Tips for developing your marketing plan (part two)


Tips for Developing your Marketing Plan (Part 2)

In Part 2 of marketing planning, Mojo Marketing looks at the need to define your product or service, choosing the right communication channels and the importance of reviewing your plan regularly.

Do you really understand what you are marketing?
It may seem obvious, but having a clear understanding of your product benefits is essential for defining your brand. Creating a description of your products or services that are simple to understand can help you to narrow down the key messages that you need to communicate for each one. By doing this, it will assist you to better relate your product to your target audience as well as how your business differs from the competition.

The process in very simple terms makes it easy for your customer to understand what you can do for them. Interestingly enough, by sharing the information you can help your customer facing staff to understand what they are offering in terms of benefits. Each product or service is likely to have its own characteristics; so as a consequence, they’ll have their own tactical action points, relevant channels of communication and core message.

Which marketing initiative should you use?
Where possible try to get a second opinion on your ideas from a colleague or if you are a sole trader, a good business friend. It could be that you manage to generate numerous ideas, which would be great news, but it may be impractical to implement all of them. Therefore, you’ll need to consider what is achievable within your capacity and budget. I would also be tempted to stay away from putting all your efforts in to a single idea in case it doesn’t work. I would advise that you pick 3 or 4 ideas that you can practically deliver. Remember, that more often than not, to make an idea work you will need to promote it through a number of channels. For instance, if part of your marketing strategy is to have a strong on-line presence then having a great website alone will not necessarily result in generating the desired enquiries, unless that is, you let people know that it is there. This may require SEO (search engine optimisation) work, a social media campaign and/or e-marketing activities amongst others.

Should you stick to your plan?
Naturally, some ideas will work better than others, so keep the plan flexible. If something is not working that well, then do not be afraid to change things round or perhaps discard it all together. It is unlikely that you will come up with the perfect plan straight away, so by keeping things flexible you can make the necessary adjustments and perfect things as you go along. If you are too rigid in your tactics you will increase the chances of failure.

Whatever your tactics, it is important to revisit your plan regularly and not let it gather dust. Through regular assessment, you can keep your eye on the ball and continue to move your marketing and business forward.

Do you need assistance with creating or implementing your marketing plan? Contact Mojo Marketing.

Read Tips for Developing your Marketing Plan (Part 1).