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No Marketing Plan Survives First Contact With the Competition

Guest post by: Sandy Barris

Article Overview: Flexibility is the key to most successful marketing plans and marketing calendars.

No Marketing Plan Survives First Contact With the Competition

"No Battle Plan Survives First Contact With the Enemy"

Many of us view our businesses and their plans as ongoing wars with competitors. We tend to see every facet of our plans and actions as battle-like comparisons with those of our adversaries.

After all, things like our marketing plans, advertising efforts, marketing calendars, logos and branding - even our products, services and ideas,themselves- are our weapons. And, collectively, we are always trying our best to make sure that our weapons and stratagem are bigger, better and stronger than those of our 'enemies'.

The above quote that starts this article off is from the infamous Napoleon the Great. And, while you may be saying to yourself, "But, Napoleon lost", your statement is missing one ever-important word - 'eventually'.

Napoleon had plenty of victorious battles - many of which he was predicted to lose - and, regardless of what you think of the "Pint-Sized General", the quote -and philosophy behind it - are a great start, as far as the way one should look at their business's plan and, how it relates to that ongoing war with the competition.

In regard to business, no marketing plan should be set in concrete! No matter how effective your plan may be, chances are, it will have to be altered at a given time; due to what your competitor(s) is doing.

We have all been in a situation in which, we feel heavy frustration from the fact that we have to change the plan -that we once considered our 'baby' -in order to counter what it was that another company was coming to battle with.

Even the actions of your clients, future clients or suppliers can take you by surprise- to the point of startling you- and force you to change the way in which you had set out to do things. In other words, you must be ready for anything. You must have flexibility. You must expect the unexpected!

Now, don't feel as if you have to be a psychic. Don't feel overwhelmed at the thought of needing a business and marketing plan so flexible that it takes away from the overall aim and goals that made you 'hungry' to run your particular business in the first place!

There is an easy way to be sure that you can continue to have success in the future - if you just start off with flexibility in mind! The best way to do so is to have a marketing plan that is flexible and built to adjust itself when the time comes to do so.

When going to war, you must be sure that you have a pre-planned counter-attack for anything that may take you by surprise. Just having that knowledge may put you ahead of a good percentage of those that you are competing with.

More importantly, however, is being sure that your counter-weapon is more powerful than that of your enemies' and, that you have another weapon or plan of attack to follow-up with; allowing you continue your march to success without any interference.

In any case, don't be trapped by a stationary, unchangeable plan of attack. Do not allow yourself to be left with your shields down, while busy doing other things; allowing your empire to be taken down. Have the proper fortifications in place to protect what you worked so hard to build.

And, know that the first (and likely the most crucial) defense for the upcoming battles that you will face is a flexible, defensive-to-offensive marketing plan!

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Article Tags: flexibility, marketing calendar, marketing plan, marketing plans, marketing templates



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