Crafting a Marketing Plan: Best Practices
Marketing Plan CategoryEvery business should have a marketing plan but many companies actually have a marketing wish list.
Without accurate and attainable revenue numbers and an actionable plan to reach your marketing goals, your multi-paged plan is more of a suggestion than a road map.
Invite Everyone on the Band Wagon
The creation of your business’ marketing plan should be a joint effort. Everyone in the company is affected by your marketing plan and sales goals. Be sure to invite heads of each department—sales, finance, marketing, purchasing, operations, etc.—to your marketing planning meeting(s).
More cooks in the kitchen results in:
- Wider view of the market place and its challenges
- New brainstorming
- Accurate assessment of revenue goals
- Buy-in for the finalized marketing plan
Proactively Ask Questions
Let everyone predict the future by investigating all the “what-if” scenarios. Invite all your participants to consider every detour, every tangent and every alternative situation. Consider both the scary, worst case scenarios and the mild speed bumps.
Then question how you would address each challenge. Your team should be able to brainstorm solutions and stop-gap measures. This imaginary problem and solution discourse robs the unknown of its power and allows your team to take control of the hazy future. You won’t be caught unaware and your marketing plan will be stronger for it.
Set the Bar
Level the playing field by adopting a minimum return on investment (ROI) for every marketing program. Pet projects, stale has-been initiatives and risky new ventures will be kept in check when they must prove their worth.
Keeping Track
Once the marketing initiatives are decided, the team is invigorated and the course is set, then the real work begins. Tracking is the proof of the pudding for your marketing plan.
By tracking successes and shortfalls on a daily or weekly basis, you will never be surprised by sales gaps or dips in revenue. If challenges arise, your team will have the tools and know-how to address them.
Download our free, step-by-step guide, Road Map to Revenue Success, to learn more about market planning. This free white paper delves deeper into the process of creating a detailed marketing plan.
