For many small businesses developing a
marketing plan is something you know you should do but there always
seems to be something else that takes up your time. A marketing plan should not
be a thick pile of paper that you never look at after it is printed. Instead if
done correctly a marketing plan can help grow and support your business without
spending a lot of money or taking up too much of your valuable time.
Developing a marketing plan no
matter what your budget is, enables you to maximise your marketing spend, be
proactive versus reactive to market, customer & competitor changes and
guide your business decisions throughout the year to achieve greater success.
Put simply a marketing plan enables you to identify what needs to be done now
and in the future to drive your business's performance and should include the
following:
Set Your Marketing Objectives
Your marketing objectives should cover what is required of your customers to
achieve both your short and longer term sales goals.
Some tips to set your marketing objectives include:
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Always ensure your marketing objectives are aligned with your sales and
financial objectives so that your business is working towards achieving a
common goal
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Use the SMART principle i.e. your objectives should be specific, measurable,
achievable, realistic and time specific
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Only choose 3-4 marketing objectives to ensure they are achievable
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Be aware of the number of your existing or potential customers to ensure your
objectives are realistic
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Focus on your customer and what you want to achieve. For example, if you are a
new business your objective may be to achieve 200 new customers by the end of
the financial year.
Develop a Marketing Strategy
Your marketing strategy is your overall game plan to achieve your sales and
marketing objectives. Without a marketing strategy your business can waste a
lot of time and money choosing tactics that will not be relevant for your
business or maximise your marketing spend.
Your marketing strategy should cover one or a combination of the following:
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Retention - how can you protect your most profitable customer and keep them
loyal?
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Expansion - how can you maximise your existing customer relationships through
up sell (buying more of the same product or service) and cross-sell (buying
other products or services in your range)?
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Attraction - how can you attract new profitable customers and get them to
return?
Choose the Right Marketing Tactics
Your marketing tactics are the activities or business decisions which are
needed to support your marketing strategy and achieve your objectives. Once you
have decided on the marketing strategy that best fits your business, choosing
your marketing tactics becomes easy.
Some tips to choosing the right marketing tactics include:
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Always relate your marketing tactics back to your marketing strategy. For
example if your strategy is to focus on personalised communication and service
for your customers, look for activities that will achieve this eg. implement a
quarterly newsletter, conduct a customer survey, provide an exclusive offer etc
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Consider the budget you have to spend and the resources you have available to
implement each tactic. For example, it is no use conducting newspaper
advertising if you can only afford one small ad which wont be seen by your
potential customers
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Don't just consider advertising as your main focus of activities. Conducting a
simple customer survey to find out what your customers like or dislike about
your business can be an invaluable tool for the running of your business
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Determine how you are going to track each tactic. The tracking of your tactics
enables you to look at which tactics worked and which didn't and how these key
learnings can be included in future plans
Copyright © Marketing for Business Success Pty Ltd 2007
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