Each year, you should review and rejuvenate your marketing plan. It will be especially important to guarantee you have a brilliant marketing plan this year to keep your company on the path to profitability. Here’s how you can get started creating a brilliant marketing plan.
Marketing plans help direct your campaigns, goals, and growth and help keep you and all the moving parts of your marketing efforts on track. They’re not one size fits all, however. It should be based on your performance over the last year. Your plan also needs to be customised for your industry, your company, and your specific goals.
Here are the first six steps to help you shape your marketing plan.
1. SWOT Analysis
Before you can plan where you’re going, you need to know where you’re starting from.
To better ascertain your current situation, conduct a SWOT analysis.
A SWOT analysis is a strategic planning technique that analyses your Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. It will help you determine where your business can improve and take advantage of opportunities, while also identifying negative factors that have the potential to impede your success.
2. Competitor Analysis
Don’t forget to look to your competitors to better understand the current market you’re participating in.
Research your major competitors and their products, sales, and marketing strategies to build your own improved business strategies. Identify and gaps in their approach and determine what differentiates you from them.
3. Identify your audience
Once you know your company and your competition, the next step is learn about your target audience.
If you don’t already have buyer personas – representations of ideal customers – then you should conduct market research to establish them. Learn about your typical customers – their ages, gender, income, pain points, and goals. Figure out what motivates your target demographic to buy and what your company can offer them.
4. Write SMART goals
Next up is setting your SMART goals – things that are
- specific,
- measurable,
- attainable,
- relevant, and
- time-bound.
Making SMART goals will help you understand your motivations, determine your direction, and ensures you have benchmarks to celebrate success.
5. Determine your strategy and tactics
Now it’s time to plan your strategy and choose the tactics, or marketing activity, that will help you achieve your goals. You should also choose what channels you’ll use to execute them. Once you know what your objectives are you can brainstorm different way to achieve your goals.
6. Set your budget
You can pretty much guarantee you’ll need funds to support your plans, so before you can begin to plan, you’ll need to know your marketing budget.
Some avenues are more cost-effective than others, but keep in mind the best ways to reach your audience. There will of course be other factors to consider, like timing and resources, but many things will hinge on your budget, so it’s important to determine the financial limitations you’re working within.
What’s next?
Of course, there’s still more work to do once you have done the background work for your plan – such as implementing it, measuring what is working, and making improvements.
Whether your goals are simple or grand, having a plan prepared and implemented for you by experts will give you an edge on the competition – and leave you time to focus on your business.
Marketing Square can help you put together an expert marketing. Get in touch now.
