Guide to Creating a Marketing Plan That Works

Your practical next step after completing a SWOT analysis.

A SWOT analysis gives you clarity—what you’re great at, where you can improve, and where the opportunities lie. But insight alone won’t move your business forward. The real progress happens when you turn that clarity into a strategic marketing plan that drives results.

Whether you’re building your first strategy or refreshing an outdated one, here’s a step-by-step guide to creating a marketing plan that actually works.

Start with Your SWOT Analysis

A SWOT identifies your internal strengths and weakness, while also uncovering potential external opportunities and threats. It’s more than a strategic exercise. A SWOT analysis is an insight tool to use as the foundation for your marketing plan.  

• Strengths tell you what to highlight in your messaging.

• Weaknesses point to areas that need improvement or better communication.

• Opportunities reveal channels or services worth investing in.

• Threats help you anticipate challenges and create proactive strategies.

Your marketing plan should be a direct response to what you uncover in your analysis.

Define Clear Goals

A marketing plan can’t succeed without direction. Set specific, measurable goals that guide all your tactics. Examples might include:

1. Increasing awareness of a new service

2. Gaining more online reviews

3. Improving engagement on social media

4. Converting more online orders

5. Capturing more leads on your website

Each goal should tie back to your SWOT. For example, if a weakness was low digital presence, a goal may be to grow online engagement by 15% over the next 6-months.

Understand Your Audience

Strategy becomes meaningful when it’s grounded in a deep understanding of your audience and their needs. Who you’re communicating with—and what they’re looking for—should guide every decision in your marketing plan.

Start by defining your core audience segments. For many businesses, this includes a mix of existing customers, prospective customers, local community members, and online followers who engage with your brand. Each group may have different motivations, expectations, and challenges, and recognizing those distinctions lets you create more targeted, effective messaging.

Take time to uncover what your audience values most. Are they searching for expert guidance? Convenience? Personalized service? Solutions to a specific problem? Use surveys, customer conversations, website analytics, and social engagement insights to gather real data—not assumptions—about their preferences and behaviors.

This clarity helps you craft messages that resonate with your audience on a deeper level. You set the foundation for a marketing plan that isn’t just well-designed—but truly effective.

Craft Your Core Messages

Once you know your audience, it’s time to define what you want to say and how you want to say it. Your core message is the story your audience hears every time they encounter your brand, whether online, in-store, or in the community.

Your core message should highlight your unique selling proposition (USP)—the qualities that make your pharmacy different and better than the competition. Think of it as the promise you make to your patients: what they can expect when they choose you and why it matters.

Create a few key messages that:

• Communicate your value

• Speak directly to your audience’s needs

• Reflect your brand voice and personality

• Reinforce your competitive advantage

These core messages will guide everything—from social media captions to website content to outreach collateral.

Choose the Right Marketing Channels

A strong marketing plan isn’t about being everywhere. It’s about being in the right places. Instead of spreading your efforts thin, focus on a mix of channels that work together to create a cohesive presence, align with your goals, and meet your audience where they already are.

Here’s how to think strategically about your options:

• Social media for educational content and brand visibility

• Email marketing for promotions and patient communication

• Google Business Profile optimization for local search visibility

• Community outreach strengthens trust and reinforces your local reputation

• Print materials remind customers of your services long after they leave your business

• Website updates to highlight services and improve user experience

By choosing channels intentionally you create a marketing plan that feels focused, manageable, and impactful. Each channel should reinforce your core messages and contribute to your larger goals. And when your channels work together, your audience experiences a brand that’s consistent, confident, and easy to remember.

Build a Content Strategy

With your audience defined and your core message in place, the next step is to create a content strategy that brings your marketing plan to life. Content isn’t just about posting regularly. It’s about delivering value, reinforcing your brand, and guiding patients through a meaningful journey.

A strong content strategy ensures every piece of content serves a purpose, whether it’s to educate, engage, or inspire action. Here’s how to build one:

1. Define content goals

2. Plan around themes and campaigns

3. Mix content types including education, story-driven, promotional and interactive

4. Align content with core message

5. Establish a publishing schedule

6. Track, measure and adjust

By planning strategically, aligning with your core message, and staying consistent, you ensure that every post, article, or update works toward your goals.

Measure, Review, and Adjust

A marketing plan isn’t a “set it and forget it” document. It’s a living strategy that grows and evolves with your business. Measurement and review are essential to understand what’s working, what needs improvement, and how to make your efforts more effective over time.

Set a schedule to review your marketing insights, monthly or quarterly works best. Look for patterns, successes, and areas that need adjustment. For example, if educational posts perform better than promotions, consider shifting your strategy to include more helpful content.

• Engagement metrics

• Website traffic

• Review growth

• Campaign performance

• Feedback from your team or customers

Use what you learn to refine your strategy. This is where your SWOT connects full circle—your marketing plan adapts as your business grows.

A solid marketing plan doesn’t need to be complicated. It needs to be clear, intentional, and directly tied to your business goals. By starting with your SWOT and turning those insights into focused strategies, you set yourself up for marketing that see results, not just marketing that fills space.