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How to Write an Executive Summary for a Marketing Plan
An executive summary in your marketing plan gives an overview of how you intend to reach your target audience and drive conversions. Here's what you should include.
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A marketing plan is essential when you’re launching a new business or product. This plan guides your marketing activities, which may include building brand awareness, establishing your competitive advantage, growing your customer base and attracting new leads, all in the hope of driving conversions.
Marketing plans can be complex because they provide a lot of detail about your overall marketing goals and supporting activities. That’s why it’s beneficial to write an executive summary of your marketing plan. We’ll break down what the summary should include and provide tips from marketing experts to help you nail this crucial part of the marketing plan.
>> Not sure you’re ready for the executive summary? Read this first: Your Guide to Creating a Small Business Marketing Plan
What is an executive summary of a marketing plan?
An executive summary of a marketing plan is a persuasive, concise elevator pitch designed for decision-makers. As the name suggests, it provides a high-level overview of your marketing plan. Its primary purpose is to reduce complex topics and projects within your greater marketing plan to the basics and show your short-term and long-term goals. In one or two pages, it describes the key results of your market research and provides an overview of your brand objectives, marketing goals and related activities.
The time spent crafting your executive summary could really pay off. “Our data shows strong executive summaries reduce plan approval time [by] 40 percent and increase allocated budgets [by] 25 percent,” said Vivian Au, co-founder and chief marketing officer of Air Corporate. “This document becomes the blueprint for marketing execution and performance measurement.”
Shopifreaks founder and newsletter editor Paul Drecksler told us, “In my experience, if you can nail the summary, you’re already halfway to getting buy-in from your audience. It’s the foundation that sets the entire marketing plan in motion.”
Why it matters: benefits of a well-written executive summary
A well-crafted executive summary accelerates buy-in from stakeholders and leadership. While it may seem easy to overlook, “A strong executive summary is the most important part of any marketing plan,” said Iñigo Rivero, co-founder of House of Marketers and former strategy and partnership manager at TikTok.
“An executive summary is not just for the purpose of filling up the form,” he explained. “It is a way of showing … leaders what they need to know about your plan. It is your opportunity to create interest and build confidence in your approach to strategic management.”
The executive summary serves multiple critical functions that directly impact business outcomes:
- Faster approvals: Many readers find summaries less overwhelming than a full marketing plan. “Marketing plans often get stuck in the weeds — too much detail, not enough clarity,” said Dominick Tomanelli, co-founder and CEO of Promobile Marketing. “The executive summary solves that. It’s the one section that gives decision-makers everything they need to know, fast. If you’re trying to get buy-in from executives, investors or partners, this is where you win them over.”
- Improved alignment: In addition to giving decision-makers an overview of your full marketing plan and its intended impacts, your summary “establishes credibility and acts as a reference point for communicating to both internal and external audiences,” said Pollyanna Durbin, founder and chief marketing officer of sustainable marketing agency Growfish.
- Increased budget allocation: A compelling executive summary demonstrates the strategic value of marketing initiatives, making it easier to secure necessary resources and funding for campaigns.
Key components to include
The executive summary should cover the main parts of your marketing plan, as well as information about your company and brand, your products or services, the market, and your overall direction. Whereas the marketing plan is typically divided into sections separated by subheadings, the executive summary is usually written as a series of paragraphs, with each paragraph focusing on one section of the marketing plan.
Here are the essential components every executive summary should include:
Introduction
The executive summary should begin with an introduction that briefly explains what the reader can expect from your marketing plan. It provides valuable context and makes the subsequent points easier to understand. Summarize the project, the purpose of your marketing plan, and the key benefits it provides to potential customers. Keep the introduction simple, short and direct.
Example: This plan is presented for XYZ Company, which currently sells widgets for the IT industry. We’ve created a new widget for the healthcare industry, and our marketing plan will show that we have a unique opportunity to expand into this new market, as well as detail how we will reach this new segment.
Company profile
In the next paragraph, briefly describe your business, including your company history, structure, customer base and sales figures. List the main people involved with the business, including their positions, their respective skills and experience, and their responsibilities with respect to the business goals you’ve set. Include relevant external service providers (such as accountants, digital marketing agencies and suppliers) and your company’s name, location and contact information.
Example: XYZ Company has been around since 2010 and is based in Anaheim, California. We sell widgets for the IT industry designed to increase energy efficiency and reduce operating costs. Our executive team includes…
Market opportunity
Next, describe the marketplace and industry sectors in which you sell your products and services, and the main sales and marketing trends that affect them. List the factors that influence the market, the innovations that are taking place, and the main drivers or players involved.
Example: There are several large companies and a few smaller specialty companies that sell similar widgets to the IT industry. Innovations in this market can cause disruptions but only when they provide significant benefits in cost savings or efficiencies. Our research indicates there is a growing need in the healthcare segment for a widget like ours.
Products or services
Follow that paragraph by describing your new products or services and explaining their key features and benefits. Outline your unique selling proposition to show how your products and services differ from or are better than competitors’ offerings.
Example: We’ve created a new widget for the healthcare industry, which is outside our current market. This new product provides healthcare companies with greater efficiencies and cost savings that are not currently offered by existing products. Similar products exist in other industries, but there are currently no widgets designed specifically for the healthcare industry.
Objectives and strategy
This section should define both the target audience and the strategic approach to reaching them. Briefly explain where you’ll find your target customers and how you will reach them. Outline your promotional strategy, including its main objectives and related timelines. Describe your key marketing priorities and how they relate to specific business activities (for example, entering a new market or creating new products). Explain the methods you will use to distribute your products or services.
Example: Our target market is large healthcare companies, including hospitals, clinics and manufacturers of healthcare devices. We plan to do a marketing campaign through direct sales and social media marketing. Initially, we intend to get 15 percent of our intended audience to purchase long-term contracts for the use of this widget by the end of the fiscal year and get 70 percent to purchase short-term contracts.
Budgets and KPIs
Clearly define key financial information related to your short-term and long-term marketing activities. Provide line-by-line budget details for individual activities and related metrics to determine their success. [See the budget planning strategies and tools that can help you nail this part of your marketing plan.]
Example: Our marketing budget for the year is $100,000, which will be spread over the following marketing activities: text message marketing, email marketing and social media marketing.
Conclusion
Finally, briefly describe the marketing plan’s goals and the strategies that will be implemented to achieve those objectives. For example, if you plan to lean heavily into email marketing to accomplish a goal, note which of the leading email marketing services you plan to use, such as Mailchimp or Constant Contact, and how you will use it. Conclude with a couple of sentences that will encourage the reader to review your full marketing plan.
Example: We’ve developed a marketing plan that will help us quickly reach key stakeholders in the healthcare industry and become the main provider of widgets to this market. We will use our experience in selling to the IT industry to showcase the benefits of our widget to this new audience. To raise awareness and drive conversions, we will use…
Structuring your executive summary effectively
Creating an effective executive summary requires attention to structure, length, timing and tone. We spoke with business executives and marketing professionals to get their expert tips on how to create an effective executive summary for a marketing plan.
Write the executive summary last.
The executive summary is a brief overview of your marketing plan, so you should write the complete marketing plan before you create the summary of that plan. Once you have all of the information for your full marketing plan, you can decide what’s important enough to include in the executive summary.
“You can’t sum up what you haven’t fully fleshed out yet,” Tomanelli said. “Once the plan is complete, it’s easier to identify the most critical points. I’ve made the mistake of writing summaries too early and missing key details that came up later. It’s much simpler to pull out the highlights when you have the whole picture in front of you.”
Take notes.
When creating the full marketing plan, note anything that stands out. This could include interesting statistics, memorable moments, key findings about your competitors, anecdotes from leadership, ideas to support promotion, and newsworthy events. Check out what your favorite brands are doing, note anything interesting you’ve read in an article, or recall an interesting technology that you can apply to your business. These ideas may inspire an engaging executive summary.
Do your research.
Your executive summary must contain key data and findings, including an analysis of the market and your competition, as well as budgetary and financial considerations. Your full marketing plan will provide more details, but the executive summary should contain important research data to get your reader interested in your marketing plan.
“You can’t just pitch an idea without proof,” Drecksler said. “I include data that builds trust, like how a similar campaign performed or what the industry benchmarks are. For example, if the plan aims to boost engagement by 30 percent, I explain where that number comes from and why it’s realistic.”
Data can be useful in these situations. “If you have numbers that back up your strategy, include them,” Tomanelli said. “I’ve worked with clients who managed to secure funding simply because their executive summary included clear, compelling metrics. [Stakeholders] want to see the logic behind your plan, and data shows you’re not just guessing.”
Keep it to one page.
The ideal executive summary length is one to two pages maximum, with one page being optimal for busy decision-makers. According to Harvard Kennedy School, an executive summary should be “a concise document (1 to 2 pages, under 1,000 words) demonstrating the problem, findings and recommendations.” This length strikes the right balance between providing essential information and maintaining reader attention, especially given that the average attention span for an adult is just over one minute.
Tailor language to brand and audience.
An executive summary is a professional document, so you should write it in a professional manner. However, the language should also reflect who you are as a company, as well as the audience you’re trying to reach.
“The language should be tailored to ensure that the messaging resonates,” Durbin said. “Keep it concise and clear, and focus on emphasizing the key goals and expected outcomes to demonstrate the value.”
Rivero advised, “Do not use complicated words, and avoid using technical terms as much as possible. It should be easy to understand so that the stakeholders can easily catch the concept.”
Avoid clichés and hyperbole, as they come off as inauthentic and can rub readers the wrong way. Clichés often don’t match the reality of your situation, as they can overpromise on what you can deliver. Is your company the best in its category among all competitors? What determines “best”? Ensure any claims you make are specific and measurable.
Focus on clarity.
Keep in mind that the purpose of your executive summary is to market your business and the initiative you’re pursuing. The summary should encapsulate your marketing plan in an engaging way that compels the reader to continue reading. Include a brief explanation of the most important and interesting information and the key takeaways that will matter to the reader.
“If [the summary] doesn’t grab attention and clearly convey the potential impact of your plan, the rest of your document might not even get a glance,” Tomanelli said. “I’ve seen summaries that nail it lead to immediate follow-ups, while vague or overly broad ones get ignored. If you want to create an executive summary that actually works, focus on clarity and relevance. Think about what would make someone want to dive deeper into your plan.
“I’ve seen businesses with brilliant ideas fail to communicate them because the summary didn’t hit the mark,” he added. “Getting it right matters.”
Keep it current.
Your marketing plan should change over time, and so should your executive summary. A new marketing plan, and thus a new summary, should be created when there are updates to products, services or technologies, or any significant changes in your market and competition.
For example, the COVID-19 pandemic forced many companies to change their marketing strategies and business practices. Your updated executive summary should reflect the changes your company has made to its marketing plan to deal with the changes in the market.
Sample executive summary outline
Below is a template summarizing the key elements to include in a marketing plan executive summary:
Section | Key Elements to Include | Recommended Length |
|---|---|---|
Introduction | Project overview, purpose of marketing plan, key customer benefits | Two to three sentences |
Company Profile | Company history, structure, customer base, sales figures, team members and their roles, location | One short paragraph |
Market Opportunity | Industry overview, marketplace trends, competitive landscape, market factors and innovations | One short paragraph |
Products & Services | Product or service description, key features and benefits, unique selling proposition | One short paragraph |
Objectives & Strategy | Target audience demographics, promotional strategy, marketing priorities, timelines, distribution methods | One paragraph |
Budget & KPIs | Financial projections, budget breakdown by activity, success metrics | Three to five bullet points |
Conclusion | Goals summary, implementation strategies, call-to-action (CTA) to review full plan | Two to three sentences |
Total Length | Complete executive summary | One to two pages (under 1,000 words) |
FAQs: executive summary for marketing plans
Sean Peek contributed to this article. Sources were interviewed for a previous version.
