How Do I Create a Marketing Plan?

When running a small business it’s easy to forget about the importance of marketing. You’re often so busy with the day-to-day running and management of your business that sitting down to discuss a marketing plan is probably way down on your to do list. But not implementing a marketing plan could mean you are missing out on creating new contacts and customers. ​

Why do I need a Marketing Plan?
If you don’t currently have a marketing plan you might be asking why you even need one. Maybe things are ticking over nicely, you’ve got Google Ads working, you use social media to advertise your business and you have a nice growing customer base. But without a marketing plan how do you allow for key holidays and seasonal dates (Christmas, Easter, Bank Holidays etc)? If you have a 12 month marketing plan you can be much more strategic in your actions rather than just reacting to changes in the business climate. You can schedule in to cover for the key dates in your calendar across all media platforms. Within your marketing plan you will ensure you cover all your marketing channels available, including email marketing, website, blogs, social media and printed marketing. There may be aspects you haven’t explored in the past such as CRM systems (Customer Relations Management) and PR (Public Relations).

It makes much more sense to be a head of the game and know you’ve got all your bases covered rather than having to play catch up and potentially miss out on some great advertising opportunities.

Where do I start with a marketing plan?

• SWOT Identify your business’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.
• Decide what you want to achieve Your marketing plan should be linked to your business goals, both short and long term. Be conscious of your business objectives and have them in mind when writing your marketing plan.
• Know your customers To gain an insight into your business and where it stands try asking your customers their opinions. If your business is new use other research (online insights, conferences, networking etc) to establish how you need to ensure it will be a success.
• Research your competitors This step is vital if you are a new business. You need to know what your competitors offer that you don’t, and try and decipher how they might react to your business so you can plan for any potential aggressive tactics (large discounts etc..).
• Strategies You need to decide how you will achieve your marketing plan. Looking at your customers and target customers you will need to determine how you can best reach them, ie email, print, advertising etc. 
• Budget It’s important to have a budget set aside for your marketing and you need to stick to it.

If a 12 month plan seems like too much to tackle because you are simply too busy running your business then you can try a 3 month plan. Here you would focus on short term goals and then branch out from this once you’ve completed it. 

How do I make sure my marketing plan will work?

• Stick to it! There is no point spending time writing a marketing plan and then ignoring it. (time is money remember!). It will only work if you follow it.
• Make it achievable Sounds obvious but it can be so tempting to have a dream plan rather than one you can actually achieve. Keep short term and long term goals in mind.
• Get outside help! Too busy? Too overwhelmed? No problem, utilise a marketing expert and get your marketing plan up and running in no time! 

Need help? We are happy to point you in the right direction, talk through and ideas you might have or work with you to develop your marketing plan. Contact Creative Remedy.