www.themarketingmentor.com
There is a
saying in business that if you don't have a marketing objective plan, you're planning to
fail. So many business owners make the mistake of having the plans for
their business inside their head. They need to be on paper and they
need to be a tool that you use daily to make sure your business is on
track. Here's a few tips on making sure your marketing plan is
effective.
Your marketing plan
objective should be simple.
Too often people make their plan complex, too long or full of
unnecessary information. Don't make this mistake. Make your plan
useful for everyone by keeping it as simple as possible. A good test
is that every employee in your business should be able to understand
the majority of the marketing plan.
Your marketing plan
objective should be actionable.
It's no good having a well thought out plan that isn't auctioned. In
fact you are better off having no plan if you want take the actions
required to succeed. Make sure your marketing plan has a list of
actions that take you towards your goals. It's a good idea to break
these down into things to do in the next month, next 3 months, next 6
months, etc. Then review your progress at least once a month.
Your marketing plan
objective should be measurable.
Your plan needs specific goals you want to achieve. An example of a
well written goal might be "acquire 10 new customers in the next 3
months". You then have specific actions to achieve this goal. Each
month see how many new customers you have. Are you on your way to the
ten? If not you might need to change tactics. At the end of the three
months did you achieve the goal? If you did then great repeat what
worked to get you these new customers. If not that's OK. What didn't
work? How can it be improved? Start afresh and measure your progress
with the new marketing initiatives.
Your marketing plan
objective should be specific.
Good plans are very specific. The goal above is a good example of
this. Many businesses fall into the trap of writing vaguely worded
plans and goals. Don't make this mistake. Specific goals are easily
understood and easily measured. They are often also easier to
remember. Imagine if your goal was a general one like acquire new
customers over the next three months. It sounds good but it's not much
of a thing to rally behind. Instead if your goal was ten customers in
the next 3 months you can really do something with this. For example
you might have a scoreboard in the office that shows how many
customers left before you achieve the goal. You might also want to
have a celebration when the goal is achieved.
Your marketing plan
objective should be used and reviewed regularly.
I've covered this
earlier in the article. However to reinforce an average marketing plan
that is actually will nearly always outperform a brilliant marketing
plan that sits in a filing cabinet.
If you don't
have a current marketing plan for your business you need one. There
are really two ways to go about this. You can prepare one yourself or
you can hire a marketing professional to prepare one for you. Here are
some of the advantages/disadvantages of each.
|
Issues |
Do it
yourself marketing plan |
Hire a
marketing professional to write your marketing plan |
|
Cost |
The dollar
cost is relatively low. You can buy software to help for under
$200. |
Cost will
vary between about $5,000 to $10,000 (US dollars). |
|
Time |
Someone who
knows what they are doing could prepare a plan in about ten
hours. Typically many people take several weeks because there is
a lot of learning to do along the way. |
Between about
two and four weeks. Depends on the complexity of the business. |
|
Follow-up |
No follow-up. |
A good
marketing plan includes regular follow-up from the consultant to
ensure the business is on track. |
|
Quality |
Varies
dramatically. some people have a natural flair for marketing,
many more don't. |
Unless you
choose an inexperienced consultant the quality is usually very
good. A good consultant will also stand behind their plan and
work with you until you achieve results. |
The bottom line
is that unless you are naturally good at marketing you should consider
a professional. In my business I apply a simple philosophy and that is
to seek out experts in the areas where I don't have the knowledge
required. This allows me time to focus on the things I am good at and
concentrate on running my business and achieving my goals.
