Are you the man (or lady) with a plan?

Well, as we discovered in my last post, creating a Marketing Plan for your business is a MUST. If you hope to succeed in the long term that is ;—)
So, the question now is…

How Do You Create a Marketing Plan For Your Business?

By illustrating the need for a Marketing Plan in my last post, we covered the basics that go into an effective Marketing Plan. But now, let’s dig a bit deep and take a look at the into the dirty deets…
The Path to Crafting a Marketing Plan That Makes an IMPACT: The Three-Part Process
An effective Marketing Plan includes three crucial components: Strategy, Tactics + Budget.

PART I: Marketing Strategy

Any Marketing Plan worth the Word doc it’s typed into always begins with s thorough + thoughtful Strategy!
And an effective marketing strategy begins with…
Goals!
What do you hope to achieve?
Are you looking to attract more leads? Better quality leads? Do you want to convert more leads into paying customers? All of the above? Something else entirely?
Whatever your aim, defining your end-game as a set of specific goals provides the basis of your strategy.
Up next?
Identifying Your Ideal Client!
Who are you trying to reach? Who are the Ideal candidates, the people who will GENUINELY benefit from your services?
It’s best to create a composite “Ideal Client.” And think of them as a real live human being. An actual person you communicate with on one-to-one basis.
To create this composite, you’ll need to zero in on your ideal client’s demographics — age, income level, marital + family status, geographic location; and their psychographic — needs, desires, interests, anxieties that keep them up at night staring at the ceiling.
This data provides the proverbial artist clay you need to sculpt your composite “ideal client persona.”
And now it’s time to…
Narrow Your Niche!
What’s the CORE service you provide?
Odds are, there’s an aspect of your at which you EXCEL. Perhaps even do it better than anyone else in your field (in your humble opinion)?
So, rather than casting your net far and wide (in the misguided hopes of reeling more prospects), focus on what you do BEST! And pitch your promotion SPECIFICALLY to clients in need of this core service.

Part II: Marketing Tactics

Thus far, we’ve determined WHAT you hope to achieve, WHO you’re trying to reach, WHY they should be interested and FOCUSED your efforts on selling CORE SERVICES to your IDEAL CLIENTS.
So, that basically covers the WHO, WHAT, WHERE + WHY.
Now, it’s time to dive into the HOW + WHEN.
Your tactics are the “stuff you make” and “things you do” usually associated with marketing. This includes…
== > Your website
== > Email campaigns
== > Social media campagins
== > Case studies
== > White papers
== > Brochures
== > Direct mail
== > And so on (I think you get the idea)…
The question now: Which tactics make sense for your business?
And this is why your strategy is so important! By filling in all the blanks in your strategy, your ideal tactics should be crystal clear.
Website
At this point, a website makes sense for every business. But how do you plan to use your website?
An electronic brochure? To generate direct inquiries through calls and emails? Or is your sales process a bit more complicated? And if so, is your website best suited to be a mechanism that nurtures leads?
These are all important questions to consider in designing your website’s structure and user-experience.
Email, Social Media + Other Digital Tactics
Based on the demographic + psychographic data you gathered, is your ideal client likely to respond to email or be active on social or other online portals?
And if so, are they apt to buy (make direct contact) directly, or do they need to be nurtured in a sales funnel?
White Papers + Case Studies
Is your service such that prospects would benefit from a detailed, in-depth explanation of your process (which a White Paper provides)? Or see examples of success stories from others (satisfied customers that you’ve helped) with a problem similar to theirs (which a case study delivers)?
If either of these answers is yes, these tools probably make sense for your business.
Brochures
Is your ideal client less likely to be engaged online? Do they need something tangible they can hold onto, and refer to without a computer or smartphone?
Then a brochure is apt to be an effective tool to promote your business.
Direct Mail
Is direct mail a common tactic in your business (as it is in real estate, for example)? In other words, are your prospects attuned to looking for promotional items in the mail?
Real estate agents rely HEAVILY on direct mail. Realtors “farm” the neighborhoods they sell in, or hope to sell in. And commercial agents “farm” property owners with the type of assets the want to sell.
“Farming” is a popular direct mail tactic. It involves mailing postcards announcing new listings or recent sales; sending prospecting + sales letters to solicit purchase offers or listing requests, and distributing other “keep in touch” content like “market updates” to a particular mailing list.
Given the prevalence of Farming, homeowners and commercial property owners are attuned to receiving these sort of mailers from realty professionals. And often look forward to them.
Is your clientele older? Those over 60 are accustom to receiving mail. In fact, many in this age bracket LIKE getting mail. Even so-called junk mail. And they’re accustomed to “being sold to” via direct mail.

PART THREE: Budget

Formulating a strategy and identifying tactics is all hunky dory. But how are you going to pay for all this jazz?!
A fair question. And an issue lots of small business owners struggle with. Largely because the notion of a budget is laughable. Your “budget” is often whatever’s left over after covering all your expenses.
Business consultants and so-called “marketing gurus” often toss out percentages and reel off round numbers. But your marketing budget really boils down to what you can afford to spare.
To determine this amount, you need to establish a baseline. What is your monthly net? Once that’s clear, you will have a better idea of what you can afford to put toward marketing. And depending on your business, this could be anywhere from 5% to 25% of your net.

TAKE ACTION

Now it’s your turn. If you don’t have a marketing plan, time to hit the proverbial drawing board, friend!
And if you do, when was the last time you reviewed your plan? If it’s been a while, it’s likely time to pull it out and give it a once over. Just to make sure you’re still on track.