Most of the organisations have had great business till a few months back. This great market demand was there for 3-4 years, during which many of the fundamentals of well defined marketing & sales functions were ignored. As business grew by leaps & bounds there was not much need of such "cumbersome" exercises. Front end sales-marketing pushed by seniors, aggressively went for available business before competitors could try to get in.

However, as we face an extremely challenging business scenario, its time to revisit the fundamentals of marketing plans. I have briefly worked out a simple 10 point marketing framework, which should help decision makers identify their niche market & target those customers who will in high probability give business worth chasing. Depending on the type of organisation you work for, one can workout details of the following areas, listed in a logical manner. Different types of organisation, like Manufacturing, Services etc; will have different focus & concerns.

The last area "Action plan" will be derived from work done on all the earlier 9 steps.

1. Current Market Position. Covers your present & potential customers base, Sales & Distribution strength, the industry trend, technology trend etc.

2. Market Overview. Market segments, Market size & share - Value & Volumes. Number & type of competitors, Competitive forces etc.

9. Resource Requirements: Financial, HR, Knowledge & Timely information etc.

10. Activity Plan: Who will do what & when, results milestone, Periodic reviews.