How to Write a Marketing Plan for a Small Business

Set goals as numbers with dates

A marketing goal should be specific: how many new customers or how much revenue by when. Vague goals like more visibility cannot be measured.

Start with the business target and work backward. If you want $120,000 more in revenue this year and the average customer spends $1,200, you need 100 more customers. If you win one of every four people you quote, you need 400 quotes, or about 33 a month.

Write two or three goals:

• New customers per month
• Revenue from marketing sources
• Maximum cost per new customer

Tie every activity in the plan to one of these. If an idea does not move a goal number, leave it out. The planning logic mirrors a full business plan, only focused on customers.

Describe your customer and your offer

Name the one or two customer groups you serve best, the problem they have and the offer that solves it. Everything in the plan speaks to them.

Pull from your sales records. Who are your best customers? What do they have in common, and why did they buy? Write a short profile for each group: where they are, what they need, how they search and what stops them from buying.

Then state your offer in one sentence, including price range and what makes it different. For example: "Same-week installation of commercial refrigeration for independent restaurants, with a one-year parts warranty." Draft the main messages for each group. The value proposition guide and brand messaging framework can help, and market research shows how to confirm your assumptions.

Pick channels and assign each a job

Choose two to four channels, and give each a role: attract, nurture or convert. Do not choose a channel unless you can run it consistently.

Use a simple table in your plan that lists channel, purpose, monthly activity and monthly cost.

Compare options in marketing channels and add the ones that match your customers.

Build a budget from cost per customer

Set the budget by working out what a customer is worth and how much you can spend to win one. Then divide it across channels.

Calculate gross profit per customer, which is revenue minus the direct cost of delivering the product or service, over the customer's expected lifetime or first year. Decide what share you are willing to invest to acquire them.

Illustrative example: A customer brings $1,200 of revenue and $480 of gross profit. If you are willing to spend up to $120 to win one, and you want 100 customers, your plan can carry up to $12,000 of marketing spend, minus the cost of your own time. Split it by channel and hold some back for testing.

Write down what you will do if costs run higher than expected. Our marketing budget guide and marketing payback math give formulas and worked examples.

Turn the plan into a calendar

A plan only works if tasks have owners and dates. Build a 90-day calendar with weekly and monthly activities.

Break the plan into recurring activities and one-time projects, and assign each a date and an owner.

• Weekly. Social posts, review requests, follow-ups with leads, partner outreach.
• Monthly. Email newsletter, new website content, a review of numbers.
• Quarterly. A promotion tied to your season, a plan review, a budget reset.

Add known dates: holidays, local events, your slow and busy seasons. Place promotions ahead of slow periods, not during them. If you work alone, be modest. Four tasks done each week beat fifteen that you drop in March.

Keep the calendar in a shared spreadsheet or task tool so you can see overdue items at a glance.

Measure, review and adjust each quarter

Track a handful of numbers monthly and review the plan each quarter. Move money toward what produces customers and away from what does not.

Choose five to seven metrics tied to your goals:

1. New leads by source
2. New customers by source
3. Cost per customer by channel
4. Revenue from new customers
5. Repeat purchase rate or referral count

Record them in a simple monthly sheet and compare them to targets. In your quarterly review ask what worked, what failed, what you will stop and what you will test next.

When a channel clearly pays back and the bottleneck is cash, such as the inventory, crew or equipment to serve more customers, funding may help. ROI Funder offers working capital for businesses with 500+ FICO, 6+ months in business and $20,000+ monthly revenue. Apply only when the payback is clear. For a full overview of the process see small business marketing strategy.