Academic Insight: The Purpose of a Marketing Plan As a business, an organization's future is described by its vision and goals. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration (no year given), “To successfully grow your business, you will need to attract and then work to maintain a large base of satisfied customers” (para. 1). Often an organization has the best intentions to acquire customers, but that's only half the battle. Retaining customers is just as important, if not more important, than acquiring them. To acquire and retain customers, organizations must maintain high-quality service, cross-sell products and services (Fleischner, 2014). What is marketing? Marketing may seem a little cumbersome, but real marketing, if done correctly, will be simple. According to Solomon, Marshall, and Stuart (2011), “Marketing is a fundamental part of our lives both as consumers and as actors in business” (p. 7). A marketing plan is not a complicated task if the correct template is used and the task is approached thoroughly. Kokemiller (2013) identified the following: A marketing plan is a document developed by company leaders and offers guidance to the marketing department to implement the necessary steps to align with stated marketing objectives and strategies. Typically, companies develop a marketing plan every few years, but review it periodically for adjustments or possibilities based on the company's strategy” (para. 3). A Marketing Plan Alternative marketing models are described and a life cycle analysis tool to assist in selecting a development strategy is demonstrated A well-developed marketing plan can and will increase customer visibility and generate revenue (Fleischner, 2014). Components of a brand… at the heart of the card… the unique positioning of the customer, the customer is in a much better position to promote and sell your product or service effectively. “By establishing goals for the marketing campaign, the client can better understand whether or not their efforts are generating results through ongoing review and evaluation of results” (10 Key Components of a Marketing Plan). Finally, a marketing plan is important to the client because it provides visual timelines. It serves as a road map for where they want to go. A marketing plan also acts as a "thermostat" to see what has been done and was successful, as well as what didn't work and what doesn't need to be done again. As Luke (2013) states, “this can rarely be accomplished and will be counterproductive to your overall marketing success” (p.20). Organizations must not only set goals, but work to achieve and exceed them.