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Books on writing marketing plans are a dime-a-dozen. There are also many competent marketing consultants out there who will team up with you to design a marketing plan, although it will cost you an arm and a leg! Many of these marketing plans are superbly crafted with great attention to the 4 P’s – Place, Product, Price and Promotion. Some run to double-digit page length. I have been involved in many. Am I getting old and lazy, or just wise and practical? I hope it is the latter – because from bitter experience, most of these plans get left in the filing cabinet to gather dust. My point is when it comes to marketing plans I have learned that less is best. I like to keep the plan brief because it forces all parties to focus (there is that key marketing word again!) on the company’s objectives and tactics. It also enables the plan to be understood by all who “sail with her”. Simple to read, simple to understand, that is the key.
If you are about to start a new enterprise, or launch a new product, I recommend you heed the advice of the modern day guerrilla marketing guru, Jay Conrad Levinson: cut the crap and package your marketing plan around seven simple sentences. You will end up with an A4 sheet in bold type that you can paste on every internal office wall, a road map to business success.
First Sentence
What is the Purpose of your marketing?
This is pretty straightforward, it is what you are trying to achieve. I do not want you to say, “sell more widgets”. What I am looking for is those marketing magnets that will automatically drive the end result, make a profit. An example could be, increase store traffic, get more hits on the website, get prospects to attend free seminars, call for free demonstration video etc. Whatever action you want your prospects to take, state it here, loud and bold!
Second Sentence
What are the main benefits you (your product) offer to excite people into action?
Here you also want to concentrate on the point of difference. What benefit(s) does your product, or service offer the prospect that the competitor does not? What benefits will really stimulate your prospects to take notice and motivate them to consider your product, or service, above your competitors?
Third Sentence
What is the target audience?
Once again we need some focus. This will help us when we get to the fourth and seventh sentence. If you are dealing with a limited budget pick an easy target and bomb it into submission. A shotgun approach will lack frequency, penetration and impact. Target the main adopters. Who can you win over first that will help spread the word? You may have more than one target, but do not spread yourself too thin. Concentrate your attack on the enemy’s weak position.
Fourth Sentence
What marketing tactics will you employ?
Ok, this is where we bend the rules; you can use some extra sentences here. Are you going to use direct mail, free seminars, advertising, attend trade shows etc? This list can be long; the tactics can be done on a shoestring, or cost a bomb (TV for example). Remember it must fit the designated budget, key into the target and project the identity of the product, or service.
Fifth Sentence
What is your niche, what do you (or product) stand for?
Is it quality, is it service, is it speed, is it selection, is it price, is it value etc? Whatever it is, it better stick out like dogs balls in all you marketing material.
Sixth Sentence
Define your identity
Do not confuse this with image. Images are surface paint. Today’s consumers can spot show ponies pretty quickly. Painted fingernails, expensive clothing and fresh hairdos may get attention, but whoever said beauty is only skin deep was wrong. It is what is inside the person that projects true identity. It is all about personality, integrity, truth and honesty. How can you identify your product, or service’s personality? Who are you, what do you stand for? Advertising gurus call this brand personality.
Seventh Sentence
What’s your budget?
Many marketing texts will define this as a percentage of total revenue. Many will try and achieve it for free, do not laugh it is possible. There are dozens of books that target ideas on how to get free marketing exposure. I recommend any of the “Guerrilla Marketing” books by Jay Conrad Levinson, the stimulus for this article. In any event opportunity, guts and cashflow will dictate your marketing budget.
Putting it into action
Finally, you will need to put your plan into action and track its progress. Once again this needs to be simple and on display. I suggest you set up a marketing calendar. This stops you being lured into any marketing on an ad hoc basis; you are in control and have a clear insight of the year ahead.
Grab a sheet of paper and mark it up into twelve rows and four columns. Column one indicates the month, column two is titled “Focus”, this identifies the focus of your marketing for that month. It may be a sale, new product launch, seminar, free demonstrations etc.
The third column “tactics” is where you list what action/media you will be using (see sentence four). Finally column four is reserved for you to score the success of that months focus, based on profit. Give yourself an A for a roaring success, or D for total failure. Each year review the As and Bs and include in next year’s plan, bury the rest. After about three years you will have built a fabulous marketing calendar loaded with As. This will become your most prized business possession.
By Rob McKay MA(Hons) Organisational Psychologist and Director of PsychAssessments Ltd
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