Why marketing plans are a must!

Thu, 28 Jan 10

As a Marketing and Creative Director, I am obviously a fan of marketing plans and dedicate time at the start of each year preparing these for clients based on their key goals.

Those clients who have previously had marketing plans in place know first-hand that is a vital aspect of their business’ growth and income. Nevertheless, I’m always surprised at the number of businesses that don’t have marketing plans.

Some say luck is when good planning meets opportunity. I believe a good marketing plan will definitely make others think you’re very lucky.

Marketing is about stimulating demand in order to sell a product or service. Whether you do it well or badly, marketing plays a key role in determining outcomes for your business. So, why not be proactive and put in place a plan that will work for your business? After all, the National College of Business advocates planning ahead to avoid being “reactive”.

In our highly visual and competitive world, it's important to be ahead of the game and well established in your market, as opposed to having to react to sudden market changes or competition.

As part of NCB's Business Mastery Course you have clearly identified your market, objectives and future goals. These are the driving forces for your marketing plan.

You should also be clear about the following:

who your customers are (if this isn’t your ideal customer, then define your ideal customer)
what unique differences/selling-points elevate you above your competition
the quickest and most cost-effective way to put your product or service into the hands of your customers
where you are as a company and where you want to go.

Once you have these questions answered, your marketing plan needs to set out in order of priority how you will achieve your objectives, including a realistic timeline of activities, deadlines, budgets and reviews. Some of the items to address in your plan include your branding, ongoing communications/PR, online opportunities, expanding your market share, increasing the loyalty of your existing clientele, sourcing new clients, referral programs etc.

In 2010, one of the key focuses for our clients’ marketing plans is on online social media (aka New SEO and Web 2.0). As technology is quickly moving into the social platform (Wave, Facebook, Twitter), we have incorporated this into their marketing plans to ensure they are ahead of the game and their competitors.

So I encourage you to open a google calendar and start planning your marketing activities!

Plan to withstand and expand.

Tamara Trentain
www.mitara.com.au

Tags: Marketing

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