The secret to creating a fast and effective marketing plan is to break it down into bite size chunks by creating mini-marketing plans. Brief, action-oriented mini-plans in each of the areas of your marketing. Get out a blank sheet of paper. Write down the left side of the paper these categories of activities. Make sure you leave about 10 spaces between each one. Ready? Here goes… - Advertising Plan: Not every small business advertises but most should, so plan where you’re going to advertise and how much advertising you’ll be doing. - Promotional Event Plan: The promotional event plan includes different promotional activities such as, having sales if you’re a retailer, or sponsoring contests, awards, or events. - Customer Marketing Plan: A customer marketing plan helps you think about how you’re going to keep in touch with your customers and what types of targeted offers you’ll be making to them. - Joint Venture Marketing Plan: Your joint venture plan includes things you can do with other businesses to promote your business. For instance, you sell burial plans and team up with the VFW to market to their membership. That’s a joint venture. - Internet Marketing Plan: Every small business should be on the web and actively engaged in promoting their products and services on the web. - Publicity Marketing Plan: In this plan you’re going to write down the activities you’ll do to spread the word about you and your business through the media. This includes pitching stories to the press and writing press releases on a consistent basis. - Referral Marketing Plan: Every small business should have a referral marketing plan seeing as how it’s the most popular way for small businesses to get new customers. Your referral marketing plan will include specific referral programs that you plan to roll out this next year. Now, these aren’t the only mini-marketing plans you should be thinking about. Service providers will probably have a networking plan, public speaking marketing plan, or a volunteer charity or association involvement plan. The idea is to break down your overall marketing plan into bite sized mini-plans that help you to see clearly what you’re trying to accomplish. Your plan doesn’t have to be perfect, but it does need to motivate you to do something. After all, how good is a plan if you don’t put it to use. If you need help with any of the items above, give us a call at 406-203-4200 and talk to us about your marketing plan. We can help you get on the web, write press releases, plan an event, implement an advertising plan and more!
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