No excuses. Every business, however small, will benefit from a marketing plan.
The benefits of creating your marketing plan include:
- Focus – on what you need to do to grow your business
- Clarity – easy to set priorities for where you invest your time and budgets
- Easy decision-making – if something doesn’t advance your marketing plan, you don’t do it
- Calendar of activities – to promote your business over the next 3, 6 and 12 months
Let’s get started on your marketing plan. Start with a simple framework:
Your customers
- Who are they?
- What products or services do they buy and why?
- When do they buy?
Your competitors
- What is similar in your offer?
- What makes your products or services different?
Your market
- What’s happening?
- Are there any trends that you want to take advantage of?
Your tactical plan
- Write down no more than 3 objectives for the coming year. These have to include some numbers e.g. £ sales, average prices, number of clients per month – because you’ll measure and monitor results.
- Create your calendar for the next 3 months, 6 months and 12 months – a plan of what you will do, when and where for your customers.
Start by focusing on these four areas:
Products or Services
- Will you keep them the same or make some changes?
- Can you introduce any new products or services?
- Can you simplify the choice you offer your customers?
Pricing
- Can you add value to your products or services?
- Can you encourage customers to trade up?
Place
- Where do you sell?
- Can you add new places to sell?
Promotion
- How do you promote your products or services?
- How do your competitors promote theirs?
- What new ideas can you try?
- When is the best time to promote? And where?
Next, take action to achieve your 3 objectives.
- Monitor your results once a month.
- Adjust your tactical plan in line with your results.
- Keep going.
Do let us know how you are getting on…
