September Is No Time for Crash Diet Marketing
While your competitors were down the shore this summer feasting on slices of Manco & Manco and Johnson’s caramel popcorn, what does that mean for September? For many, it means eating a steady diet of pasty protein bars and kale salads after the summer’s over.
Marketing is not too different from end-of-summer-binges. Developing a good marketing plan does take some time and research, but it beats having feelings of regret (and tight waistbands) in September. Instead, planning ahead allows you to grab market share for the next quarter.
Often called the ‘unsexy side’ of marketing, a marketing plan is a strategic document. It is crafted after understanding your goals and your abilities to reach them. Rather than leaving things to chance and last-minute guessing, a marketing plan gives you a sense of direction and control over how to get there.
A plan helps to:
- Save time
- Save money
- Keep your project moving forward
- Allocate your resources
- Spell out your budget
- Identify the best tactics to use
- Spell out your key messages
- Get clear on your ideal audience
Marketing plans help you factor in the day-to-day process of marketing your business. It’s no longer something to be left to chance – or when you and your team have extra time. Once agreed upon, the plan spells out the execution of each tactic. It helps with lead generation, prioritizes goals, and sets the budget. It shows you the way.
Here are the important standards we use when working with clients to develop their marketing plans:
- Write it down. By putting it in writing it becomes a resource to rely on for achieving your goals
- Make it realistic and easy to understand
- Make it adaptable. Business ebbs and flows. The marketing plan should adhere to goals, but also be flexible.
- Combine short term and long term goals within the plan. It’s good to see the forest through the trees.
While some people will be watching the scale this fall, scaling the business with a good marketing plan sounds much more appetizing, wouldn’t you say? Reach out to Nancy Sipera to discuss a balanced plan that works.
