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A marketing plan template is a fixed set of sections and fields you fill in, so your plan covers goals, audience, channels, budget, timeline and KPIs in the same order every time. Copy the block below into a document and replace each bracket.
Marketing plan template (copy and fill in)
- Goal and review date: [one business result, a number and a date]
- Customer and evidence: [one specific customer group, and what you know about their need]
- Offer and positioning: [what you sell, and the one reason this customer picks you]
- Channels (2 or 3): [where this customer looks for, compares or decides on a business like yours]
- Actions: [task, owner, finish date, one line per task]
- Budget: [money and hours per month for each channel]
- Timeline: [what happens in month 1, month 2 and month 3]
- KPIs and review: [measures tied to the goal, where you read them, review day]
Fill the actions section with the marketing plan generator
Section 5 is the hardest to fill from a blank page. The marketing plan generator in FounderPal takes a business description, a target audience, a business stage and a language, and returns 20 marketing ideas.
The ideas come in four groups of five: quick wins and long-term bets, each split into acquisition and conversion. Pick the ones that fit the channels you chose in section 4 and paste them into the template with an owner and a finish date.
To sharpen section 2 first, describe your customer with the target audience generator.
What to write in each section
| Section | What to write | Test it passes |
|---|---|---|
| Goal and review date | One result, such as 40 booked appointments a month by 31 March | On the review date anyone can tell whether it happened |
| Customer and evidence | A customer group described by situation and need, plus the inquiries, reviews or sales records behind it | You can picture one person who fits, and "everyone" does not appear |
| Offer and positioning | The product or service and one concrete difference you can prove | A customer could repeat it after reading your homepage once |
| Channels | Two or three channels, with the reason each one fits the customer | One person can keep all of them going every week |
| Actions | One task per line, with one owner and a finish date | Each task is finished or not, with no "ongoing" entries |
| Budget | Money and hours per month for each channel | The total fits what you can spend without touching rent or payroll |
| Timeline | Three months, each with a focus | Every task from section 5 sits in a month |
| KPIs and review | Measures linked to the goal, a source for each, a review day | You know where to look and when |
For the customer line, the SBA's guidance for lean business plans says to be specific when you name your target market.
The template asks for two or three channels because one person can keep that many going every week. Review them at the end of each month and drop the ones that bring nothing.
Marketing plan budget template
| Cost line | What it covers | How to estimate |
|---|---|---|
| Ad spend | Paid search, social ads, sponsored listings | Set a monthly cap per channel and review it with the plan |
| Tools and software | Email, scheduling, analytics, design | Add up the subscriptions you will actually use |
| Content and freelancers | Writing, design, video, photos | Get one quote per piece, then multiply by pieces per month |
| Your own hours | Time you or your team spend on marketing | Hours per week times 4, priced at what that time would cost to hire |
| Events and print | Stalls, flyers, signage, sponsorships | Use the quote or invoice, spread over the months it covers |
To turn the lines into a total, use the Marketing Budget Calculator.
Marketing plan timeline template
| Month | Focus | What goes in |
|---|---|---|
| Month 1 | Set-up and quick wins | Tracking in place, the first task for each channel, one message to existing customers |
| Month 2 | Repeat what works | Do more of what produced replies or sales, drop what produced nothing |
| Month 3 | Review and extend | Compare results with the goal, then add one long-term bet |
Small business marketing plan walks through the same 90 days step by step.
KPIs to put in the plan
Pick one KPI per goal type. The arithmetic below only shows how each formula works.
| KPI | Formula | Example | Where to read it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Website conversion rate | Enquiries divided by visits | 1,000 visits and 30 enquiries is 3% | Your website analytics |
| Cost per lead | Spend divided by leads | 500 spent and 25 leads is 20 per lead | Ad platform plus your lead list |
| Email click rate | Clicks divided by delivered emails | 2,000 delivered and 60 clicks is 3% | Your email tool |
| Repeat-customer share | Customers who bought again divided by all customers | 200 customers and 50 repeat buyers is 25% | Sales records |
For a longer explanation of each section, read what to include in a marketing plan. For the strategy behind the plan, see small business, ecommerce and startup marketing strategy. To see finished plans for specific businesses, browse the marketing plan examples.
FAQ
What should a marketing plan template include?
Eight sections: goal and review date, customer and evidence, offer and positioning, channels, actions, budget, timeline, and KPIs. Each section holds fields you fill in and a test that tells you when it is done.
How long should a marketing plan be?
One page is enough for a small business. Keep the goal, customer, channels and KPIs on that page, and move the detailed task list into a separate sheet you update weekly.
Can I use this template in Google Docs or a spreadsheet?
Yes. Paste the eight-line block into a document for the written sections. Copy the budget, timeline and KPI tables into one sheet each so you can add numbers and update them every month.
What is the difference between a marketing plan and a marketing strategy?
A strategy chooses the customer, the offer and the channels. A plan adds the tasks, owners, budget, dates and KPIs that carry the strategy out. The marketing strategy template covers the first, this page covers the second.