Which of the following is not a key step in writing a marketing plan?

The process of writing a marketing plan involves several essential steps that guide the strategic direction of marketing efforts. A key aspect of a marketing plan is to thoroughly understand the market landscape, which includes both market analysis to identify customer needs and competitive analysis to evaluate the position within the market. These analyses provide the foundation for making informed decisions about how to best reach and serve customers while mitigating competition.

Scheduling product launches and promotions is also a fundamental component of a marketing plan, ensuring that marketing initiatives are timed effectively to maximize impact and alignment with market trends or opportunities.

In contrast, outlining key employees through a personnel review typically falls outside the core components of the marketing plan itself. While understanding the team and resources available can be important from an operational standpoint, it does not directly contribute to the strategic marketing process or the planning of campaigns aimed at customers and the competitive environment. Thus, this step is not considered a key part of writing a marketing plan.