Key facts
- A useful plan fits on one or two pages and is reviewed every month
- Goals should be measurable: leads, sales, bookings or revenue by a date
- Describe one main target customer in detail before choosing channels
- Pick one or two channels to start, with a budget and owner for each
- Plan in 90-day blocks: long enough to see results, short enough to adjust
- dijitul marketing strategy and planning is £45 an hour + VAT, or a fixed quote
Why keep it short
Long marketing plans tend to be written once and filed. A short plan gets used. The aim is a document you can open every month, check progress against and change. If it takes more than ten minutes to read, it is too long.
Below is a template with seven sections. Copy the headings into a document or spreadsheet and fill them in. Prompts in each section show what good answers look like.
The template
| Section | What to write |
|---|---|
| 1. Goals | Two or three measurable targets with dates. "40 qualified enquiries a month by March" or "200 online orders a month by Christmas". |
| 2. Target customer | Who buys, where they live, what problem they have, what they search for, what makes them hesitate. |
| 3. Offer and proof | What you sell, starting prices, why choose you, and the proof: reviews, guarantees, examples of work. |
| 4. Channels | One or two to start, with a reason. Search ads, social, email, SEO, referrals, local partnerships. |
| 5. Budget | Ad spend per channel, plus tools, content and help. Built from your target cost per customer. |
| 6. 90-day calendar | What happens each month, who does it, and key dates such as seasonal peaks and launches. |
| 7. Measurement | The few numbers you will check monthly, where they come from, and what would make you change course. |
Filling in goals and customer
Goals. Work backwards from revenue. If you need ten new customers a month and you win one in three enquiries, you need thirty enquiries. That is your marketing goal. Avoid goals you cannot measure, such as "raise awareness", unless you can say how you will know.
Customer. Write about one real type of customer. What are they trying to do? What would they type into Google? What would stop them contacting you: price, trust, timing? Answers here shape your ad copy, landing pages and social content. If you sell to very different groups, such as homeowners and landlords, give each its own short profile.
Channels, budget and calendar
Choose channels by where your customer already looks:
- Searching now: Google Ads, Microsoft Ads and SEO.
- Scrolling: Instagram, Facebook, TikTok or LinkedIn, organic and paid.
- Already a customer: email, SMS and reviews.
For each channel, set a monthly budget, an owner and the first three actions. Our guide on setting a digital marketing budget explains the maths.
The 90-day calendar should be practical: "Month 1: set up GA4 key events and Google Ads conversion tracking, launch one Search campaign, build welcome email flow. Month 2: add negative keywords from search terms, start two Instagram posts a week. Month 3: review cost per lead, test a new landing page headline."
Measurement and the monthly review
Pick four to six numbers and stick with them: enquiries or sales, cost per enquiry or ROAS, conversion rate, email list growth, and revenue from repeat customers. Make sure tracking is in place before the plan starts, otherwise month one is wasted. See how to set up GA4 key events.
At each monthly review, answer three questions: what worked, what did not, and what will we change next month? Write the answers into the plan. That habit matters more than the template itself.
Keep old versions. Looking back a year later at what you planned, what actually happened and why you changed course is the fastest way to write a better plan next time, and it gives any new staff member or agency the context they need.
Getting help with the plan
dijitul writes and reviews marketing plans at £45 an hour + VAT, or a fixed quote. Some owners want a full plan written; others want an hour to sanity-check their own. If you want ongoing senior help without a full-time hire, see fractional marketing director. We can also run marketing training so your team can deliver the plan in-house.
Frequently asked questions
What should a small business marketing plan include?
Measurable goals, a clear target customer, your offer and proof, chosen channels, a budget, a 90-day action calendar and how you will measure results. Keep it to one or two pages, give every action an owner, and review it monthly.
How long should a marketing plan cover?
Set annual goals, but plan actions in 90-day blocks. Three months is long enough for campaigns to produce data and short enough to change direction. At the end of each block, review results and write the next 90 days.
Do I need a marketing plan if I am a sole trader?
Yes, but a short one. Even a single page with a goal, your ideal customer, one or two channels and a monthly budget stops you jumping between ideas. It also makes it easier to see what is working and what to stop.
How do I choose which marketing channels to use?
Start with where your customers already look. If they search for what you sell, use search ads and SEO. If they discover products while scrolling, use social. For existing customers, use email and SMS. Start with one or two and add more once those work.
Can dijitul write our marketing plan?
Yes. Marketing strategy and planning is £45 an hour + VAT, or a fixed quote for a full written plan. We can also review a plan you have written, set up the tracking it depends on, and help deliver the channels it recommends.
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