I love quotes that are both inspirational that and challenge me to think. I saw something recently that said, “Hope is not a marketing plan“. That quote just resonated with me. It’s so obvious and so true, but I find that a lot of small businesses don’t take the time to write a marketing plan.
If you think you don’t need one, or that it’s okay because it’s all in your head – consider this – according to a recent study, only 20% of people write down their goals. But for the people that do, they are 1.2 to 1.4 times more likely to achieve those goals. That’s quite a leg up on your competition!
If you don’t have a marketing plan, there’s no better time than now to create one. It essential to guiding your company’s goals and setting you up for success. The following outlines a quick and easy template to get you started.
- Write down your goals.
When writing them down, make sure each is SMART. What’s that mean?Specific
Measurable
Aspirational
Realistic
Time-BoundInclude things like number of customers, market share, average sale, and total revenue. Additionally, include goals that may not be related to finance. For instance, do you want to start a blog? Join a networking group? Create a video series? Write it all down.
- Create a SWOT Analysis
What are your strengths? You as an individual, your company, your products/services.
What are your weaknesses?
What are your biggest opportunities for growth?
What threats are there to your business?
- Identify Your Target’s Demographics
Include things like age range, income, geography and gender.
- Create 1-5 Customer Personas
Think about the different types of people that benefit from your products or services. You may have just one, or several. The more you have, the more messages and strategies you need to develop. While each person is unique, it’s important to create some personas or “buckets” that group together people’s behaviors and interests. Here are a few questions to get you started:
What is their personality like?
What things to they value?
What do they do for a living?
What are their hobbies?
What are their pain points/challenges/needs that you can address?
What is their family like?
What keeps them up at night?
What would solve all their problems?After you create your personas, I like to actually put a face and a name with each of them. It can help to have specific character in mind when marketing to a persona.
- The 4 Ps
Write your personas across the top of a page. For each persona, answer the following 4 P questions.Product – What product do they want and why do they need it?
Place – Where should your products/services be sold?
Price – How much should it be sold for?
Promotion – How are you going to get it in front of them?
- Budget
Alright, so how much do you need to spend? My best advice is to try a few different campaigns that you feel comfortable with. Start small and run tests. Just because you create an annual marketing plan doesn’t mean you do it once and let it sit on the shelf for 12 months. Your plan should continue to evolve – based on what works best – at least quarterly.
Need help deciding on a budget and which strategies to implement? That’s where I come in! Feel free to reach out for help with developing your marketing plan and creating a budget. I’d love to help you reach your goals!