Many small businesses conduct their marketing without having a marketing plan. This is a lot like trying to drive to a distant location without a map, GPS, or directions. Odds are that you won't get where you want to go!
A marketing plan does not have to be a major headache. Everything starts with the simple question "what is it that I want to accomplish?" It may be to increase sales by some percentage, or to expand the customer base, or to introduce a new product or service. We now know the destination.
The plan then moves to "how" and that can take two parts. One, like choosing a route to a distant city, involves the vehicle. We know that our ultimate route will vary if we choose, like in our example, car, bus, railroad, or plane. Here will be a question of doing it yourself, or hiring an appropriate professional. The second part is the channel or channels. Do you advertise? try face to face marketing? and so on. Those channels should be chosen for their efficiency in doing the job. Just as you wouldn't drive your car on a river, we wouldn't, say, reach out to, say, health care decision makers by advertising on Nick at Night.
Lastly the plan should include consideration of success. What does "success" mean? what measurements (or metrics) will be used to define whether the plan leads to success or not?
Bottom Line: When you take a journey, you must plan. Define the destination, the means of getting there, and what will determine the journey's success. Good luck! You are one step closer to your objectives!
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