Your plan does not have to be elaborate, nor does it have to be set in stone forever. However, it should specifically define key information including your target market and what you have to offer them, as well as tactical ideas and action steps you will take in order to get customers and/or increase sales.
Here are 10 basic components to include in a Marketing Plan:
1. Product and Service: Describe your product or service in simple and easy-to-understand terms. Consider this message to be a version of your 30 to 60-second "elevator speech" - that’s as long as you get in an elevator to tell you key prospect what you do! Include your point of difference – what makes you different to the competition, why should someone buy from you? Also when do they buy – is there a compelling event?
2. Target Audience: Clearly describe your target audience. Be specific as to the demographics and psychographics of your ideal buyer. Who buys from you? Who needs your product / service? These are the groups you are going to focus your marketing tactics to.
3. Identify your Competition: Is your competition small local companies, or is it a group of large national companies with ample resources? Or, is your product/service so unique that the problem is really a lack of awareness? Either way, learn about and understand the competitive landscape. It will enable you to better position and target your message.
4. Pricing: How much to charge? A guidepost for setting price involves estimating the value your product / service gives to your client and understanding your financial goals and objectives. It is obvious to charge more than your costs but make sure you know what your costs are!
5. Establish a Marketing Budget: Marketing expenses can add up quickly, so set aside a specific amount per month or per quarter. Evaluate your marketing decisions based on what they can return for you i.e. A £700 Yellow Pages Advert – what business would you expect from it ? Track each initiative and keep what works.
6. Marketing Activities: Identify your marketing tactics. Brainstorm a range of ideas to reach your target market with your value message. Bring friends / colleagues into your idea generation. Be creative and don't censor wild ideas. Pick at least 5 activities that you feel you can execute within your budget.
7. Action Plan: Each marketing activity comes with its own set of action steps/road map. For example, if you want to mail a brochure, you need to write (or outsource) the copy, design the mailing, print the brochure, create a mailing list.… Take the time to create an action plan for each campaign.
8. Timing: Look at the calendar for 2010 and plan each campaign throughout the year. Give yourself realistic time to carry out each action plan. A number can be run simultaneously but be careful not to overload yourself and therefore not achieve your goals. With any business the sense of satisfaction is in achieving!
9. Measurable Goals: How are you going to measure the results of your activities throughout the year? Will it be on leads / opportunities / sales / bookings? – make sure you have the measurements in place from the beginning.
10. Marketing Assistance.: As part of your budget consider if you need assistance with writing and executing your plan from a Marketing coach. The best laid marketing plans fail when they end up in your bottom drawer, never to be seen again. Marketing may not be your strength so employ the services of an expert if you need to.
Creating and sticking to a marketing plan is the best way to keep you and your business focused, and on track for success in 2010. Writing the plan is the easy part, sticking to it tends to be more difficult for most people. Good Luck.
