A marketing plan is the roadmap that walks you through the formulation and implementation stages of your marketing strategy. Just like any plan, a marketing plan details a set of required actions that are in line with your long-term marketing objectives.
The advent and popularity of digital and online marketing methods mean that marketing has become considerably more complex over the last decade or so. For this reason, marketing plans, too, have turned more complicated – and important –for a business.
In this brief guide, we will discuss how to go about creating a marketing plan.
Marketing Plan 101: A detailed guide to create your marketing plan
1) Establish Your Goals:
Establishing firm and realistic goals is a good first step in creating a marketing plan. Your goals are what drive you forward. They are the road-signs that lead you to your desired destination. Without goals, no entrepreneur can expect to find any lasting success.
For a marketing plan, your goals should be specific to marketing. For one, you should consider your target revenue-to-cost ratio. You should at least have a revenue-to-cost ratio of 5:1, which will mean that, for every dollar that you spend on marketing, you earn five dollars in revenue. If you can bump it up to 10:1, you would be doing better than most businesses.
Other specific, quantitative marketing goals could include:
- Increasing market share by X percent
- Launching X new online courses within the next Y months
- Boosting social media engagement by X percent
- Add X people to your email subscriber list within the next Y months
2) Research:
Even though research is one of the least enjoyable parts of running a business, it is a must if you want to create a marketing plan that outdoes the competition and maximizes your reach.
As far as marketing is concerned, your research should be focused on your target audience and its demographics, internal obstacles, buyer personas, and the competition. These data points can help drive your marketing strategy in the right direction.
3) Describe Your Offerings:
A good marketing plan describes the company’s offerings in a way that makes them seem attractive and useful for the target market. This means focusing on the key features of your product and how they can make life easier for buyers. Also talk about how your product/service is better than any of the existing solutions to the same problem – this is referred to as the product USP (Unique Selling Point).
For instance, let us say that you have created a stock analysis app specifically for people who are looking for undervalued stocks but do not have the time to perform the detailed calculations required in this regard.
Mention all these details in your app description. Be specific about the benefits that a potential user can derive from your app.
You could even use case studies to drive the benefits home. For instance, talk about a person who used your app to improve their trading or investment returns.
4) Establish KPIs:
Your marketing KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) will help you determine the extent to which you are achieving your pre-established marketing goals. Basically, a KPI is your marketing goal translated into a quantitative, measurable metric.
Say one KPI is to increase your social media following by 30% in the next three months. Measure these KPIs by keeping track of your followers and using the data analytics provided by the platforms. This marketing planning can help you achieve or exceed the target, such as posting quality content, sharing the content across multiple platforms, and collaborating with influencers.
You can create similar KPIs for every aspect of your marketing strategy.
Final Word:
Without a marketing plan, it is tough to achieve long-term goals for your business, or else it can get messy, very quickly. Your marketing plan is a compass – it allows you to navigate with ease throughout any campaign put forward. Definitely, with agile process, you learn more as you go.
ChicagoTechSolution can guide you in creating the best marketing plan for your business. Schedule a call today on our website and get free consulting with experts.
