Chapter 3: The One-Page Marketing Plan to the Rescue

To escape the marketing death spiral, you need to write a strategic marketing plan. Using the 1-page marketing plan framework simplifies the process. 

Where a normal marketing planning process can take you months to develop, the 1-Page approach enables you to move fast. The remaining chapters of this guide will help you complete the plan in as little as half a day.

Let’s dive into the framework.

The one-page marketing plan framework is built around the three milestones of the buyer’s journey. A buyer’s journey is the steps a potential customer takes to realize she has a problem, find your solution for that problem, and decide to buy your solution and become your customer. 

Buyer’s Journey

1. Before:  Prospective customer has a problem
2. During: Discovers a solution for their problem
3. After: Decides to buy the solution and become a customer.

Each milestone contains three sections of your strategic plan. Every section features a framing question you need to answer. There are nine sections total. 

1. Before
   1. Who is our target customer and why do they need our solution?
   2. What do we say to persuade them we’re a great fit? 
   3. How do we reach them?
2. During
   1. How do we track prospective customers  who reach out to us?
   2. How do we build trust and value with those prospective customers?
   3. How do we turn that trust and value into a purchase?
3. After
   1. How do we deliver incredible experiences our customers love?
   2. How do we create loyalty and grow repeat business from customers?
   3. How do we persuade loyal customers to give us referrals?

Creating an actionable, measurable marketing plan is as simple as answering these nine questions. And the benefit is priceless.

• It defines your destination, the transportation you’ll take to get there, and gives you a compass to help you avoid dead ends and wrong turns.
• It’s measurable and repeatable allowing you to deploy as frequently as you can, improving and optimizing your execution as you go.
• It’s not set in stone. It evolves with your customer acquisition and sales goals.

Use this template to create your One-Page Marketing Plan.