This guide explains the One Page Marketing Plan framework and how Australian businesses can apply it in 2026. It is written for marketing managers and business owners who want a clear marketing system they can actually use.
Online marketing has never been more complex than in 2026.
For many marketing managers and business owners, it feels like there is always something else to add.
More channels. More tools. More opinions. More pressure to show results.
What often gets missed is that growth rarely comes from doing more. It comes from doing the right things, in the right order, with consistency.
Yet despite all of this, most marketing still fails for the same reason it always has:
There’s no clear marketing plan that people actually use.
Long documents get written, approved, and then quietly ignored. Campaigns are launched without a system behind them. Marketing becomes reactive instead of deliberate.
That is exactly the problem the One Page Marketing Plan was designed to solve.
In this article, we’ll break down the One Page Marketing Plan framework in full, explain why it works, and share how Australian marketing teams and business owners can use it to build a clear, practical marketing system for 2026.
Key points
- What a one page marketing plan is and why it works in 2026
- Practical examples for Australian businesses
- Common gaps that reduce lead quality and conversion
- Why focusing just on leads is a missed marketing opportunity
- How we use this framework inside our Digital Strategy Workshop
Why most marketing plans don’t work
Across many of the Australian businesses we speak to, there’s a consistent pattern. Teams are busy and the activity is high, but the results are inconsistent.
The issue is rarely effort. It is clarity.
Traditional marketing plans tend to fall down in three predictable ways.
First, they are too long. When a plan runs to dozens of pages, it becomes something that is reviewed once or twice a year, not something that guides day‑to‑day decisions.
Second, they are disconnected from execution. The plan lives in one document, while marketing activity lives somewhere else entirely. Teams are busy, but not always aligned.
Third, they focus heavily on front‑end activity. More leads. More traffic. More awareness. Very little thought is given to what happens after someone becomes a customer.
The result is a lot of effort, inconsistent outcomes, and marketing that feels expensive and unpredictable.
The One Page Marketing Plan takes a different approach. Instead of trying to document everything, it forces you to focus on what actually matters.
What is the One Page Marketing Plan?
The One Page Marketing Plan is a framework created by Allan Dib to help businesses simplify their marketing into a single, usable system.
By limiting the plan to one page, you are forced to:
- Prioritise what really drives growth
- Make clear decisions instead of vague intentions
- Connect marketing activity across the entire business
At the centre of the framework is the One Page Marketing Plan Canvas. This Canvas breaks marketing into nine core components, organised across three stages of the customer journey.
Before the sale. During the sale. After the sale.
This structure is what makes the plan so effective.
The One Page Marketing Plan Canvas explained
The Canvas is divided into nine boxes, grouped into three clear stages:
Before (Prospect)
1. Target Market
2. Message to Target Market
3. Media to Reach the Target Market
During (Lead)
4. Lead Capture System
5. Lead Nurturing System
6. Sales Conversion Strategy
After (Customer)
7. Delivering a World Class Experience
8. Increasing Customer Lifetime Value
9. Orchestrating and Stimulating Referrals
Most businesses spend the majority of their time in the first three boxes. The power of the Canvas is that it forces you to address all nine.
Let’s walk through each section in detail.
BEFORE: Prospect
This stage is about getting the right people’s attention, not the most people.
One of the biggest mistakes we see with Australian businesses is confusing activity with progress. More impressions, more clicks, more traffic, yet very little improvement in lead quality or conversion.
The BEFORE stage exists to fix that. When these first three boxes are done properly, everything downstream becomes easier, cheaper, and more predictable.
1. Your target market
Everything in marketing becomes easier when your target market is clearly defined.
In practice, this is where many plans fall apart. Teams default to broad definitions because they feel safer. The problem is that broad targeting almost always produces weak results.
For example, compare:
- “Small businesses in Australia”
- “Operations managers at logistics companies with 10–50 staff in Victoria”
The second definition gives you clarity around language, problems, buying triggers, and channels.
A strong target market definition allows you to:
- Speak directly to real, lived problems
- Build landing pages that convert
- Choose media channels based on behaviour, not trends
For Australian marketing teams, this often means making hard choices. Saying no to some audiences so you can serve others properly.
If your marketing feels scattered or expensive, this box is almost always the root cause.
Everything in marketing becomes easier when your target market is clearly defined.
Many businesses try to appeal to too many people at once. The result is generic messaging, unfocused campaigns, and poor conversion rates.
A clear target market allows you to:
- Speak directly to specific problems
- Choose the right channels
- Create offers that actually resonate
For Australian businesses, this often means narrowing focus by industry, role, location, or stage of growth.
If your marketing feels expensive or ineffective, this box is usually where the problem starts.
2. Your message to the target market
Once your target market is clear, the next question becomes unavoidable.
Why should they choose you instead of the many alternatives available to them?
Strong messaging is not clever wording. It is clarity.
At a minimum, your message should clearly communicate:
- The specific problem you help solve
- The outcome your customer actually wants
- Why your approach is credible and different
For example, many service businesses lead with what they do. Better messaging leads with what changes for the customer.
Messaging should also be consistent. If your Google Ads promise one thing, your website another, and your sales team something else again, trust erodes quickly.
This box often reveals gaps between marketing intent and reality, especially when multiple people are involved in content creation.
Once you know who you are speaking to, the next question is simple.
Why should they choose you?
Your message needs to clearly articulate:
- The problem you solve
- The outcome you help achieve
- What makes your approach different
This message should be consistent across your website, SEO content, ads, and sales conversations.
When messaging changes from channel to channel, trust erodes quickly.
3. The media you will use to reach your target market
This is where complexity tends to creep in.
New platforms emerge. Algorithms change. Internal pressure builds to “try everything”.
The Canvas forces a different question.
Where does your target market already pay attention, and how do they prefer to research and buy?
For some Australian businesses, this might mean:
- SEO and content for considered, high-value decisions
- Google Ads for capturing active demand
- Email for ongoing education and trust
- Partnerships for credibility and reach
Choosing fewer channels and committing to them properly almost always outperforms spreading effort too thin.
This box is about focus, not limitation.
This is where many teams get overwhelmed.
There are endless options. SEO. Google Ads. Social media. Email. Partnerships. Events.
The Canvas forces a decision.
Which channels make sense for your audience and your business model?
Choosing fewer channels and executing them well almost always beats trying to be everywhere at once.
DURING: Lead
The DURING stage is where attention turns into opportunity.
This is the point where many businesses lose momentum. Traffic arrives, interest exists, but systems are unclear or inconsistent.
These three boxes define how someone moves from interested to engaged, and ultimately to becoming a customer.
4. Your lead capture system
Traffic without conversion is wasted effort.
A lead capture system defines how someone raises their hand and says, “I’m interested.”
In practice, this often includes:
- Website enquiry forms
- Booking links
- Lead magnets such as guides or checklists
- Dedicated landing pages for campaigns
The most common issue we see is friction. Too many fields. Unclear value. Confusing next steps.
A strong lead capture system is simple, clear, and aligned to the intent of the visitor. Someone researching needs a different entry point to someone ready to talk.
This box often highlights why traffic numbers look healthy, but enquiries do not.
Traffic without conversion is wasted effort.
A lead capture system defines how someone raises their hand and moves from anonymous visitor to known lead.
This might include:
- Website enquiry forms
- Lead magnets
- Landing pages
- Booking systems
The key is clarity. The visitor should always know what to do next.
5. Your lead nurturing system
Most leads are not ready to buy immediately.
They are researching. Comparing. Waiting for internal approval. Looking for reassurance.
A lead nurturing system exists to support this process.
This might include:
- Email sequences that educate and build trust
- Helpful content that answers common questions
- Timely follow-ups that feel human, not automated
Without nurturing, marketing becomes dependent on constant lead generation, which drives up cost and pressure.
For Australian businesses with longer sales cycles, this box is often the difference between inconsistent results and steady growth.
Most leads are not ready to buy immediately.
A lead nurturing system builds trust over time through helpful, relevant communication.
This is where email, CRM systems, and automation play a critical role.
Without nurturing, marketing becomes dependent on constant lead generation.
6. Your sales conversion strategy
This box connects marketing activity to revenue.
It defines how a lead becomes a customer.
Clear conversion strategies answer questions such as:
- What is the next step after an enquiry?
- Who follows up, and how quickly?
- What information is provided to help decision-making?
Misalignment here is common. Marketing promises one experience, while sales delivers another.
When this box is clear, conversion rates improve without increasing traffic.
That leverage is easy to underestimate.
This box connects marketing to revenue.
It defines how a lead becomes a customer.
Clear next steps, reduced friction, and alignment between marketing promises and sales conversations are critical here.
When this breaks down, conversion rates suffer.
AFTER: Customer
The AFTER stage is where most businesses under-invest, yet it is where the greatest leverage exists.
When delivery, retention, and referrals are intentional, marketing effort compounds over time.
These final three boxes are what turn marketing from a cost into an asset.
7. Delivering a world class experience
Marketing does not stop at the sale.
The moment someone becomes a customer, expectations are high. This is where trust is either reinforced or lost.
A world class experience includes:
- Clear onboarding
- Proactive communication
- Consistency between what was promised and what is delivered
For many service businesses, this is where differentiation actually occurs.
A strong experience reduces churn, increases confidence, and sets the foundation for everything that follows.
Marketing does not stop at the sale.
Delivery is marketing.
Onboarding, communication, and consistency all shape how a customer feels about your business.
A strong experience builds trust and sets the foundation for repeat business.
8. Increasing customer lifetime value
It is almost always easier to grow revenue from existing customers than to acquire new ones.
This box focuses on designing for continued value.
That might look like:
- Logical next services
- Ongoing support or retainers
- Periodic reviews that uncover new needs
When lifetime value increases, pressure on lead generation decreases.
This is one of the most practical growth levers available to Australian businesses, yet it is often ignored.
It is almost always easier to grow revenue from existing customers than to find new ones.
This box focuses on:
- Upsells
- Cross‑sells
- Repeat engagement
When this is intentional, marketing pressure reduces significantly.
9. Orchestrating and stimulating referrals
Referrals are one of the highest-quality sources of new business.
They rarely happen consistently by accident.
This box is about creating systems that encourage and support referrals, such as:
- Asking at the right moment
- Making referrals easy
- Using testimonials and reviews strategically
When referrals are intentional, customers become part of your marketing system.
That is when growth begins to compound.
Referrals rarely happen by accident.
They happen when businesses design for them.
This might include:
- Asking at the right moment
- Making referrals easy
- Using reviews and testimonials effectively
Referrals turn customers into a growth channel.
Why the Canvas creates a virtuous marketing cycle
When all nine boxes are working together, marketing becomes a system rather than a series of campaigns.
Better targeting improves conversion. Better delivery drives referrals. Referrals reduce reliance on ads.
Each part supports the next.
This is what makes the One Page Marketing Plan so powerful.
How we use the One Page Marketing Plan
We use the One Page Marketing Plan Canvas as a core tool inside our Digital Strategy Workshop.
The workshop is designed for marketing managers and business owners who want clarity, alignment, and a practical plan they can execute.
Rather than jumping straight into tactics, we work through the Canvas together to:
- Clarify who you are really targeting
- Align your messaging across website, SEO, and Google Ads
- Identify where leads are being lost
- Uncover opportunities in onboarding, retention, and referrals
This process consistently highlights gaps that are not obvious when marketing is reviewed channel by channel.
By the end of the session, our clients leave with a clear one page marketing plan and roadmap for the next 12 months.
Who this framework is best suited for
The One Page Marketing Plan works particularly well for:
- Marketing managers needing clarity and alignment
- Business owners wanting a practical plan, not theory
- Teams planning for growth in 2026
Get your 2026 One Page Marketing Plan done in a workshop
If you want help turning this framework into a clear, practical plan for your business, we offer this as part of our Digital Strategy Workshop.
This is not a presentation or a generic audit. It is a working session where we build your One Page Marketing Plan together and translate it into priorities you can act on.
The workshop is particularly useful if:
- Your marketing feels busy but not effective
- Lead quality is inconsistent
- Your website, SEO, and Google Ads are not aligned
- You are planning for growth in 2026 and want a clear direction
You can learn more and book a session here.
