In our first article, we took a broad-strokes approach to the general strategy for your small business marketing. We kept it relatively loose and subjective, casting a wide net for brainstorming ideas and creative potentials. Now we’ll show you how to take all of those great ideas and convert them into a formal marketing plan.

In this article, we’ll outline questions to ask yourself as you strategize your new marketing plan. And, we’ll give you some basic, must-have items to get you started. No matter what your industry, if you are operating in a local market with a focus on local customers, consider this an essential go-to-market strategy checklist. In Part 2, we’ll dig into specific tactics and channels.