Happy October! I always love the fall season. October is Halloween. November is Thanksgiving and then December we celebrate Christmas. Even though we have 3 more months of this year and it seems like a long time before New Year’s Eve, it’s probably time to think about putting together your marketing plan and budgets for next year. Many marketing folks get a bit spooked and scratch their heads wondering what to do next year. Many companies just slap a new date on last year’s plan and call it a day. But, planning shouldn’t be difficult. Here are a few tips to help you get organized so you won’t get spooked.
Tip No. 1: Gather Your Data. Chances are there is an abundance of data within your company that will provide you information about your customer’s likes, dislikes, product preferences, geographic locations, and customer feedback. So, gather that data and sift through it. As a simple solution, just categorize and segment this data using an Excel spreadsheet. You don’t need sophisticated or expensive software. Once you sort the data, you’ll start to see patterns. Maybe certain geographic areas like your specialized products, or maybe some specific industries have had issues with your products. In other words, see what patterns emerge and then put together a plan to address those issues.
Tip No. 2: Do a Marketing Audit. Most companies require metrics for marketing promotions and programs. So, find out what worked this year or in the past. If something didn’t work, then analyze why. Did you do everything right but the execution was lame? Did you promote to the wrong audience? Did you promote features that aren’t important to that particular targeted audience? Did you advertise in the wrong journals? Did you try to reach your audience through the wrong channels? Consider the age of your audience. Did you try social media and your audience would prefer print advertising? Take a good hard look at the data and even poll some of your customers.
Tip No. 3: Be Goal-Oriented. Set some goals and objectives. Not only budgetary and revenue objectives but specific and measurable goals and objectives. After all, marketing is about targeting a specific group and providing a product to meet their needs. Or, creating a market for a specific product. So, this is where the analysis that you did in Tips 1 and 2 really work to your favor. You’ll know if you need to improve your products, create a new product, or continue exactly where you are. And, don’t forget the marketing not just about producing a brochure, an ad, or an online promotion. Marketing encompasses product development, market assessment, as well as the promotional aspect.
Tip No. 4: Be Realistic. Some of my clients get so excited after they’ve done the analysis portion of the equation, they want to do everything. Obviously, with tight budgets that would be impossible. So, you really need to hone those tactics that will give you the biggest bang for your buck, so to speak. It’s good to be optimistic, but you also need to be realistic. So, prioritize your marketing tactics.
Tip No. 5: Create an Outline: Before you start writing your marketing plan, set up a framework. Include such categories as:
- Macroenvironment – including demographic, economic, environmental, technological, political, cultural, competitive, etc.
- Marketing Strategy — have a company mission statement, goals and objectives
- Marketing Organization — look at your organization to determine if the right people have the authority to make decisions and look at the reporting structure. Do you need additional people, for example, to handle social media.
- Systems — Do you have the software or other systems in place to audit your marketing in real-time? Can your organize the data to see clear patterns?
- Marketing Function — Look at your pricing structure, distribution channels, and the advertising and sales promotion tactics.
Tip No. 6: Measure and Regroup. But most of all, put mechanisms in place to measure the success of your marketing programs as you go along. If something isn’t working, then regroup and take another direction depending upon the feedback you receive. Take a baseline measurement of customer satisfaction, for example, then measure again after the promotion, and measure again several months later, so you can see if there has been any change in the customer’s behavior.
Tip No. 7: Don’t be Overwhelmed. All of this sounds like a lot to do in just three months but don’t be overwhelmed. Take one step at a time and you’ll have a marketing plan that is easily executable.
So, utilize some of these simple tips and you’ll have a great marketing plan in 2011.
