Every company I have ever worked for has had a different rendition of a marketing plan - their own unique template, priorities, and sometimes even an entirely different understanding of what a marketing plan is.
Today I want to share with you what I find to be the most important basics to consider when creating a marketing plan for a start up or small business.
Target
You need a crystal clear understanding of what you want to achieve with these activities - is it a certain amount of new clients you want to bring on? Or a target revenue number? Decide on this number and put it at the top of your marketing plan. Usually I would recommend going for a revenue number, so you can utilise different sources to hit it, but it depends on your company’s stance at the moment.
Timeline
Simple - when do you want to hit that target number by? And when do you begin your efforts? Put that date range next to your target.
Budget
How much do you want to spend in order to acquire the above target? Think about this generally, write a number down, and we will figure out how to split it up when we talk about...
Channels
What are the top channels that will reach your target audience? Where does your potential customer hang out - are they on Instagram? Twitter? Or, do they drive to work and see a lot of billboards? Do they watch TV? Digital channels are a better bet these days, but you need to really think about where your clients are and how you will reach them. Think about what to invest in each channel and keep that in mind when planning your activity.
Activity
Now that you have decided on your channels, it’s time to think about exactly what you will do, and when. For example, “I will tweet every day”, “post on Instagram every other day”, “send an email weekly”, etc. List these activities and put the planned date next to each one. If your plan covers 8 weeks and you want to do two LinkedIn posts every week, this means you should have 16 lines for your LinkedIn posts in your plan. You can also start thinking about what each of these activities will cover. Against each activity, put in the spend, if any. For example, if you are launching an Instagram ad, how much do you plan to spend on this specific one?
Offers
Do you want to offer early bird discounts, holiday offers, or other contests and sales? Think about where to place them in your timeline and connect them to your already planned activity, or add in new lines. Add a column to your plan to hold any discount codes connected to an activity to make it easier to track later.
Tracking
As you begin to implement your marketing plan, use it to track your progress. Add columns for the performance of each activity in terms of reach, conversion rates and revenue - or whatever it is that your target is. At the bottom add these up to create a current picture of how you are tracking against your target. Most importantly, make adjustments as you go to make sure you are chasing the winners and cutting the extra weight!
Good luck!
All the best
Monica
monica@monmar.co.uk
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