5 things to think about before building your marketing plan

It’s January. Do you know where your marketing plan is?

Here are five things you need to think about before you build your plan.

1. Think carefully about scope.
It takes resources to a) create a marketing plan and b) implement one. If you’ve got lots of resources – human and financial – you’re away to the races. If you are lacking in either or both, you might need some assistance.

GUIDELINE 1: It should take somewhere between one and six weeks to create a solid marketing plan. It should not take six months.

GUIDELINE 2: Your plan should be accomplishable within this calendar year. It shouldn’t just sit on a shelf.

2. Think carefully about goals.
A marketing plan should connect to one of your organization’s key objectives. The plan should have a series of goals all its own, but achieving them should provide a return on investment for the business as a whole.

GUIDELINE 3: Understand which organizational objective(s) your plan is serving.

GUIDELINE 4: Design goals and metrics for your plan that feed that objective both directly (i.e. sales) and indirectly (i.e. brand health).

3. Think carefully about your audiences.
Understand who they are, what they care about, and what kind of media they consume. Then seek to understand why they buy your product or service, and what reward it offers them for doing so. Inside these concepts are important ingredients for your messaging, your creative approach, and your tactical plan.

GUIDELINE 5: Talk to your customers! As often as possible!  

4. Think carefully about your funnel.
Don’t design a plan that invests entirely in building awareness. Invest at all stages of your funnel.

GUIDELINE 6: If you have a sales team, talk to them about their process.

GUIDELINE 7: Remember to invest in retention. Existing customers are your most straightforward source of new revenue.

5. Think carefully about strategy, distinct from tactics.
This is one of the most misunderstood parts of planning. It is the muscle of your plan, and so often it gets lost in a sea of snazzy and easy-to-understand tactics. Strategy is the “how” and tactics are the “what”.

GUIDELINE 8: The research and analysis section of your plan (including things like a SWOT analysis, audience assessment, and a competitive review) will help you clarify how you want to move forward with your plan.

GUIDELINE 9: The strategic section of your plan should include your funnel design, campaign strategy, key messages, etc.

A marketing plan is a tool to focus your effort and your resources into something achievable, affordable, and effective. Once implemented and measured, improve it and do it again.

 This way, your plan becomes a platform for continuous improvement and an engine for more results every time you do it.

Sounds like a win, doesn’t it?

That’s why any plan is better than no plan.

So let’s get on it!