Written by Joan B. Marcus, President, Joan B. Marcus Communications LLC
Are you ready to grow your business in 2010? If you haven’t put together your marketing communications plan for the year, now is the time to do it to help ensure you reach your goals. Here are some tips to make the planning process easier and more rewarding.
•Think of your marketing communications plan as a road map. Before you go on a trip, you need to know your starting point and destination. You should plan for emergencies. A marketing communications plan serves the same purpose, guiding your marketing. Relate your plan to your business goals. Know what success looks like. Have a contingency plan in case of unforeseen circumstances.
•Before you plan for 2010, look at 2009. Every time you invest marketing dollars, you should evaluate how effective their use was. Before you plan for 2010, consider your marketing efforts for 2009. What worked? What didn’t work? How can you build on your successes?
•Support your business goals. Consider both your short-term and long-term business goals as you plan your marketing communications strategies. For instance, if your goal is to increase your customer base by 20 percent in 2010, your marketing must include strategies to get your message out to a larger audience. ;
•Focus on substance, not length. While an inch-thick plan looks impressive, a lean but well-thought out plan that you follow is better for your bottom line. Start with goals and strategies. For each strategy, determine tactics, your target audience, key messages, budget, timeline, the person responsible and evaluation techniques. Use a grid format to simplify your plan.
•Put your plan on paper. If you want to get more from your marketing dollars, commit your goals and strategies to paper. This simple technique helps you hold yourself accountable.
•Keep your message strong and consistent. Every business should have a strong message — a concise statement of 25 words or less that addresses your customers' pain points, explains your solution and differentiates you from your competition. Have one and use it in all of your marketing.
•Develop a balanced marketing communications portfolio. There are many different ways to gather information today — social media, websites, emails, blogs, newspapers, magazines, radio, television and direct mail. Consider how your target markets are most likely to get their information and plan your tactics accordingly.
•Do it! All the planning in the world won’t get a customer in your door. Now that you have a marketing communications plan, put it into effect!
