Home >> Press Area >> Marketing Tips December
Everything Should Start with a Plan
By John Joyce, President
Red, Incorporated
Strategic Marketing and Design
The old saying, “Rome wasn’t built in a day,” has been used so often that it’s message is taken for granted these days. However, there’s a hidden message in that phrase that has a great deal of pertinence to business and marketing.
“Rome wasn’t built without a
plan!”
If the standard operating procedure for architects and builders includes a plan, then marketing should follow the same path.
If you haven’t already done so, one of your New Year’s resolutions should be to develop a marketing plan for 2005 that capitalizes on your strengths and opportunities. Your marketing plan should take into account factors such as your weaknesses (and possible remedies), external threats (competition, economic factors, etc.), your marketing mix strategy (products/services, promotional goals, pricing strategy, and distribution decisions), media strategy, sales and expense budgets, and target market analysis (know your customers).
Your plan should have these basic elements:
- Statement of purpose – this essentially is a “mission statement” but more to-the-point than most of them.
- Objectives – Be very specific in your goals.
- Strategies and tactics – These should be aligned so that they address each objective. Then develop specific tactics to fulfill the objectives.
- Key Messages – In one or two bullet points, you should be able to verbalize what it is that you want to “say” or communicate to every stakeholder in the process.
As in all things, keep the plan short and simple. This is really an outline that should reflect your business objectives and actually “mirror” that plan.
Don’t be afraid to tackle this alone when you have some time to think – uninterrupted – during the holidays. But if you need assistance, there are many resources available to you – especially via the Internet – but one of the places where you should begin your search is the U.S. Small Business Administration’s site. There is a great deal of information – free – and downloadable
http://www.sba.gov.
