It’s one of those age-old questions. “The chicken or the egg” paradox, who can say which came first?
In a business context, however, it’s a bit different.
Of course, the idea (the basis of your business) is paramount. But if the idea (for your business) is in effect your goal, how do you reach that goal? And isn’t successfully navigating the path to that goal equally important (if not more so) than the goal itself?
I’d say so. And that why, in a (coco)nutshell, your biz does — IN FACT — need a marketing plan.
But let’s delve a bit deeper into the specifics of EXACTLY why your business needs a marketing plan. And examine the perspective you gain by developing such a plan.
Your Marketing Plan Teaches You About Your Market
Whether you’re already in the game or launching a new business, there are fundamental questions you need to answer about your business and your market in order to grow your business…
What is the fundamental value your services provide?
Who needs your services?
Why do they need your services?
What problem are your services solving? What need are they fulfilling?
How will you convince your ideal client that (a) your services are valuable to them, (b) will solve the problems or fulfill their needs, and (c) that you are your ideal client’s best option?
Gathering clear, concise answers to these questions is imperative to creating an effective Marketing Plan. Not to mention critical to the overall success of your business.
Your Marketing Plan Gives You Insights Into Your Ideal Customers
Who is your ideal client?
What’s their demographic profile?
-Age
-Income level
-Marital + family status
-Geographic location
What’s their psychographic profile?
-What are their needs?
-What are their wants?
-What keeps them up at night, starring at the ceiling or pacing the floor, nursing a would-be stomach ulcer?
-What are their habits, hobbies, personal interests, where do the hangout (IRL – In Real Life) and online?
-And what’s the best avenue by which to reach them? What channels or marketing tactics are most apt to connect with them?
Identifying your ideal client’s demographic + psychographic profiles are key to engineering an effective marketing approach. Which in turn underpins your Marketing Plan.
Your Marketing Plan Reveals the Viability of Your Business
To address this issue, let’s take a look a Quick Case Study…
Kerry H. has a Ph.D. in Public Policy. Her specialty is developing strategies to alleviate homelessness in urban areas. And she’s looking to set up a consulting business that advises municipalities on how do deal with ballooning urban homeless populations.
Unfortunately, the area in which Kerry resides has a very low homeless population. And as such, local municipalities are unconcerned with the “homeless problem.”
That means Kerry has some decisions to make about her business…
Either she needs to seek clients outside her geographic area, relocate to an area struggling with homelessness, or revise her business model and offer consulting services on another aspect of public policy.
Your Marketing Plan Provides a Framework By Which to Achieve Your Goals
How do you launch your business, growth, and sustain it over the long haul?
This is where marketing strategy and the tactics come into play. Two key components of your Marketing Plan.
Marketing strategy and tactics are uuuuuuuuuuuge topics unto themselves. But suffice it to say, your strategy begins with a goal. And from there, you reverse engineer the process. It looks something like this…
== > Stated goal
== > Identify your Ideal Client
== > Narrow your niche (zero in on your core competencies, and focus on promoting those competencies)
== > Formulate your Unique Selling Proposition — USP (in other words, what’s unique about your business, how are you different from your competitors?)
== > Identify the tactics best suited to reach your Ideal Client
== > Launch those tactics and evaluate your progress
== > Archive your state goal! And if you don’t, reevaluate your strategy, adjust your tactics, and try, try, try again until you hit the mark (your stated goal)
Take Action
Do you have a marketing plan? If not, it’s time to get started! And keep in mind, it doesn’t matter if you already have a business, even a long-running business. This framework can help you refine, improve, and ultimately grow your business.
And if you do have a Marketing Plan, when was the last time you gave it a look? If it’s been a while, probably time to dust it off and review. Are you still on target? Has your business changed, necessitating a re-evaluation?
Important questions to consider!
Drop by my LinkedIn page and share your thoughts on the need for a Marketing Plan.
