When you create your marketing plan, your strategy should be aligned with your marketing goals. Here’s how to create a plan that succeeds at doing that.
The Bones of Your Marketing Plan
The following should be included in a marketing plan that pushes your business forward, reaches consumers along every step of their journey, and, ultimately, increases your revenue.
Your Business Goals
Your business plan should always come before your marketing plan so they can work hand-in-hand in realizing your goals. For instance, if one of your business goals is to increase engagement with customers, then part of your marketing plan can be coming up with initiatives to up the likes, comments, and shares on your social media posts.
Remember: any set of goals you make should be SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely).
A Snapshot of Your Target Audience
Before you start any campaign, it’s imperative to get to know your audience on a personal level. What are their needs, preferences, and behaviors? What is the target age range you’re trying to reach, and on what channels are they present? Why would someone choose your business over a competitor?
Knowing the answers to these questions helps you create the right message for your audience and what platforms to deliver that message on.
Your Budget
We all wish we had limitless resources but, unfortunately, that’s not possible. But it is possible to make the most of what you’re working with. Before you put pen to paper with your marketing plan, define an annual budget for the upcoming year. Outline what resources you’ll need and always leave room for unexpected costs.
A Mix of Marketing Channels
You know the phrase “never place all of your eggs in one basket”? Well, the same can be said for your marketing efforts. Diversifying your marketing efforts (using radio, social media marketing, email marketing, paid search, targeted online advertising, and content marketing) gives you a wide range of opportunities to reach your target audience.
Note: An email database is an extremely important and effective marketing channel, so every business should have a plan on how to build that database.
A Timeline
A good plan needs structure in the form of a timeline. A timeline will help keep your team on track and keep your goals realistic. You’ll know when to start your campaigns, how to stay on target, and you have a method to hold yourself and your team accountable.
A Way to Measure
Without measurements and analytics, you’d have no way to know how well each of your campaigns is performing. Define your KPIs for each campaign – look at the ROI of each channel, your website traffic, leads generated, and more, to see what’s doing well and what could use some improvement within the next quarter.
An Eye on Your Competitors
You should always have an eye on your competitors as you create your plan and as you move through the year. You can use what you like from their strategy and incorporate it into yours, and you can watch out for what they’re not so good at and make sure your team is extra talented in that sector.
Watching your competitors gives you the chance to adjust your plan in accordance to their campaigns and remain one step ahead.
A Brand Guide
You should know exactly what your brand is and what it stands for. To make sure it remains consistent, your brand guide should be placed in your annual plan.
Explain your messaging and how you want your audience to perceive your brand. Including the value that you offer customers in your marketing plan gives you the building blocks you need to form your best campaigns.
Roles and Responsibilities
Every team member should understand their role and its importance. There’s no better place to explain everyone’s place than in the marketing plan. Understanding everyone’s role ensures that the budget is spent wisely and everyone is held accountable for their unique tasks that relate to the campaign.
A Contingency Plan
It’s always possible that the unexpected is right around the corner and, while we can’t predict it, we can plan for it.
Your annual marketing plan should include a contingency plan as part of your strategy. Even under dire circumstances and unprecedented times, your business should remain flexible. The most flexible businesses are the ones that last!
Need Help With Your Plan?
We understand that trying to fit all of this into an annual plan can seem like a big undertaking, but don’t be overwhelmed. At Federated Media, we’re the experts in marketing and we can help you create an annual plan that makes sense for your business. Simply reach out to our team today to get started!
