The 2027 Marketing Plan on One Page: 9 Boxes, Then the Details
The 9-box grid from the reel (before, during, after), a fill-in plan behind it, a filled example, a 12-month calendar and a 1-hour weekly checklist.
The 9-box one-page marketing plan from the reel, blank and ready to fill, plus the extra lines that turn it into a year: goal, numbers, channels and a monthly rhythm. Fill it in one evening and you know what to do every week of 2027.
For: Founders, freelancers and small local businesses who want a marketing plan they will actually use, not a 40-page deck.
- The 9 boxes: before, during, after · 9
- The plan behind the grid: fill-in lines for 2027 · 10
- Filled example: a neighbourhood bakery (illustrative) · 15
- 12-month calendar for 2027 · 12
- The weekly 1-hour checklist · 7
- SEO + AI search in 2027: what Google actually says · 6
- Fill the 9 boxes first, in order: Before (1-3), During (4-6), After (7-9). One or two lines each.
- Then fill the plan details: one goal, two channels, the numbers you will track and your monthly rhythm.
- Copy the 12-month calendar into your diary and block one hour a week for the checklist. Review on day 90.
The 9 boxes: before, during, after
This is the grid from the reel. The before/during/after, nine-box structure comes from Allan Dib's book The 1-Page Marketing Plan; the wording here is mine. Fill it in order. A plan with blank boxes in the middle is the usual reason marketing gets attention but no sales.
My customer is: ____ (one job, one place) They are in this situation: ____
Their problem, in their words: "____" What I help them get: ____
Where they already look: ____ Channel 1: ____ Channel 2: ____
How a stranger becomes a lead: ____ (form / phone number / comment keyword / free resource) What I collect: name ____ + contact ____
Message 1 (day 0): ____ Message 2 (day ____): ____ Message 3 (day ____): ____
Offer name: ____ Price: ____ Deadline or reason to act now: ____
What the customer gets in week 1: ____ How I check they are happy: ____
What I give or sell next: ____ (report / upgrade / refill / add-on) When: ____
On day 30 I ask: "____" What I make easy for them to share: ____
The plan behind the grid: fill-in lines for 2027
The 9 boxes tell you how a customer moves. These lines tell you what you will do and how you will know it worked.
By 31 Dec 2027 I want: ____ (customers / bookings / monthly revenue) Today it is: ____
Customer (from Box 1): ____ The one problem I solve for them: ____
For ____ (customer) who ____ (problem), I am the ____ (category) that ____ (one difference). Unlike ____, I ____.
Main offer (Box 6): ____ at ____ Entry offer or free thing: ____ What happens after they buy (Box 8): ____
Channel 1: ____ · why: my customer looks here when ____ Channel 2: ____ · why: ____ Channels I am NOT doing in 2027: ____
Each week I publish: ____ (e.g. 1 page or post + 2 short videos) Topics come from: ____ (customer questions, Search Console, sales calls) One piece is reused as: ____
Pages that answer my customer's main questions: ____ Google Business Profile up to date (hours, photos, services): yes / no Search Console set up and checked weekly: yes / no
1. Leads per week: ____ 2. Lead to customer rate: ____ 3. Revenue per month: ____ 4. Search clicks (Search Console): ____ 5. Referrals per month: ____
Week 1: plan the month + one offer push Week 2: ____ Week 3: ____ Week 4: look at the numbers, fix one thing
Review dates: 31 Mar · 30 Jun · 30 Sep · 31 Dec What worked: ____ What I stop: ____ What I try next quarter: ____ Goal still right? yes / no
Filled example: a neighbourhood bakery (illustrative)
This is an invented example to show what a filled plan looks like. It is not a real client and the numbers are placeholders, not results.
| Box / line | Example answer |
|---|---|
| 1 Who | Working parents within 3 km who order birthday cakes |
| 2 Message | "I need a good cake by Saturday and I don't have time to chase anyone" |
| 3 Channel | Google search + Maps (Business Profile) and WhatsApp |
| 4 Capture | WhatsApp button on the Business Profile and website; catalogue with prices |
| 5 Follow-up | Day 0: reply with options and price · Day 1: photo of a similar cake · Day 3: "Still want Saturday? 2 slots left" (only if true) |
| 6 Offer | Birthday cake + 6 cupcakes, fixed price, order 48 hours ahead |
| 7 First week | Delivery on time, a thank-you message the next day asking how the party went |
| 8 Raise value | Reminder 11 months later for the next birthday; festival boxes |
| 9 Referrals | Day 30: "If a friend has a birthday coming, here's a link to share" |
| Goal | From ____ to ____ cake orders a month by Dec 2027 |
| Positioning | For busy parents nearby who need a reliable birthday cake, the bakery that confirms on WhatsApp in one message and delivers on time |
| Two channels | Google (search + Maps) and WhatsApp. Not doing: paid ads, X, a newsletter |
| Content engine | 1 website page a month answering a real question (e.g. eggless cake options) + 2 short videos a week of cakes being made |
| Numbers | WhatsApp enquiries/week, enquiry-to-order rate, monthly cake revenue, Business Profile calls and website clicks, referrals |
| 90-day review | Q1: keep what brought orders, drop the weakest video format |
12-month calendar for 2027
A shape for the year. Swap in your own festivals and busy seasons; the point is that each month has one focus.
| Month | Focus | Do this | Check |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | Set up | Fill the 9 boxes and plan lines. Set up or clean Search Console and Business Profile. Write today's numbers. | Starting numbers written |
| Feb | Message | Collect 10 real customer phrases. Rewrite homepage and profile with them. | Homepage uses customer words |
| Mar | Capture + review | One capture route working end to end. First 90-day review on 31 Mar. | Q1 review done |
| Apr | Follow-up | Write and date the 3 follow-up messages. Use them on every lead. | Every lead got 3 messages |
| May | Content | Publish pages answering your top 5 customer questions. | 5 pages live |
| Jun | Offer + review | Test one change to the offer (bundle, guarantee, deadline). Review on 30 Jun. | Q2 review done |
| Jul | Experience | Fix the first-week experience. Ask 5 customers what almost made them not buy. | One fix shipped |
| Aug | Raise value | Launch the next offer for existing customers. | Repeat-purchase rate checked |
| Sep | Referrals + review | Start the day-30 referral ask. Review on 30 Sep. | Q3 review done |
| Oct | Busy-season prep | Plan offers and content for your peak season. | Peak plan written |
| Nov | Peak | Run the peak offer. Follow up harder. Answer every review. | Leads and orders vs last month |
| Dec | Review + 2028 | Final review on 31 Dec. Keep what worked, write the 2028 boxes. | 2028 plan drafted |
The weekly 1-hour checklist
Same hour, same day, every week. Put it in your calendar now.
- 10 min: write this week's numbers (leads, customers, revenue, search clicks, referrals)
Trends only show up if the numbers are written in the same place every week.
- 10 min: open Search Console, look at Performance for the last 7 days, note top queries and any page that dropped
Shows what people searched to find you and where you are losing ground.
- 10 min: check every lead got its follow-up messages (Box 5)
Follow-up is the box that slips first.
- 15 min: publish or schedule this week's content
The content engine only works if it runs every week.
- 5 min: update Business Profile (a photo, an update, reply to new reviews)
Keeps your listing current, which Google recommends for local businesses.
- 5 min: ask one happy customer for a referral or review
Box 9 done a little every week.
- 5 min: write one thing to change next week
One small fix a week is 52 fixes a year.
SEO + AI search in 2027: what Google actually says
I've done SEO since 2018 and run 30 of my own sites. The rules below are from Google's own documentation, not guesses.
- No special tricks for AI Overviews or AI Mode
Google's AI features page says there are no additional requirements to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode. A page needs to be indexed and eligible to show in Search with a snippet.
- You don't need AI text files or special markup
The same page says you don't need new machine-readable files, AI text files or special markup to appear in these features. Spend the time on pages people want instead.
- Keep doing the basics
Google lists the usual SEO basics as still applying: allow crawling, make content findable with internal links, give a good page experience, keep important content in text, and keep structured data matching the visible page.
- Write for people first
Google's guide on helpful content asks you to create content for people, not to manipulate rankings. Your answers to real customer questions (Box 2) are that content.
- Keep your Business Profile current
Google's AI features guidance includes keeping Business Profile (and Merchant Center, if you sell products) information up to date.
- Measure AI visibility in Search Console
Google announced Search Generative AI performance reports in Search Console in June 2026, showing impressions for your URLs in AI Overviews, AI Mode and Discover AI features, by page, country, device and date. Google's note says it reached all sites worldwide by 31 Aug 2026. Add it to your weekly hour.
Unlock the full template
Everything above, plus the branded PDF to keep.