DIY Marketing Plans
A marketing plan may be part of an overall business plan. Solid marketing strategy is the foundation of a well-written marketing plan so that goals may be achieved. While a marketing plan contains a list of actions, without a sound strategic foundation, it is of little use to a business
Why are marketing plans important?
#1 A marketing plan provides FOCUS
A marketing plan is the blueprint of how the marketing strategy is to be implemented. By this very fact, it shows that everything has been carefully thought through. You know all the activities that are taking place are positively feeding into a clear chosen direction.
#2 Enables you to plan and manage resources effectively
A marketing plan can help manage is your time. With a clear plan of action and an activity schedule in place it avoids any procrastination or getting side-tracked by time-consuming activities which aren’t in the plan and can lead you off-piste.
#3 A marketing plan provides transparency
Ultimately a marketing strategy and accompanying marketing plan of action is designed to generate a positive return on investment from your total marketing spend. Unless it is adding more profits to the business, than the costs it incurs – what is the point? A marketing plan will have some measurable metrics that can be tracked, tested and measured over regular periods of time.
#4 A marketing plan ensures consistency
Most businesses without a clear marketing plan, who market themselves sporadically, find that they only really focus on marketing activity, when they really need some sales. What typically happens is that there is a wave of marketing activity which generates some new clients. Then, because they have no plan or dedicated resource, there attention switches to meeting the needs of those customers that they have won. Meanwhile, their marketing activity has completely stopped.
#5 A marketing plan provides clarity
The best performing businesses are those where everyone within the business has absolute clarity of what they are doing, what is expected of them and how they are performing.
Through having a clear strategy and marketing plan, all associated staff have absolute clarity over where the business is going, it’s growth targets, their role within hitting their targets and how they are contributing.
