There are really two parts of the marketing plan at heart: the strategy and the tactical plan. The marketing strategy identifies and addresses the various issues related to mobilizing the marketing effort, while the tactical plan provides specific dates, tools, budgets and measurement initiatives needed to implement the program.
These nested strategies form the basis for highly effective business positioning. Marketing goals must directly support the overall goals of the business, as stated in the business plan. By developing accurate market and industry insights to competitor plans, market trends and various aspects of customer demand a company is able to effectively allocate limited resources among multiple opportunities.
In order to assess the required competency within specific industry segments, companies also need to confirm the basic dynamics of the market for each product or business unit and have answers to the following questions: