Sample Plan

Introduction

Strategic Marketing Steps
1. Goals
2. Situation
3. Segmentation
4. Criteria and selection
5. Strategies
6. Programs
7. Promotion
8. Implementation

In this day and age of increased noise in the marketplace, the need for nonprofit organizations to reach out and engage new audiences is more important and more difficult than ever. Increasingly, there is overlap of issues and programs and increased competition for donors and supporters. Organizations can no longer afford to have one audience for fundraising, another for programs, and yet another for membership. The resources are limited and the work is urgent.
To reach and engage new audiences, many organizations find a strategic marketing plan useful, if not essential. The purpose of this article is to: x illustrate the application of basic marketing principles to nonprofits x present a step-by-step guide to creating a strategic marketing plan x show that defining and understanding the target market is necessary to effectively reach and engage them x give an example of how a strategic marketing plan can be used and applied

Strategic Marketing
Step One: Develop the Goals

The first step in developing a successful marketing plan is to define the specific and tangible marketing goal. What does the organization want to achieve as a result of these marketing efforts?
The goal should be long term. A strategic marketing plan is not a quick fix to a funding or image problem. A concise, clearly defined goal will help measure success.

For example, a marketing goal for a project completed with a statewide environmental organization was “to engage citizens who care about the environment to be both financially supportive and/or to visibly and vocally participate in the protection of the state’s environment.” In the case of a human services organization, the goal was to “gain increased recognition, support, and status for the organization.”
The marketing goal helps