Before beginning the marketing plan section of the business plan, the entrepreneur should provide a comprehensive review and assessment of the industry and market trends at the national and local levels. In addition, a comprehensive assessment of competitor strategies and their strengths and weaknesses should be documented. From this analysis the entrepreneur can begin to formulate the marketing plan section of the business plan. The marketing plan designates the response to three questions: Where have we been? Where are we going? and How do we get there?

To be able to respond effectively to these questions, it is generally necessary for the entrepreneur to conduct some marketing research. This research may involve secondary sources or a primary data collection process. Information from the research will be very important in determining the marketing mix factors or the marketing strategy to be implemented in the marketing plan.

The marketing plan entails a number of major steps. First, it is important to conduct a situation analysis to assess the question, "Where have we been?" Market segments must be defined and opportunities identified. This will help the entrepreneur determine a profile of the customer. Goals and objectives must be established. These goals and objectives must be realistic and detailed (quantified if possible). Next, the marketing strategy and action programs must be defined. Again, these should be detailed so that the entrepreneur clearly understands how the venture is going to get where it wants to go.

The marketing strategy section or action plan describes how to achieve the goals and objectives already defined. There may be alternative marketing approaches that could be used to achieve these defined goals. The use of creative strategies such as Internet marketing may give the entrepreneur a more effective entry into the market.

The action programs should also be assigned to someone to ensure their implementation. If the plan has been detailed, the entrepreneur should be able to assign some costs and budgets for implementing the marketing plan. During the year, the marketing plan will be monitored to discern the success of the action programs. Any "weak" signals will provide the entrepreneur with the opportunity to modify the plan and/or develop a contingency plan.

Careful scrutiny of the marketing plan can enhance its success. However, many plans fail, not because of poor management or a poor product but because the plan was not specific or had an inadequate situation analysis, unrealistic goals, or did not anticipate competitive moves, product deficiencies, and acts of God.