Product innovation and marketing are the only enduring competitive advantages that companies can use to survive and thrive in the marketplace. You are going to participate in designing and writing a marketing plan for a business, product, or service of your choosing. Your active participation in this project, first, is essential to building your understanding of marketing; secondly, you can use a well-written marketing plan to show prospective employers a sample of your work.

A marketing plan is a guide for the marketing activities of an organization for a specified period of time, typically about 5 years. The plan can be used internally to guide the marketing activities or it can be used to communicate with external audiences to raise capital. There are important questions to keep in mind as you design your plan.

1. Is the marketing idea valid?

2. What is unique or distinctive about the product or service that separates it from substitutes and competitors?

3. Does a viable market exist for the product or service?

4. Are the financial projections sound?

5. Is the management team competent?

6. How will the investors get their money back with a return on their investments?