What is the purpose of a marketing plan?

A marketing plan serves as a strategic document that outlines an organization's marketing goals and the activities required to achieve them. It provides a roadmap for how a business intends to reach potential customers, including identifying target markets, defining unique selling propositions, establishing promotional strategies, and allocating budgets.

By describing these components, a marketing plan helps ensure that all marketing efforts are aligned with the overall business objectives and allows for tracking progress towards achieving specific goals. This holistic approach is essential for effectively guiding a company's marketing initiatives and measuring their success over time.

The other options do not align with the primary function of a marketing plan. While creating new product designs, determining employee salaries, and analyzing financial reports are important aspects of business operations, they do not encapsulate the specific purpose or focus of a marketing plan.