the worksheets in the following order: Marketing Research, Marketing Opportunities, Marketing Strategy, Marketing Implementation, Marketing Analysis.

Marketing Research
The marketing research worksheet guides will guide you through the necessary areas of researching your market. Use primary and secondary research to fill in the consumer, competitive, and industry research section for the product, pricing, placement, and promotion rows. As you fill in the marketing research sheet, data will automatically be inserted into the marketing opportunity sheet. Be careful not to delete the content from any of the cells in "Column B" of the marketing research worksheet.

Marketing Opportunities
The marketing opportunities worksheet will automatically pre-populate with data from the marketing research worksheet. You have the option to add additional opportunities that you see relative to the product, pricing, placement, and promotion rows. Be careful not to delete the content from any of the cells in "Column B" of the marketing research worksheet.

Marketing Strategy
The marketing strategy worksheet will automatically pre-populate with some of the content from the marketing opportunties worksheet. The idea is to review the advantages and disadvantages of each opportunity and then select the ones that provide the best opportunity. Be careful not to delete the content from any of the cells in "Column B" of the marketing research worksheet.

Marketing Implementation
The marketing implementation worksheet will help you list and schedule the implementation activities for each of your strategic product, pricing, placement, and promotion choices. We have develop an Excel Gantt Chart template to use as a starter for your activities.

Marketing Analysis

The marketing analysis worksheet covers the Gap Analysis framework. It allows you to identify the gap by stating what was supposed to happen and what actually happened. If there is a gap, you then get to the root cause of the gap by a 5 why analysis. NOTE: This section covers Qualitative analysis. For Quantitative analysis, you'll need a digital feedback program such as Google Analytics.

This template is based on the Big Business Strategies for Small Businesses workbook.

Marketing Rese
Consumer Research

Product / Insert consumer product and service preferences Service

Pricing

Insert consumer pricing preferences

Placement Insert consumer placement preferences

Promotion Insert consumer promotional preferences

Marketing Research
Competitive Research

Insert competitive product and service research

Insert competitive pricing research

Insert competitive placement research

Insert competitive promotional research

Industry Research

Insert Industry product and service research

Insert industry pricing research

Insert industry placement research

Insert industry promotional research

Product / Service

Pricing

Pricing

Placement

Promotion

Promotion

Marketing Opportu
NOTE: The below items are AUTOMATICALLY filled in from filling out the marketing research sheet. Please do not delete the contents of these cells, they will delete the formula. If you want to change the content of these cells, change them on the 'Marketing Research" sheet. Select from these cells and add other opportunities to the colums to the right.

Insert consumer product and service preferences

Insert competitive product and service research

Insert Industry product and service research

Insert consumer pricing preferences

Insert competitive pricing research

Insert industry pricing research

Insert consumer placement preferences

Insert competitive placement research

Insert industry placement research

Insert consumer promotional preferences

Insert competitive promotional research

Insert industry promotional research

ting Opportunities
Select best product/service opportunties from list in the cell below. You can also list the advantages and disadvantages of each opportunity. Place a comma and a space after each line.

best product opportunity 1, best product opportunity 2

Select best pricing opportunties from list in the cell below. You can also list the advantages and disadvantages of each opportunity. Place a comma and a space after each line.
best pricing opportunity 1, best pricing opportunity 2

Select best placement opportunties from list in the cell below. You can also list the advantages and disadvantages of each opportunity. Place a comma and a space after each line.

best distribution opportunity 1, best distribution opportunity 2

Select best promotional opportunties from list in the cell below. You can also list the advantages and disadvantages of each opportunity. Place a comma and a space after each line.

best promotional opportunity 1, best promotional opportunity 2

Product / Service

Pricing

Placement

Promotion

Marketing Strategy
NOTE: The below items are AUTOMATICALLY filled in from filling out COLUMN "C" on the marketing opportunity sheet. Please do not delete the contents of these cells, they will delete the formula. If you want to change the content of these cells, change them on the 'Marketing Opportunity" sheet. Select from these cells and add other opportunities to the colums to the right.

best product opportunity 1, best product opportunity 2

best pricing opportunity 1, best pricing opportunity 2

best distribution opportunity 1, best distribution opportunity 2

best promotional opportunity 1, best promotional opportunity 2

keting Strategy

Add Additional Strategic Choices

PRODUCT Gantt Chart

Tasks Task 1 Task 2 Task 3 Task 4 Task 5 Task 6 Task 7 Task 8 Task 9 Start Date Duration (days) End Date 11/15/2012 5 11/20/2012 11/16/2012 3 11/19/2012 11/17/2012 10 11/27/2012 11/18/2012 4 11/22/2012 11/19/2012 5 11/24/2012 11/20/2012 7 11/27/2012 11/21/2012 8 11/29/2012 11/22/2012 5 11/27/2012 11/23/2012 5 11/28/2012

Fill in the Task 1, Task 2, Task 3, . Task 9 with your so they align with your specefic task.

11/15/2012

11/16/2012

11/17/2012

11/18/2012

11/19/2012

11/20/2012

11/21/2012

11/22/2012

Task 1 Task 2 Task 3 Task 4 Task 5 Task 6 Task 7 Task 8 Task 9

PRICING Gantt Chart

Tasks Task 1 Task 2 Task 3 Task 4 Task 5 Task 6 Task 7 Task 8 Task 9 Start Date Duration (days) End Date 11/15/2012 5 11/20/2012 11/16/2012 3 11/19/2012 11/17/2012 10 11/27/2012 11/18/2012 4 11/22/2012 11/19/2012 5 11/24/2012 11/20/2012 7 11/27/2012 11/21/2012 8 11/29/2012 11/22/2012 5 11/27/2012 11/23/2012 5 11/28/2012

Fill in the Task 1, Task 2, Task 3, . Task 9 with your so they align with your specefic task.

11/15/2012 11/16/2012 11/17/2012 11/18/2012 11/19/2012 11/20/2012 11/21/2012 11/22/2012

Task 1 Task 2 Task 3 Task 4 Task 5 Task 6 Task 7 Task 8 Task 9

PLACEMENT Gantt Chart

Tasks Task 1 Task 2 Task 3 Task 4 Task 5 Task 6 Task 7 Task 8 Task 9 Start Date Duration (days) End Date 11/15/2012 5 11/20/2012 11/16/2012 3 11/19/2012 11/17/2012 10 11/27/2012 11/18/2012 4 11/22/2012 11/19/2012 5 11/24/2012 11/20/2012 7 11/27/2012 11/21/2012 8 11/29/2012 11/22/2012 5 11/27/2012 11/23/2012 5 11/28/2012

Fill in the Task 1, Task 2, Task 3, . Task 9 with your so they align with your specefic task.

11/15/2012 11/16/2012 11/17/2012 11/18/2012 11/19/2012 11/20/2012 11/21/2012 11/22/2012

Task 1 Task 2 Task 3 Task 4

Task 4 Task 5 Task 6 Task 7 Task 8 Task 9

PROMOTION Gantt Chart

Tasks Street Team Facebook Twitter Phone Calls Email Blast Online Banner Ads Radio Ads YouTube Ads Direct Mail Start Date Duration (days) End Date 11/15/2012 5 11/20/2012 11/16/2012 3 11/19/2012 11/17/2012 10 11/27/2012 11/18/2012 4 11/22/2012 11/19/2012 5 11/24/2012 11/20/2012 7 11/27/2012 11/21/2012 8 11/29/2012 11/22/2012 5 11/27/2012 11/23/2012 5 11/28/2012

Fill in the Task 1, Task 2, Task 3, . Task 9 with your so they align with your specefic task.

11/15/2012

11/16/2012

11/17/2012

11/18/2012

11/19/2012

11/20/2012

11/21/2012

11/22/2012

Street Team Facebook Twitter Phone Calls Email Blast

Online Banner Ads

Radio Ads YouTube Ads Direct Mail

Direct Mail

k 2, Task 3, . Task 9 with your specefic task. Change the start dates, end dates, and duration days r specefic task.

11/22/2012

11/23/2012

11/24/2012

11/25/2012

11/26/2012

11/27/2012

11/28/2012

11/29/2012

k 2, Task 3, . Task 9 with your specefic task. Change the start dates, end dates, and duration days r specefic task.

11/22/2012 11/23/2012 11/24/2012 11/25/2012 11/26/2012 11/27/2012 11/28/2012 11/29/2012

k 2, Task 3, . Task 9 with your specefic task. Change the start dates, end dates, and duration days r specefic task.

11/22/2012 11/23/2012 11/24/2012 11/25/2012 11/26/2012 11/27/2012 11/28/2012 11/29/2012

k 2, Task 3, . Task 9 with your specefic task. Change the start dates, end dates, and duration days r specefic task.

11/22/2012

11/23/2012

11/24/2012

11/25/2012

11/26/2012

11/27/2012

11/28/2012

11/29/2012

Marketing Feedback
Product Gap Analysis - Qualitative Analysis What was Expected? What Actually Happened?

I expected A to happen

B actually happened

Pricing Gap Analysis - Qualitative Analysis What was Expected? What Actually Happened?

I expected A to happen

B actually happened

Placement Gap Analysis - Qualitative Analysis What was Expected? What Actually Happened?

I expected A to happen

B actually happened

Promotion Gap Analysis - Qualitative Analysis

What was Expected?

What Actually Happened?

I expected A to happen

B actually happened

arketing Feedback

What is the Root Cause? 5 Why's

Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?

What is the Actionable Solution?

What is the Root Cause? 5 Why's

Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?

What is the Actionable Solution?

s What is the Root Cause? 5 Why's What is the Actionable Solution?

Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?

s What is the Root Cause? 5 Why's

Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?

What is the Actionable Solution?