STEPS IN PREPARING THE MARKETING PLANStep 1: Defining the Business Situation The situation analysis is a review of where the company has been and considers many of the environmental factors. The entrepreneur should provide a review of past performance of the product and the company. Industry analysis should include information on market size, growth rate, suppliers, new entries, and economic conditions.Step 2: Defining Target Market/Opportunities and Threats The entrepreneur should have a good idea of who the customer or target market will be. The defined target market will usually represent one or more segments of the entire market. Market segmentation is the process of dividing the market into smaller homogeneous groups.. The process of segmenting is: a. Decide what general market or industry you wish to pursue. b. Divide the market into smaller groups based on characteristics of the customer. c. Select segment or segments to target. d. Develop marketing plan integrating the parts of the marketing mix.Step 3: Considering Strengths and Weaknesses It is important for the entrepreneur to consider its strengths and weaknesses.Step 4: Establishing Goals and Objectives Before strategy decisions can be outlined, the entrepreneur must establish realistic marketing goals and objectives. These answer the question Where do we want to go?” These goals should specify such things as market share, profit, sales, market penetration, pricing policy, and advertising support. Not all goals and objectives must be quantified. It is a good idea to limit the number of goals to between six and eight.Step 5: Defining Marketing Strategy and Action Programs Strategy and action decisions respond to the question How do we get there? It incorporates:1. Product or Service This includes a description of the product and may include more than the physical.Step 6: Coordination of the Planning Process The management team must coordinate the planning process. The entrepreneur may be the only person involved but may lack experience in preparing the plan. Assistance is available from many sources, such as the SBA..Step 7: Designing Responsibility for Implementation The plan must be implemented effectively to meet all of the desired goals and objective.