Marketing Plans that Work

Every small business needs a marketing plan, but this is often easier said than done. It is difficult to decide on a single plan and even more difficult to put these plans into writing. Here are the different steps of writing a marketing plan.

• Compile your information. Before you write your marketing plan, you should be aware of your company’s financial situation at that moment and how your sales are trending. You also need to know every product or service currently being offered. An overview of similar companies with similar services in your area can also help because it will help you figure out what differentiates your business. Many business owners find that an organization table helps, as it will aid you in assigning different marketing tasks to different people. Last, you will need to know who your target customer is and why they are choosing you.
• Part One: Market Situation. This is the first section of many marketing plans. You will need to describe the state of your industry in your area and how you fit into the big picture. Here is where you describe your customer in more detail and give firm numbers as to your geographic area, sales structure, and the success of different product lines.
• Part Two: Opportunities and Threats. In many ways this is a continuation of the market situation section, but it focuses specifically on what your business has going for it… and against it.  What market trends are affecting your business right now, and how will these change in the near future? Is success in the current market possible, or will you need to modify your approach in order to succeed? This is the part of your marketing plan where you get real, and look critically at your chances of success.
• Part Three: Marketing Objectives. These are concrete, easily trackable goals that you want to achieve within your company. This is the place to think hard about how you want for your business to be in a year, two years, and so on. You will need to break each goal into smaller tasks, place these on a rough time frame, and then assign responsibility for them to a specific person. For instance, if you want to set up a Facebook site that brings in so many customers per month, you will need to include information about who will be responsible for this task and how they will accomplish it. Your goals are basically a realistic dream of where you would like to be in a reasonable but challenging time frame, but they include the how and who information as well.

Once you have a draft of a marketing plan, your next step is to have other people critique it. This could include employees and fellow business owners. Get feedback, consider it carefully, and change your plan if necessary. Because your market is changing from day to day, your marketing plan will also need to change in order to be successful.