Planning without management is worth nothing. The human factor is essential. The process starts as soon as you finish your plan. Once you have the variance, then it takes management to follow up with course corrections, new plans, revisions, and more follow up. The process is constant.
Planning begins with a plan, ends with management, and begins again with another plan.
This human element, outside of the contents of the plan, is the most critical factor. Plans that go into drawers in the file cabinet, where they can be conveniently forgotten, are wasted. Plans whose results are publicly posted and discussed are valuable. Plans that are changed are more valuable than plans frozen in time. Give your next marketing plan a fair shot at being a success.