Have you heard the old saying “fail to plan, plan to fail”? It was drilled into me back at uni and it has stuck with me ever since.
Most budget conscious marketing plans consist of building a website, starting a Facebook page, sending some emails, doing some networking and waiting for the sales to roll in. The website sits idle for years, the Facebook gets updated every time there is a sale and the emails are sent if there is a special on. To be fair: small business owners are BUSY. But a common mistake is to not invest a little time to nut out your plan of action, purpose and marketing messages so everything sings the same tune. A small investment in this can save a whole lot of heart ache down the track.
Keep it simple
A marketing strategy does not have to be complicated. Sometimes the biggest brands in the world have a 2 page marketing plan (with 60 page appendices).
To get started on a marketing plan, think about the following:
• Your vision and mission for your business
• What you want to accomplish
• Your ideal client
• Articulate what makes you different
• A road map for achieving your goals
• Prioritise what is important
• Create an action plan for what you need to do and when
• Monitor your progress and amend
Think a professional is expensive? Wait until you hire an amateur.
Having problems nutting out the above? Invest a few dollars to have a professional guide you through the strategy mix.
Having a plan in place will make sure you are accountable (and consistent) in your marketing decisions. Having everything planned in advance means you only spend what is allocated in your marketing budget and has every marketing activity working in perfect harmony: with the same message.
If you put your marketing strategy in the too-hard basket you will always be reacting to the market. This means lost leads and lost revenue. Having a plan puts the control in your hands and will see you proactively engaging with your customers before they even have a chance to look at your competition.
See you next week,
Darnelle
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Next week: we set the record straight on social media marketing
