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DO YOU HAVE A MARKETING PLAN OR MARKETING MESS?

Written by: Katie Sternberg

Article Overview: Marketing plans are in short supply. Organizations spend big budget dollars on web sites, brochures, logos, DVD’s, sales materials and every marketing tool under the sun. And that doesn’t include marketing activities like conferences, trade shows, press events, meetings and seminars. But when it comes to actually planning for all that activity, it’s a different story. Most people think marketing plans are a good idea – they just aren’t sure how to get there. We also suspect there are a fair number of you who secretly wonder if you really need one. The truth is you can’t afford not to have a plan. It can – and should – be straightforward, results-oriented and easy to manage.

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DO YOU HAVE A MARKETING PLAN OR MARKETING MESS?

What’s in a Plan

Your marketing plan determines how your customers, users or clients see you relative to your competition. It also details where your business comes from, your product or service benefits, your pricing strategies and the best ways to reach your target audiences. A well-designed marketing plan will provide a timeline of tactical objectives, coordinated with other internal and external events (product launches, changing legal environments, etc.) that help the firm reach its overall objectives. If it’s a good plan, it should also clearly outline your budget and how those precious marketing dollars will be allocated.

Any solid marketing plan needs to include a few key elements:

Situation Analysis

Start with a review of where your organization is right now. These are things you likely already know, but putting them front and center in your plan serves a couple of purposes. First, it gives you a benchmark of where you are. Second, it lets you build a plan that addresses the basic organization and environmental realties you face.

•Company Mission and Vision, What are the key values and goals of your organization?
•Product or Service Review, Describe your basic products and services
•Customer/User Drivers, What factors affect the environment in which you operate?
•Core Competencies, What do you do well? What do your customers/users rely on you for?
•Competitive Review, Who are your key competitors? How is the competitive landscape changing?

Measurable Objectives or Outcomes

You have to know what you want to come up with strategies and tactics that will get you there. Basic, but many people don’t think through a set of realistic objectives.

List of measurable objectives
Example: To increase attendance by 15% at 2006 conference as compared to 2005 conference.

Audiences

Make a list of your key audiences. These should be the groups that represent the bulk of your business through the year. You’ll also want to include some information about how each audience thinks and feels. The goal here is to really know the people you are talking to.

List of audiences, those groups you need to reach; your list should also represent their mindsets, hopes and fears

Messages

What are you trying to say? You want to identify two or three key messages and hammer them home. You can’t tell everyone everything about your organization. Select a few critical points and put them down on paper.

Listing of key facts, behaviors, issues we want to get across.
Examples: Our annual conference provides great learning opportunities; networking at the conference provides the chance to build business.

Channels and Tools

How will you send your message to your target audiences? Channels are groups/people through whom and places where you will distribute your message; tools are the materials you employ.

List of the channels and tools that you plan to employ
Examples:
Channels: News media, opinion leaders, conference
Tools: Website, media kit, advertising

Strategy
Strategies are broad approaches to communicating that are linked to your objectives. These are the big-picture approaches you take to communication and positioning your organization. You should look at each objective and come up with the strategies you need to accomplish it.

Example:
Communicate to all previous conference attendees
Increase press coverage in a specific market
Implement a new advertising campaign

Tactics
The tactics are the specific tasks and activities needed to accomplish your strategies. These should be very specific.

Example:
Obtain mailing list
Create mailer in form of postcard
Make arrangements with mailing house

Timeline by Tactic
Prioritize your tactics, and then develop deadlines for each one. You’ll also want to note which staff members or outside resources will be used to complete the tactics.

Example:
Develop ideas for postcards by January 1 – Marketing director
Print cards by February 15 – Franklin Printing
Mail cards by March 1 – Mailing Services

Evaluation

Your evaluation methods may be formal, like a research study or survey. It might also be something more informal, like reports on sales increases, feedback from customers or input from staff. The most important idea here is to do some kind of measurement so you know if your strategies are working.

Example:
Increase in registrations over last year at four months before conference
Number of hits on web site increased since re-launch
Number of calls from potential customers after new advertising campaign begins

Budget

The marketing budget shouldn’t be whatever is left over at the end of the month or quarter. And it shouldn’t be unlimited, either. Go back through your strategies and tactics and assign some general budget amounts to each one. Is the number you come up with realistic? If not, go back and review your tactics and determine where you can make changes. You need to allocate money to achieve your key objectives. If you spend too much on one strategy, you won’t have enough to accomplish the others.

Still Skeptical About Planning?

You may be getting short-term results with a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants approach. But there is a downside. This kind of makeshift marketing often does nothing to further the strategic goals of the company and frequently fails to look to the future. And that is a very dangerous place to be. Even a little planning can help you decrease your marketing risk and improve your results.

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Article Tags: attendance, basic organization, benchmark, budget, core competencies, elements, landscape, legal environments, marketing plan, measurable objectives, organization product, pricing strategies, realistic objectives, realties, situation analysis, tactical objectives, target audiences, timeline

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