Many business owners start each year filled with enthusiasm about their goals and vision for their business but recent events have meant that for many priorities had to change. Now it is more about how to survive through this unprecedented time and deal with challenges on a daily basis. In a time of uncertainty trying to ensure the safety and wellbeing of your employees and customers has meant for many closing down operations for a period of time.
Whilst we can support you in any way we can at this time what we also want to start getting you to think about is post Covid-19 and beyond for your business. Planning for the future and understanding what steps you can take now to achieve those future business goals
The seven steps to include in a marketing strategy and plan
We by no means, want to make a marketing strategy and plan sound simple and easy to do; if it was easy then you wouldn’t need to put the time, effort and thought into it, which is exactly what a marketing strategy and plan requires.
But when you strip everything back, we want to highlight seven things that your marketing strategy and plan must always include:
Set clear objectives – what is going to help you achieve your goals? The setting of SMART objectives at this stage is critical.
Who are you targeting – understand your audience i.e. your customers, otherwise how can your marketing be effective?
Agree deadlines and ownership, and make sure they are feasible – clear timeframes will help you plan out activity, who is responsible for delivery and by when, no last-minute rushes!
Build sales forecasts – help you manage cash flow and effectively allocate the resources your business needs.
Set targets – how are you going to measure the performance of your marketing activity? Our mantra is measure, measure, measure. Always track performance, understand where targets v sales are; understand your Return on Investment.
Set a budget – understand what you should spend to achieve those goals.
Plan out your marketing activity – plan tactical activities that support the wider strategy. Identify and agree what campaigns to run and what channels you will use to support those campaigns.
Why marketing strategy and planning is more important than ever
One of our previous blog posts talked about the importance of not cutting your marketing budget. Uncertainty about the impact of Brexit, Covid-19, consumer spending habits and a declining economy are all most certainly to have a challenging impact on businesses. Now, more than ever is the time for your business to stand out against the competition and be successful. Marketing plays a strategic role in helping you achieve that.
Follow this link to take a look at why your business shouldn’t cut your marketing budget.
Get help with marketing strategy and planning
We work with businesses across many sectors on their marketing strategies and business plans. With a track record in helping businesses achieve their targets through joined up marketing get in touch and let them help your business with a marketing strategy and plan that will help your business succeed in 2018 and beyond.
Plus, with the full support of our marketing team, we can ensure that these marketing solutions are effectively delivered through ongoing tactical marketing activities in a model that is cost effective and flexible for you.
Contact our team on 01285 50 55 50, or fill out our contact form.
