By: Bobette Kyle
www.WebSiteMarketingPlan.com
For many of us, finding the time and commitment to develop a Web
marketing plan is difficult. There are so many other obligations
vying for our attention it is tempting to push strategic marketing
planning to the back burner. Giving into that temptation, however,
means putting your business at a disadvantage.
Your Web site marketing strategy is the compass by which you navigate.
As opportunities arise or your business environment changes, the
objective and strategies in your marketing plan will point you toward
the best action. Without a strategic Internet marketing plan, you risk
becoming unfocused in your marketing and are only guessing what might
be best for your business.
To be most effective, your Web marketing plan should be a
part of your business marketing plan. By aligning online marketing
with your offline efforts, you can better achieve overall company
objectives. Additionally, you will present a consistent style and
message across all points of contact with your target audience.
Your strategic marketing plan's focus will be partially determined by
your site's status. If you already have a site in place, your plan can
focus strictly on marketing issues – how to most effectively market
using your existing site.
If you have a site that needs improvement, your plan should
incorporate enhancements into the site’s design in conjunction with
strategic marketing activities (While you may not think of these
enhancements as “marketing”, in this case they are instrumental to an
effective plan.). If you do not yet have a site, you can create one
while developing your Web site marketing strategy, with your plan
focused on launching the site. In any case, remember that your
objective, strategies, and tactics will change over time as your
situation and focus change.
Parts of a Web Marketing Plan
The strategic marketing plan for a Web site is similar to a business
marketing plan, but with a narrower focus. Developing a strategic
Internet marketing plan includes developing strategies and tactics
(also called action plans) that, when implemented, will help you reach
your marketing objectives. Objectives, strategies, and tactics are
each progressively narrower in scope.
The objective addresses the “big picture”. In general terms, your
objective answers the question “How will I overcome my main marketing
challenge(s)?” If your company’s main site-related challenge is
figuring out how to use your Web site to help build client business,
for example, an objective for your strategic Web site marketing plan
could be “To enhance online client service as well as build site
awareness and interest with clients.”
Strategies support your objective. Your strategies define the general
approaches you will take to meet your objective. For example,
strategies to support the above objective could include 1) improve
online communication, information, and education, 2) build awareness
of and interest in your company on the Internet, and 3) communicate
the Web site’s existence and advantages to existing clients.
Tactics are where the action takes place – these are the things you
will do to bring your strategies to life. Tactics for strategy 2 in
the above example (improve online communication, information, and
education) could include 1) sharing experience and observations in
your industry through participation in discussion boards, 2) offering
an email newsletter, and 3) listing/submitting your site to targeted
search engines and directories.
By implementing marketing activities consistent with your site
objective, strategies, tactics and web marketing plan you improve your chances for
success.
About the Author
Bobette Kyle draws upon 10+ years of Marketing/Executive experience,
Marketing MBA, and online marketing research in her writing.
Her book, "How Much for Just the Spider? Strategic Web Site Marketing
for Small-Budget Businesses", shows how to better find, target, and
attract Web customers.
Read about it at WebSiteMarketingPlan.com - http://WebSiteMarketingPlan.com
.
