The first step in putting together your marketing plan is determining your objective. An objective should be measurable, time defined and specific in order for it to be worthwhile and workable.  For example, a weak objective would be "Increase Market Share," whereas a workable objective would state "Increase Market Share by 15% over this Year' s Figure."

The marketing objective is really the company strategy that is also stated in the business objectives section.  In fact, objectives at the marketing level are closely related to the objectives and strategies of the business.  For example, the company strategy for the above mentioned business objective might be "An Aggressive Marketing Campaign Through Direct Selling." This in itself would be the Marketing Objective.

There are many goals you should take into consideration that will help you meet your Marketing Objective.  For example:

-	Increase awareness of your business by a specific percentage.
-	Generate quality leads for your sales department.
-	Increase sales by a specific percentage within a certain time frame.

If yours is an existing business, provide information on your past history to support your objectives. Try to keep your objectives as realistic as possible.  Do not mention objectives you cannot backup with fact and reason.  

In addition to the objective you should state the strategy you will use to achieve the objective.  The marketing strategy is a broad plan of action that states how your business proposes to market it’s product(s), and how you will identify, contact and satisfy your customers.

Remember to consider this business' goals for market share and income when writing this section.  This section's strategy should be consistent with the customer profile and expected accomplishments section of this business plan.