Five steps to create a basic marketing plan
Having a marketing plan is crucial for any business serious about promoting themselves – regardless of how small they are. It doesn’t have to be a big fancy document and you don’t have to be fluent in marketing-speak. It just needs to work for you and your business.
Here are five simple steps to follow to create a basic marketing plan for your business.
Step one – Think about your business
To begin, have a good think about what it is you are promoting and why you are doing so. This may sound obvious but it is all too easy to rush along doing your business and forget about your vision.
Take some time to write down what solution your product or offering provides. What makes it different from your competitors? Also, think about your brand. What do you want it to stand for and what characteristics do you want others to think of when they see it.
This is what you need to convey through your marketing activity. If you always do the hard sell on your products or services in your marketing activity, people will begin to switch off and blank you out. If you can connect with your audience and build a relationship, they are more likely to be responsive.
Also, take this time to think about where you want your business to go and how much growth you can manage. This will impact the type and scope of the marketing activity you do.
Step two – Think about your customers
Next think about who your target market is, so you are clear about who you are talking to. You can’t target everyone at once. If you were to try, it would make your marketing messages very inconsistent. Instead, focus your efforts on one market if possible. It won’t stop others buying from you, but will ensure your activity is consistent.
To understand your market you need to figure out who they are, what they need and why they buy. The best way to do this is to create a profile of your ideal customer. Imagine one person and drill down into their likes and dislikes, what they do for a living and what they do in their spare time. Here is a useful list of questions to help you.
Step three – Factor in available opportunities
Throughout the year events will crop up that you can use to promote your business. Some of them may be busier times for your sector, where you need to make sure you stand out from your competition. Others may be something you can get involved with to raise awareness of your brand and reach out to new customers.
Different events will be relevant for everyone's business, depending on what you do and how you want people to perceive your brand. Look for annual occasions, such as Christmas, Mother’s Day or Mental Health Awareness Week, as well as weekly or monthly occurrences. The latter could include payday, the end of the working week, or hashtags that trend weekly on Twitter.
If you have any internal events coming up include those on your list too. A new website or a product range launch are perfect things to plan marketing activity around.
Log all the events onto a calendar, wall planner or excel sheet. The idea is so that you can see them in advance and check you have a nice even spread of activity. Don't forget to mark when the promotional activity would take place and not just the significant date for the events.
Once done, come up with some other promotions if you have gaps, or remove some if it will give you too much work to do at any time.
Step four – How are you going to do it?
Now is the time to decide exactly how you are going to reach out to your target market and what budget you have to do this – if any. The possibilities are endless, but you may choose to include social media, PR, printed material, advertising, trade shows, email marketing or craft fairs.
The mix of methods you choose will be individual to your business and may include only a few approaches. Consider which you think will be the most effective ways to communicate with your ideal customer. How will you use each one?
Remember to also consider how much time you will have to dedicate to carrying out your marketing plan. It has to be achievable. If you spread yourself too thin, you run the rick of not getting it done or not doing it to the best of your ability.
Plot this activity out against the events you have marked on your calendar.
Step five – Find a way to stick to it
There’s no point to doing all this if you leave it on your computer or in a folder and never look at it again. If you can print it out and stick it on the wall in your office. Somewhere you will see it regularly.
When I create a marketing plan for my clients I pull out a list of all the key dates for their activity so they can put them in their diary. This includes when they need to start anything by and when they should have it completed by, as well as any external time restrictions, such as submission deadlines.
Having the dates in your diary (with reminders if you need!) you know you’ll never miss a thing and you’ll always be on top of what you need to do to promote your business.
Even a basic marketing plan like this can have a huge effect on you and your business. It will help your business to grow by keeping your promotional activity consistent and on track, and ensuring you are prepared for any key opportunities. Plus it will ensure you can focus your efforts and spend your time efficiently. You can read more about why I think having a marketing strategy is so important here.
