The Key Elements Of A Marketing Plan…
To create a winning Marketing Plan you need to include a number of key elements. I’ve generated hundreds of Marketing Plans using the following proven formula…
Step 1 – Research
The first step in any Marketing Plan is to carry out research. No decent Marketing Plan should ever be put down on paper unless research has been carried out first. The three critical areas of research that need to be covered are customer, competitor and staff research.
You will also be able to see what your competitors are doing in terms Marketing Strategies such as Guarantees, Offers, Headlines and Calls To Action.
Doing this will uncover a myriad of opportunities and gaps for you to exploit in your Marketing Plan sitting right under your nose.
Step 2 – Target Market Focus
The second step in your Marketing Plan is to decide on your Target Market. Without a Target Market you have nothing to aim at. This is critical when you’re a small business as you don’t have the time or the money to aim at everybody. Secondly no message or offer can be that exciting if you’re trying to please everybody. I can’t overstate how important it is to know and focus on a Target Market or Niche when you’re a Small Business.
Step 3 – Unique Message Creation
Once you’ve completed your research and decided on your Target Market you want to spend some time creating your Unique Message. For some this may be based on service response time. For example, Dominos Pizza came up with “Hot delicious Pizza delivered to your door in under 30 minutes or it’s FREE!” This exploded their business overnight and created an international success story. The trick with Message Creation is to match it to the biggest ‘want’ of your Target Market. We call this Market-Message-Match. Then the purpose of the business is to deliver on the Unique Message. It centres you, gives you a laser focus and allows the prospect to immediately see why they should take a closer look at you rather than someone else.
Step 4 – Media Selection
This is where most Small Business Owners start their Marketing Plan but in reality it should be one of the last things you do. If you haven’t targeted a tight enough group and created a Unique Message that punches above it’s weight then it won’t matter what media you select (such as Direct Mail, Google AdWords, Postcards, Email Marketing, FREE Reports, Classified Advertising, Magazine Advertising, Joint Ventures) you’re not going to get the right return on the money you spend in this area of your Marketing Plan i.e. attract enough paying customers for the money you spend.
The other big mistake Small Business Owners make at this stage of their Marketing Plan is they don’t implement enough ‘Routes To Market’. You want at least 5-7 forms of Media in operation at one time. In saying this it makes sense to put 2 or 3 methods in place to begin with and then add one a month after the first 8 weeks.
Step 5 – Testing Plan
Once you’ve selected your Media it’s imperative that you know how to test the Media your spending money or time implementing. This is a never ending process and will eventually form the biggest part of your Marketing Plan.
If you don’t know “what’s working and what’s not” how are you ever going to get the best return from the money you’re spending on the Media you’ve selected in your Marketing Plan?
If you’d like more more help and guidance go here…
http://247businessgrowth.com/freemarketingtips.htm
Speak soon…
