Marketing Plan Framework
Marketing Plan Framework - 8 Step Process
Small business failures are a common occurrence and one of the main reasons for this trend is a failure to understand marketing. The marketing plan framework serves as a guide to simplify the marketing plan development process by removing the guesswork and eliminating the confusion usually associated with this exercise.
There are eight steps to developing a solid marketing strategy for your business as shown in the following diagram.
- Define your vision and goals: Start with a vision that describes what you want your business to be. The vision should inspire, energize, motivate and stimulate your creativity. Define goals you would like to accomplish in a 12 month period. Your goals set the direction you want to take with your marketing activities. Do you want to create visibility for your company? Are you trying to generate demand for your services? Do you want to establish yourself as the expert in your field? Your goals need to be SMART: specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-based.
- Understand your ideal client and competition: Determine what motivates your ideal client, what causes them pain, and why they would be interested in buying from you. Then determine how you are different from your competition and how you want to be viewed by your target. Highlight why you are different and what value you offer to your clients.
- Develop your core message: Your core message is a short description of your business that enables prospective buyers to know who you work with and what value you bring to the relationship. It conveys this message in a manner that literally attracts the right customers to you. A good core message projects what makes you unique and a benefit to your ideal client.
- Identify your brand identity and apply it consistently across all of your marketing efforts: You may need to define your personal brand and your corporate brand depending on your business. In either case, your brand should fit your personality and help get you noticed.
- Determin marketing strategy and budget: Identify the strategy you will use to achieve your goals. Strategies will fall within the 8 marketing categories: Internet, social media, advertising, direct marketing, public relations, events, word of mouth, and strategic alliances. The types of marketing you choose within your strategy will depend on your unique requirements. Your budget will help you determine your cash flow by mapping the budget needed for your sales tools and each area identified within your marketing strategy based on the tactics you decide to use.
- Identify activities for each strategy: Your activities should be selected so they accomplish your goals, reach your ideal client, make sense for your business, can be executed regularly and effectively, and are affordable.
- Create your sales tools to support the tactics: These tools can include business cards, brochures, a web site or blog, white papers, testimonials, or promotional items.
- Execute, track and measure results: Read the post on the Masterful Marketing blog called Marketing Execution – Plan, Execute, Track, Measure.
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