Why not Develop a Marketing Plan for 2010?

Develop a what? A marketing plan.

But we only have 3 employees.

Whether we have annual gross revenue of 100 thousand or 100 million dollars a marketing plan can help us reach the customers that we want to reach.

Here are 3 simple reasons why:

1. A Marketing Plan Summarizes The Various Marketing Ideas We Have Thought Of

Compiling our ideas together in a document will make our ideas real.   Additionally, we are not taking any action yet, just compiling the marketing ideas, assigning a dollar cost for budget purposes, and a due date.   For an over simplified example:   Goal Task Gain 2 additional local customers Mail 100 postcards locally     Budget Due Date $25 February 1, 2010

2. Hang a Marketing Plan Summary over Our Desk

Reminders are great, especially a reminder to get moving on the tasks we outlined in our marketing plan.

So upon completion of our marketing plan, we can summarize our tasks, assign due dates and hang it over our desk (or just the tasks section or media plan section). If you are like me, move it once in a while so it does not blend in with the scenery.

Additionally, when a new idea occurs we can add it to the marketing plan.

3. A Marketing Plan Can Break Down Large Tasks into Smaller Less Scary Tasks

I remember a boss many years ago explaining that you eat an elephant one bite at a time. Our marketing plans can work similarly. Our marketing plan among other things hopefully breaks down those large tasks into smaller more manageable tasks.

For example, the post card idea mentioned earlier. The large task can be broken into at least 9 smaller tasks and can be completed in one day or over several days.

Mailing 100 Post cards to potential customers

Develop a catchy idea for our post card Sketch out the idea on paper and locate some image metaphors Develop the post card personally or by a designer Gather 100 leads in a spreadsheet (or export 100 leads from CRM software) Merge the leads into mailing labels Print the mailing labels Add the mailing labels to our postcards Add postage (online postage at USPS.com) Deliver to the local Post Office (http://www.usps.com/locator)

More information at the Small Business Administration – www.SBA.gov:

http://web.sba.gov/busplantemplate/MarketStrat.cfm

http://www.sbajumpstart.com/index.cfm?page=marketingplans.cfm

Please do not forget Internet Marketing in your Marketing plan and please think of us at the InternetBeacon.com for your Internet marketing needs.

Sean InternetBeacon.com Internet Marketing and SEO in Baltimore

Tags: Internet Marketing, marketing, Marketing Plan

This entry was posted on Monday, December 7th, 2009 at 8:37 am and is filed under Marketing Plan. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.