Marketing Plans
Although there are many components to building and growing a successful business, effective targeted marketing is always at or near the top of the list. The most successful businesses understand who represents good customers, bad customers, and mediocre customers. They know more about their competitors than their competitors know about themselves. They also never stop gathering information that will help them succeed in the marketplace. They use this information to reach new customers, retain existing customers, and grow their overall customer base.
We can help your company with the research, planning and execution you need to move your company to the next level and beyond.
What does a marketing plan do?
A complete marketing plan addresses three basic questions: where are you now, where do you want to be in the future, and how will you get there. It covers both marketing strategies and tactics. An effective marketing plan is only useful if it is realistic, so it should also include details such as budgets, timetables, metrics, campaigns, and the resources needed to fulfill your newly determined marketing strategy.
Every business needs a strategic marketing plan. Running your business without a sound marketing plan is like driving through a strange neighborhood without a map, a compass, or directions. You'll waste a lot of fuel in the process, and probably run out of gas before you ever reach your destination. Our marketing planning process is structured. We gather all the information we need to make sound recommendations, and then work closely with you to devise a realistic, actionable plan that precisely fits your business. We are flexible so if market conditions change or are far different than we expected, we can adapt and change direction quickly. Our market research capabilities allow us to uncover emerging trends and provide recommendations that take advantage of these newly available market opportunities.
Our planning process for marketing consists of the following steps:
Insightful Market Research
· Assess markets and current market positions
· Identify customer needs and determine which
market segments provide attractive profit potential
· Identify trends in the external environment that
could affect business performance
· Develop a thorough understanding of competitors.
This includes a comprehensive review of your competitors’
marketing strategies, sales approaches, and customer segments
· Determine your company's positioning relative to that
of key competitors and benchmark against best-in-class companies
Effective Marketing Strategies
Once the knowledge base is in place, we'll work with you to develop a marketing strategy that differentiates your business from your competitors. At this stage, we will:
· Synthesize and analyze findings
· Differentiate your company from competitors in
ways that are meaningful to customers
· Determine your target markets through data mining
· Define (or refine) your company’s value proposition
· Align your organization to close performance gaps
(deficiencies, if any) and deliver the value you promise
Once the marketing strategy is in place, we'll build this into a detailed plan
for executing the strategy.
This includes plans for marketing channel selection, customer segmentation, product/service mix, price, promotion, processes, and customer service.
Precision Marketing Execution
Then, we'll help you execute by translating your marketing plan into action through all aspects of the marketing mix:
· Sales force planning and management
· Direct marketing
· Pricing
· Advertising and promotions
· Public relations initiatives
· Sales support materials
· Event planning
Finally, to be successful in the long run, you need to establish metrics in order to track results and continually refine the approach. These can be as simple as one or two Excel spreadsheets, or as elaborate as a complete executive marketing dashboard.
The above steps can be tailored to your specific needs. Generally the larger the business, the more involved the marketing plan. But even if your company is small or in the earliest stages of development, a targeted and actionable marketing plan will help you increase your top and bottom lines.