So last week’s blog referred to the importance of planning ahead and in keeping with that, I want to offer you a free Marketing Plan template and guide.
A marketing plan does not have to be complicated or overly in-depth to offer help. As you will see, the guide and worksheet that are in the download are straight-forward and basic. It does however allow you to plan ahead, ensure you do not forget pivotal times for you to advertise, and review your activities. It works on the assumption that you have an online presence, if you do not then I suggest it should be one of your business resolutions! This guides you through some basic steps in marketing but will enable you to compile an effective strategy for your business.
Just a few points to go along with the download:
- Setting your marketing budget is pivotal in the success of your activities. It allows you to really focus on the areas that you can afford and stops you from blowing alot of money on an ad you can not afford. It should also help you to get your marketing activities right in order to get the most out of your spend. Too often people throw out generic ads without proper thought and wonder why they don’t see a return.
- Seasonal offers are spoken about a few times. This will differ for each company depending on your product/service offering. It may be new car sales in January and June, it might be sale seasons and new stock arrivals for design/fashion/interiors company’s etc. Just work with your typical business schedule.
- POS (point of sale) materials are discussed for those that have a business premises for customers. Utilizing the space you have for cross-promotion or upselling is a must and the most cost effective advertising you can get.
- Contributing in some way to local festivals or groups can help boost tourism and local footfall. It benefits everyone and should be seen as part of your marketing strategy, if not part of your corporate responsibility.
- Be creative with seasonal marketing. You might not sell books and biros, but maybe you could offer a 30 minute Mom’s massage for a discounted price when the kids are back to school. Or a 2 for 1 on selected books for those staying at home on Valentine’s Night.
- Reviewing your activities is so important. Should you blindly continue without knowing if they are successful or not then you could be wasting money. On the other hand if you pull the plug on something too early you could overlook your best marketing medium.
- USP (unique selling point) is the one thing that makes you stand out from your competition. While it may be something that is very obvious to you, you need to make it glaringly obvious to customers too. Push it and don’t hold back. Also see if your customers have a different USP in their mind to you. Find out what you are known best for and use that to your advantage.
- When recording results it can at times be difficult to know exact figures. The obvious ones are print/radio ads. At a set cost you can record the customers that come in from that ad for a specific offer. Then its the cost of the ad divided by the revenue generated by that ad. For example, if you paid €100 for a print ad for a €10 offer on a particular unit and you sold 10 of those units, then you sold €100 worth of products/service. Therefore the ad actually cost you €1 per unit (€100/€100). Remember that some activities take time rather than money. This too needs to be regarded in the cost column of the worksheet as time efficiency is always important.
Now just click on the marketing plan download below and follow the above guidelines. A year view calendar is included, a guide to different tasks each month and then a worksheet for you to fill in. It’s a huge step in a very positive direction. If you have any queries, why not email me on cherrymarketingbandon@gmail.com.
Cherry Marketing Bandon 