THE FOUNDERS COUNCIL

THE ADVISORY BOARD COMPANY

WASHINGTON, D.C.

Marketing Plan Template

800-bed, not-for-profit academic medical center

This policy statement describes the hospital’s marketing plan development process, outlining the discrete steps
through which administrators would implement a marketing plan: program overview, goals and objectives,
environmental assessment, marketing strategies, and implementation tactics.

NOTE TO MEMBERS
It is our belief that sharing best practices across the membership at large will
strengthen leadership and planning practice at all member institutions, creating a new
industry standard of marketing and planning excellence among Founders Council
members. To this end, the Document Warehouse on-line service is intended to help
members benchmark their own institution’s marketing and planning practices with
those of their peers across the country. Please understand that the documents
available in the Founders Council’s Document Warehouse on-line service are
intended for reference purposes only; they should serve as examples to members
wishing to redesign existing protocols and services or create new programs. The
Founders Council considers these documents to be “works-in-progress.” They do not
necessarily provide proven methods for improving practices and may need to be
adapted depending on your particular institution type and market situation.
 Marketing Plan Template

ORIGINATING DEPARTMENT:

Marketing and program development

PURPOSE:

To provide an overview of the hospital’s marketing plan development process.

MARKETING PLAN TEMPLATE:

I. Program Overview

A. Program/Service Description: Describe the program or service as it currently exists. This can
include clinical information as well as customer information.

II. Goals and Objectives

A. Program/Service Objectives: Clearly identify the short-range and long-range objectives for
this service. Short-range goals should be specific, and will apply to next year. Long-range
goals will be less specific and may project 3-5 years out. Include reasoning behind
marketing this service and what potential modifications will be made, as well as any
quantitative goals.

B. Link to System Objectives: Relate the program or service objectives to the overall strategic
goals of the healthcare system.

III. Target Markets

A. Primary and Secondary Markets: Describe who the potential customers are for this program
or service, in order of importance. May require preliminary research to identify.

B. Market Segmentation: Categorize the target markets by psychodemographics, specialty,

frequency of use, etc. This allows the marketing effort to be more focused, and therefore
more effective.

IV. Environmental Assessment

A. Competitive Environment: List other entities in the market that can be considered
competitors for this program or service. Describe their strengths and weaknesses, how
successful they are, why they are successful, and what actions they might take regarding this

2
 service in the coming year. Include any other environmental factors that may also be
pertinent.

B. Market Potential
1. Qualitative: This section includes the demographic and other information for the
individuals or organizations that could be considered prospects for this program or
service.
2. Quantitative: This section includes the number of potential customers, dollar volume
of business or current market share that is expected to increase as a result of planned
marketing efforts.

C. Potential for Success

1. Strengths: Describe factors that can advantageously position the service in the market.
These include features that are beneficial and/or unique to this program or service.
2. Weaknesses: Describe any inadequacies of the program or service, or any obstacles
that might inhibit the marketing of this service.
3. Opportunities: Describe what it is about this program or service, or this particular
window in time, which will enable the success of the marketing efforts.
4. Threats: Describe any dangers to the success of the program or service. These may
include any competitive alternatives, any anticipated marketing efforts by competitors
or any anticipated changes in the marketplace.

V. Recommended Marketing Strategies

List the overall approach to be used to achieve the specific goals for this program or service.
This may include the basic objective for each of the target markets, the primary message to be
delivered to each market and the service features that will be emphasized in these messages.

VI. Workplan

A. Tactics: List the detailed steps that must be carried out to fulfill the strategies. These can
include communications activities such as advertising, direct mail, and brochure
development. The steps may also include programs to be designed and implemented by line
staff.

B. Responsible Parties: Identify which person(s) will complete each tactic.

C. Timeline: Project the completion date for each tactic.

D. Evaluation Process: Determine methods for evaluating the marketing activities. Identify how
programmatic results will be measured and who will measure them.

VII. Budget

This is the total dollar amount required to implement the marketing plan, and is a compilation of all the
costs associated with each tactic.