7 Steps to the Perfect Marketing Plan Think about who you are, who needs what you do and how to get their attention.

One of the most powerful strategic planning tools your business can possess is a marketing plan. I'm not referring to an academic exercise found in college marketing textbooks. Your marketing plan should be a simple (in some cases, one-page) document that specifically answers who you are, what you do, who needs what you do and how you plan to attract their attention. It's a combination of the planning process and the completed action plan.

Follow these seven simple steps to build the perfect marketing plan:

Step 1: Narrow your market focus. Try to describe your ideal customer in the narrowest and most detailed terms possible, as though you're describing him or her to a referral source