You’ve Got a Plan- Right? How to Start Your Marketing Plan Today!
By Susan Payton If you’re like many people, the idea of planning anything may give you an ulcer. But what if by planning, you could save money and earn even more? A marketing plan does just that. By laying out exactly how you want to spend your marketing dollars for the next year, you will save money by not having costly last minute projects, and you can properly plan your promotion in order to generate more sales! Don’t wait until the new year to start planning your marketing activities for the next year. Now is as good a time as any! Why Bother? You may think you’ll just coast along and take marketing opportunities as they come. But if you’ve been doing this in the past, you probably see a lot of room for improvement. Like me, maybe you’ve come across a terrific opportunity that you just couldn’t afford to do, which means you probably lost some sales as a result. Marketing plans give you structure for your business year. They break down what your goals are and how you can achieve them. They give you a budget to work with so that you don’t get caught with empty pockets when a good opportunity appears. Sticking to the Plan Just like diets, marketing plans can be hard to stick to! But they’re not something you should write and shove in a drawer! Take a look at your plan monthly or quarterly to make sure you’re aligned with the plan. If not, don’t fret; just modify the plan to fit the way your business’ needs change. What Should I Include? Your marketing plan doesn’t need to be a formal 500 page document. It’s for you, so it can be informal and short. Make sure to include: -Goals for the year (hit certain number in sales, revenues, etc.) -How you will achieve your goals -Quantify the steps (how many networking events will you attend each month?) -Map out your steps on the calendar -Include budget for advertising, networking, anything that helps grow your business Now What? Execute! If you break your goals down into steps, it’s less daunting than looking at the big picture of, say, making $1,000,000 in revenues for the year. While implementing your plan of advertising, networking and promotion, check in quarterly to see if you’re on track to meet your goal of $1,000,000. If at the end of quarter one you’ve only made $50,000, consider making your marketing plan reflect a more realistic goal for your company. “Without a plan, there’s no attack. Without attack, no victory.” Curtis Armstrong If you’re like…every business, you want more customers and more sales. That’s not just going to happen. But with a well thought out marketing plan, you can grow your business and increase revenues. Don’t take executing the marketing plan completely on your shoulders. Working with experts in marketing will allow you to focus on what you do best - running your company. You and your marketing team should be partners, and should work together to go above and beyond what you thought your company was capable of! Susan Payton is Managing Partner of Egg Marketing & Public Relations, which provides small businesses with marketing consultation and corporate communications. She is also the author of the upcoming book, ‘101 Tips for Entrepreneurs.’ Susan is passionate about helping entrepreneurs have successful companies. To learn more about how Egg can help your business generate more revenue, visit http://www.eggmarketingpr.com or email Susan at smpayton@eggmarketingpr.com. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Susan_Payton http://EzineArticles.com/?Youve-Got-a-Plan–Right?-How-to-Start-Your-Marketing-Plan-Today!&id=477490 fake paycheck software fax payday loan no faxing payday loan payday loans cash advance houston tx big payday loans
