This is a common question I get asked a lot by new business owners. They have the mistaken belief that a marketing plan has to be complicated and difficult. This is not the case. I would always recommend to anyone starting a business to write a simple marketing plan that is broken down in to manageable chunks (sections), and is as equally simple to follow and implement. Here is how to write a plan that works and won’t end up in the bin!
Section 1. Analysis of the situation
In this section you need to write a brief overview of how your situation looks at this moment. You should list the products or services that you currently offer, how you market your business, the challenges you face and the advantages you possess. This information will provide a useful benchmark for your business startup as you adapt and plan going forward.
Section 2. Target Audience
You don’t need anything fancy or protracted here, just a simple list of your target audience. How you write your list will depend on whether you are targeting consumers (B2C) or businesses (B2B). If you are targeting consumers, use indicators such as gender, age, income etc. Those targeting businesses should compile your list by categorising your audience e.g. builders, decorators, joiners etc.
Section 3. Goals
Very simple is this section. Just list your marketing goals for the next 12 months. Again, you don’t need reams and reams of pages, just one page will be sufficient. Also, don’t be ambiguous with your goals- they should be specific, realistic and measurable in order that you can evaluate your performance against them.
Section 4: Strategies and Tactics
This is where the heavy lifting is required, as this section will make up a significant part of your marketing plan. You need to write an overview of each marketing strategy, and then follow this will a corresponding tactic of how you are going to execute it.
The tactics section should include all relevant actions you plan to implement for advertising, direct mail, PR, promotions, trade fairs etc. One way to schedule your tactics is to write them on a calendar or put them into a spreadsheet, it doesn’t really matter which you choose- as long as you stick to your plan.
Section 5: Budget Breakdown
Here you will write a breakdown of all the costs associated with each of your tactics. This is where you can see if the tactics you have chosen are affordable or will blow a hole in your cash flow forecast. If you find this to be the case, do not panic, simply revisit your plan and find more affordable tactics which meets the requirements of your strategy.
You should now have something in front of you that resembles a marketing plan. Remember, this is not a ‘finished’ document- it should constantly be evolving with your business.
Section 1. Analysis of the situation
In this section you need to write a brief overview of how your situation looks at this moment. You should list the products or services that you currently offer, how you market your business, the challenges you face and the advantages you possess. This information will provide a useful benchmark for your business startup as you adapt and plan going forward.
Section 2. Target Audience
You don’t need anything fancy or protracted here, just a simple list of your target audience. How you write your list will depend on whether you are targeting consumers (B2C) or businesses (B2B). If you are targeting consumers, use indicators such as gender, age, income etc. Those targeting businesses should compile your list by categorising your audience e.g. builders, decorators, joiners etc.
Section 3. Goals
Very simple is this section. Just list your marketing goals for the next 12 months. Again, you don’t need reams and reams of pages, just one page will be sufficient. Also, don’t be ambiguous with your goals- they should be specific, realistic and measurable in order that you can evaluate your performance against them.
Section 4: Strategies and Tactics
This is where the heavy lifting is required, as this section will make up a significant part of your marketing plan. You need to write an overview of each marketing strategy, and then follow this will a corresponding tactic of how you are going to execute it.
The tactics section should include all relevant actions you plan to implement for advertising, direct mail, PR, promotions, trade fairs etc. One way to schedule your tactics is to write them on a calendar or put them into a spreadsheet, it doesn’t really matter which you choose- as long as you stick to your plan.
Section 5: Budget Breakdown
Here you will write a breakdown of all the costs associated with each of your tactics. This is where you can see if the tactics you have chosen are affordable or will blow a hole in your cash flow forecast. If you find this to be the case, do not panic, simply revisit your plan and find more affordable tactics which meets the requirements of your strategy.
You should now have something in front of you that resembles a marketing plan. Remember, this is not a ‘finished’ document- it should constantly be evolving with your business.