Is it time for a marketing plan tune-up for your organization? If so, a Marketing Action Plan (MAP) may be just the tool you have been searching for.

Most organizations are a constantly evolving ecosystem of constituents or customers/clients, staff, Board of Directors, regulatory bodies, the community, local government, the media, and more. And these same stakeholders in your organization expect you to be charting a course that will lead to improved service offerings and a better standard of living for the community. However, with the proliferation of marketing mediums and the potential to reach each target group that will influence your success with increasingly granular approaches, it is more important than ever to have a deliberate plan for your organization’s marketing processes.

A Marketing Action Plan (MAP) is a proven process that your team can undertake to define and prioritize the Who, What, Why, and How of a successful marketing plan. Following a MAP ensures that your organization is taking an organized and well-thought-out approach to executing a successful marketing program. While we’d love to help facilitate the creation of your MAP, below are several resources including the step-by-step process we go through with our clients that can help you (and your team) create this plan on your own.

DIY Marketing Action Planning development resources: MAP Worksheet / MAP Cheat Sheet / MAP Workbook

Step 1 is listing the WHO.

Who are the Target groups that can influence your organization's success? 

Step 2 is defining the WHAT.

Think about what each of your target groups would need to do to play a role in the success of your brand.

Step 3 is determining the WHY.

What does a target group need to believe about your brand in order for them to accomplish the roles that will result in your success? 

Step 4 is identifying the HOW.

What should you do to communicate and/or reinforce the Beliefs that each Target Group must possess (required) in order for them to accomplish the Roles that will result in your success? Processes make up the foundation of your marketing plan. Examples could include a social media plan, website, PR efforts, collateral pieces, direct mail, etc.

Once these Targets, Roles, Beliefs, and Processes have been created, make sure to prioritize them from most to least important. This will help you clearly evaluate if your current marketing plan is communicating effectively to the desired Targets, is developed to get them to act with the desired Roles and conceived so the targets Believe what you need them to in order for you to have success with them. The desired end result is to ensure that you maximize the impact of your organization’s marketing efforts, and ultimately maximize your marketing budget.

It’s important to remember that Marketing Action Plans are never completely done. We often find ourselves saying that the MAP is a living, breathing document—returning often to add processes or reorganize the priority.

Over the last 10 years, Stamp has facilitated the development and annual re-assessment of more than 200 Marketing Action Plans. In addition to plan development, our team has also developed a Marketing Action Planning seminar and leads Marketing Action Planning development how-to sessions at meetings and conferences. If you would like to discuss Stamp facilitating the development of a MAP directly with your organization, please contact Susan Bryan to schedule a call.