Ogden Weber Applied Technology College Ogden Clinic Marketing Plan Paper

Executive summary The executive summary is a summary of the entire plan written in such a way that it can be quickly read. It is similar to the abstract of a research paper. It is straight narrative and should be more than one page (double spaced) but not more than three pages. It should contain highlights from most sections of the plan but not go into detail (not much on the budget except the total, and little if any on the evaluation). This is what the CEO reads. If he or she likes it, then he/she reads on. DO NOT start by writing the Executive Summary even though it will appear first in the completed plan. It is a summary of the highlights of the plan and therefore cannot be written until the rest of the plan is finished. This is another important skill for your career. Unfortunately, you will encounter bosses, clients, committees, and the like who will not take the time to read an entire report, plan, or proposal that you have prepared. For those folks, you need to have the skill to choose the key elements for inclusion in an executive summary that will satisfy their interests and perhaps cause them to want to look at the details.

Evaluation

This section contains your ideas on how you will evaluate both the outcomes of the plan and the processes you go through to accomplish it. Process evaluation and outcome evaluation are skills that will be important to you in your career. They are also different and are described in module 9. Outcome evaluation should focus on your marketing objectives and how the company will know whether they have been achieved. What reports will they look at? Do the reports exist already, or do they need to start tracking new information to have the right information in the end? Who will look at the reports and do the evaluation? Process evaluation should occur as the action plan is implemented. How will the company know that each action has been implemented as planned? Who will do the monitoring? How will decisions be made about process adjustments if necessary?