There’s no shortage of marketing advice out there – it seems like everyone has a checklist, a template, or a foolproof strategy, but the problem is that so many businesses still end up with plans that look impressive but don’t actually deliver. That’s because most plans don’t start with the right foundations.
The truth is that a good marketing plan isn’t going to work if you’re just ticking boxes or chasing trends and there’s a lot more to it than that. With that in mind, keep reading to find out more.
Be Honest About Where You’re Starting
It’s tempting to start a marketing plan by listing everything you want to achieve, but if you don’t know your starting point, those goals won’t mean much. That’s why you need to take a close look at your current position and work out which channels are working for you, where you’re getting traffic or leads, what’s costing you money without delivering results, and so on. In the end, a little analysis goes a long way here.
If you don’t have this data to hand, make that the first part of your plan and gather insights, even if it’s just a simple review of sales sources, website analytics, and customer feedback. You can’t plan your route if you don’t know where you’re standing in the first place.
Pick A Few Clear Priorities
One of the biggest reasons plans fail is because they try to do everything at once – when everything’s a priority, nothing really gets done. So it’s wise to decide on a small handful of core objectives. Do you want to raise brand awareness? Generate more qualified leads? Retain existing customers? These goals are going to help shape the actions you take and stop you from spreading your time and budget too thin.
Once those priorities are set, every part of your plan should link back to them, and if an action doesn’t help achieve a priority, it’s probably not worth doing.
Build Around What You Do Best
It’s easy to get distracted by the latest platform or marketing trend, but chasing everything rarely works. Instead, focus on your strengths, and ask yourself (and others) if you’ve got a great product that sells when people see it in action. Once you know, you can build your plan around visual platforms or events. Do you have a loyal customer base? Get the answer to that, and you can use email marketing and referral programs.
This is also where outside expertise can be useful, and a content marketing agency can help you refine your strengths, fill gaps in your current approach, and create strategies that make the most of what you already do well.
Make It Practical
An impressive-sounding plan is pointless if you can’t actually follow it, so you’ll need to break your goals down into clear actions with owners and deadlines. A plan that says increase website traffic isn’t actionable, but a plan that says you should publish two optimised blog posts per month and promote them on LinkedIn absolutely is. It’s all about being specific and the reality is that practicality is what turns ideas into results.
