Every business should be equipped with a marketing strategy to help find and keep customers. The type of marketing that works for you will depend on your business objectives, target customers, resources, and so much more. The resources in this section will help you expand the way you look at marketing.
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Marketing Plans
Marketing Plan Outline from Government of Canada
This Government of Canada page reviews the components of a marketing plan and why a marketing plan is necessary for your small business.- Marketing and Sales Plan Creation from Government of BC
This guide from the Government of British Columbia explains how to create a marketing and sales plan for your business. It covers understanding your customers, reviewing competitors, setting prices, choosing where and how to promote and sell your products, and tracking results.
Templates
- BDC - Marketing Plan Template
Editable marketing plan template from Business Development Canada. This guide will help you define your brand, identify your customers, define what makes your business different, and create your marketing action plan. - Desjardins - Interactive Marketing Plan
Interactive marketing plan supported by financial institution Desjardins to help you get your 4 Ps up and running: price, product, promotion and place. Registration required.
General Marketing Plan Help
KnowThis.com - Principle of Marketing Tutorials
The Principles of Marketing tutorials are like having access to an introduction to marketing textbook - online and for free! Each tutorial can be read on its own or in conjunction with the others and cover a wide variety of topics including extensive sections on promotion and marketing research though pricing and marketing management are good reads as well.Mplans.com
A first-stop for learning about marketing, there are sections on how to write a marketing plan, sample marketing plans, and an extensive collection of articles that focus on the how-to aspects of marketing and public relations.Inc.com - Marketing
Inc. has a lot of excellent small business resources and their section on Marketing is definitely worth checking out. The articles are informative and easy to read. Definitely take advantage of the search feature to find older articles on topics of interest to you.Entrepreneur - Marketing
Featuring sections on Marketing Basics, Sales, Online Marketing, Finding Customers, Social Media, and Branding, the online version on Entrepreneur Magazine is a treasure trove of marketing information. The articles cover classic marketing strategies and tips as well as explaining how new trends and tools could apply to your business's marketing plan.Advertising Age Use the advanced search feature to find worldwide news and marketing trends in your industry. You'll need a subscription ($79/year) for full access to the site. However, you can read some content for free, or find bibliographic information here and use a library database to access the article. Ask your librarian for help using Boolean operators in your search! Be sure to check out the white papers (sponsored content is free) and branded content for more resource guides.