feature article

Seven Steps To Perfect Planning
By Darcy Swon, Account Executive

I am constantly amazed at the number of businesses that operate without a marketing plan. They end up becoming reactive marketers and make business decisions on the fly. They haven’t clearly defined who their customers are and have the mindset that if someone is looking for their goods or services they will come to them.

Unfortunately, not developing a marketing plan is like being lost in the middle of the ocean with no idea of which direction you should go or how far to land. A marketing plan will keep you on course and assist you with making the right decisions to positively impact your business. It also helps keep you within budget and identifies areas of opportunities as well as barriers to success.

A solid marketing plan examines the following areas and does not have to be a 500-page document or take months to complete.

1) Understand your competition and your market
To get a good understanding of your market, you need to look at:
• Your competition. Who are they? What are their strengths? What are their weaknesses? Can you capitalize on their weaknesses?
• Your market. Are there segments of your market currently being underserved? Is the market large enough for your product/service for you to make money? How much of the market do you need to break even?

2) Know your customer
If you do not know who your customer is, what they want and what motivates them to buy, then you can’t prepare an effective marketing plan. Consumers don’t always buy what they need but they will always buy what they want. To get a good understanding of your customers, you need to answer questions such as:
• How does your potential customer buy similar products/services? Do they shop in a store, online, referrals, etc?
• What does your customer look like? Are they male or female? What age group and income level are they in?
• What type of habits does your customer have? Where do they get their information?
• What are their motivations to buy?

3) Develop your niche
Not every consumer is your target audience, so don’t target everyone. Carve out your own niche and dominate. Identify what you can provide that is different than your competition.

4) Develop your marketing message
Your marketing message not only tells your prospective customers what you do, it persuades them to become your customer. To make your message compelling and persuasive, you need to convey and understand:
• Your prospective customer’s problem
• Why you are the only one that can solve their problem
• Benefits your customers receive from using you
• Examples and testimonials from customers who have been helped by your goods or services

5) Determine your message channel
Your message channel is the communication vehicle to deliver your message. You want to choose the channel(s) that delivers your message to the most niche prospects at the lowest possible cost. Don’t get stuck inside the box…think outside it! The most creative ideas are typically the most effective because they get noticed and are remembered. Creating an element of surprise is something that we as marketers are always looking to do. No one was expecting a gecko to discuss insurance but it was effective and raised Geico’s national awareness and ultimately sales.

Think about how your prospective customers want to be communicated to? Success comes when you correctly match the message to the market using the right medium. Here are some non-traditional ideas you may want to explore:
• Newsletter
• Movie ads
• Web site
• Public speakin
• Public relations
• Sponsorships
• Events
• Word of mouth
• Networking
• Charity events
• Hosting a seminar
• Text messaging
• Sports marketing whether high school, collegiate or professional

6) Set sales and marketing goals
When setting your goals make sure they are SMART – Sensible, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time specific. In addition to the sales revenue and profit numbers, you need to include non-financial numbers (contracts signed, customers acquired, etc). Once you define your goals, be sure to share with your team members so everyone is working for the same results.

7) Develop a budget
When you reach this stage you will be able to determine the areas that will have a key impact and allocate your funding appropriately. To begin with you might start off with a rough number and then once you have some data to support it, you can apply more specifics. When you are to the point where you can determine your customer acquisition cost, then you will know what you will need to invest to meet your sales goals for the next year.

Be sure to leave a small budget for those unexpected opportunities. Even though they are not planned, it will be easier to determine if they are a fit and support your other efforts by lining the opportunity up against your marketing plan.

Simple and powerful… having a marketing plan puts your organization on track to succeed. It’s simple, necessary and gives you an actionable structure from which to move forward and grow your business.

wanna hear a secret?

Our monthly e-newsletter is filled with the secrets behind our most successful campaigns. Give us your email and we'll make sure you know everything we do. Sign up now >