11 marketing strategy templates for annual planning
Last updated: March 2024
A well-defined marketing strategy sets the overall plan for how you will reach your target market and explain the benefits of using your product or service. Establishing your marketing strategy is key to ensuring the campaigns you launch and the activities you manage will deliver the best results.
Strategy templates are a great way to capture and communicate what you know about the market and your long-term approach. They make it easy to define your goals, identify your target market, describe where your offering fits in the market, and understand your competition. This collection of marketing strategy templates in Aha! software will help you get started planning your approach. The bundle includes templates and guided examples for capturing your:
Executive summary
Marketing goals
Target audience
Competitive analysis
SWOT analysis
Product positioning
Marketing calendar
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Later on in this guide are additional resources — including Excel and PowerPoint marketing plan templates that you can download and customize. Each one addresses a unique aspect of your strategy. Combined, they can be used to showcase your comprehensive understanding of the market and your strategic plans.
Explore the sections in this guide:
The key components of marketing strategy
A marketing strategy is based on deep research and analysis, factoring what can positively or negatively impact your business success. This research forms the foundation of your overall marketing plan and sets the direction for how to achieve your company’s vision, mission, and business goals.
You will need to update your strategy as market and business conditions change. This allows you to respond quickly to new opportunities and challenges. It also ensures that your marketing activities stay closely aligned with the company’s overall objectives.
The table below defines the key components of an overarching marketing strategy. You will find these core building blocks in the templates included in this guide.
Component | Purpose |
Marketing goals | Define a set of time-bound and measurable marketing goals that support your overarching business goals. |
Marketing initiatives | Capture the high-level efforts needed to achieve your marketing goals and the timeline for completing them. |
Target market | Segments of customers who share common characteristics and the marketing approach for each one. |
Market analysis | External market factors that could impact the success of your business. |
SWOT analysis | Make better marketing decisions based on your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. |
Positioning strategy | Articulate where your product fits in the market, what sets it apart, and why customers should care about it. |
Marketing mix | Define the right marketing mix to promote your product (often using the 10Ps model). |
Buyer personas | Create a detailed description of your ideal target customer so you can develop relevant market campaigns and content. |
Competitor analysis | Identify other companies competing in your market and rank them based on their strengths and weaknesses. |
This screenshot is an example of the kind of reporting you can do in Aha! software. Marketing teams can create similar views, tailoring them to their marketing-specific goals.
Related:
HubSpot: How to Create a Complete Marketing Strategy in 2024
Investopedia: Marketing Strategy: What It Is, How It Works, and How to Create One
Semrush: Marketing Strategy 101: A 7-Step Plan for Beginners
Marketing strategy templates
From positioning to personas, this guide includes several templates that will help you build your marketing strategy. You can choose from dynamic whiteboards in Aha! software, Excel, and Powerpoint templates.
10Ps marketing matrix template
A 10Ps marketing matrix is useful for identifying ways to improve your marketing strategy when launching a new product or offering. By examining the 10Ps — product, price, promotion, place, people, process, programs, physical environment, partners, and positioning — you can take a holistic view of your approach. Get started with the template below.
Marketing goals template
This template is designed to help you set annual strategy and show the success metrics for each goal. It is useful, for example, when you need to provide an overview of your marketing strategy to executives or advisory boards. You can also use this template to align the marketing team around a common set of objectives.
Marketing initiatives template
Use this template to visualize the high-level work needed to achieve your marketing goals. You can change the color of each bar to track the status of your initiatives. This makes it easy to share your planned initiatives and report on the progress. It also provides the marketing team with high-level direction for planning activities such as go-to-market launches, campaigns, and content.
Target market template
Identify your target market using this segment profile template. It captures the geographic, demographic, and behavioral characteristics of each customer segment. It also allows you to assess the market opportunity for potential and existing segments by including important information, such as market size, growth potential, and risk factors.
Market analysis template
Analyze market factors that could negatively impact your business success. This template is based on Porter’s 5 Forces model, so you can capture existing and potential threats. It allows you to create a realistic marketing strategy that considers external factors beyond your control.
SWOT analysis template
Use this marketing SWOT analysis template to identify key strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Assess the effectiveness of your product and your overall marketing approach. Identify what you are doing well and where you can improve to keep your marketing strategy relevant.
Positioning strategy template
Use this positioning template to capture your vision and mission. Articulate the unique value your product provides and the challenges it solves. This keeps your company and product messaging consistent and helps the marketing team develop campaigns and content that resonate with your target customers.
Marketing mix template
This template is a downloadable, simplified version of the 10Ps marketing matrix. It is useful way to describe the attributes that make up your overall marketing mix, such as price, place, promotion, people, and product. Capturing this information in one place lets you show how each element contributes to your marketing approach.
Buyer personas template
Use this buyer persona template to put a human face on your target customers. It allows you to capture important insights about what each persona wants and needs. Include relevant details, such as each persona’s goals, challenges, likes, and dislikes. This helps the marketing team understand who they are talking to so they can create targeted messages that resonate with potential buyers.
Competitor analysis template
Use this template to visualize the market landscape. It allows you to identify competitors and rank them based on their strengths and weaknesses. By understanding the alternatives available to your customers and where you fit in the overall market, you can define strategies that address the needs of your target market better than your competitors.
Whether you are creating positioning documents or conducting competitor research, these templates are great starting point. Connect the dots between strategy and action by switching to a purpose-built product development software to conduct all of your market research, set your goals, and then build your product plans — all in one place.
