how to develop a marketing plan Archives

How to Get Your Marketing Plan Off the Ground?

October 24, 2014 by Debra Kasowski Leave a Comment

Many start ups entrepreneurs are unprepared for the trials and tribulations of being an entrepreneur. They try different approaches and different tactics that do not always side in their favor. They may have tried a brilliant idea or approach with all their energy and enthusiasm to only quit after the 2nd or 3rd attempt. They get discouraged and quit because people are not coming in droves to buy their products and services. Does this sound like someone you know?

Successful marketing is developed over time and consistent in its messaging efforts. The more and more people start seeing or hearing about you, the more clients you will have come your way. Your efforts will pay off and often come from places or people you may not expect.

It is easy to get caught in the idea of selling products and services and making money. What all businesses need is a solution for the need of the people.

People are the reason why people are in business. You need to build and nurture relationships over time. People need to get to know, like and trust you before they do business with you. I realize for some people, business is transactional but for the majority it is relational.

Business is about an experience that was created. Based on that experience, word of mouth marketing still remains the most powerful form of marketing out there. I would also say social media marketing is a form of word of mouth marketing.

There are 10 keystone questions you must answer when developing your marketing plan:

What is my Unique Selling Proposition (USP)?

What sets you apart from others doing the same thing you are?

Who is doing the same thing I am and how are they promoting their business?

Who is your target market?

What are their habits?

Where do they spend the most time?

What are their pain points (e.g. lack of time, money, childcare)?

How can you be the solution?

How much are you willing to spend – what is the budget?

What are the 3 marketing activities you can do that would make the greatest impact?

Take some time pondering and reviewing these questions. You want to get involved in marketing activities that you enjoy and feel good about because it will show up in the work that you do. Do not get discouraged; the universe or God rewards your efforts.

Remember successful marketing comes from consistent persistent action with a plan of action. It is important to sit down, review your day the night before, and review again in the morning.

A marketing plan can be overwhelming as you may have trouble thinking so far in advance. Make a plan for the next 90 days. It is doable and lots can change even in a month. What are 5 marketing strategies that you are going to do over the next 30 days? Keep in mind that simple consistent action reaps the greatest rewards. After 30 days, you can reflect and evaluate what worked and did not work. Decide what you have done well, what needs to stop, and what you need to start doing.

Rinse and repeat the process for the another 30 days. Watch what happens – people will start to inquire about your business and services. Don’t forget to start tracking what you are doing. How are people finding out about your business or services? Networking events. Track it. Cold calls to offices or people. Track it. Expenses. Track it. Each effort must be tracked. What gets tracked gets measure, what gets measured gets more clients, more money, and better opportunities. Are you all in?

What are 5 strategies you use to reach your audience with your message?

3 Reasons Why You Need to Have a Marketing Plan

October 20, 2014 by Debra Kasowski 2 Comments

I remember when I first heard people talking about a marketing funnel and filling your pipeline. It all sounded more like oil pipelines and striking it rich with oil that it did about marketing. I now think of the analogy more like striking it rich due to consistently delivering and serving my market.

“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.”
― Benjamin Franklin

Too many business owners are walking around without of plan of action. They are taking stabs in the dark by trying out random marketing tactics once or twice and abandoning them if they do not work. Even if your plan is on a napkin, it is still a plan!

“If you don’t know where you are going,
you’ll end up someplace else.”
― Yogi Berra

It is better to have a plan than no plan at all.

“A goal without a plan is just a wish.”
― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

You can always adjust as you go. After all, you are in charge!

There are 3 why you need to have a marketing plan:

FOCUS – A marketing plan captures what your thinking onto paper or in a document on your computer. It creates a vision for your business and growth. The plan offers big picture thinking as well as smaller more detailed planning. There is nothing stopping you from adding an event or workshop along the way to boost your revenue. Ultimately, the market plan helps you focus on what needs to get done to get the results you want.

DECISION MAKING – By writing out the plan, you can make better decisions and save a great deal of time, money, and resources. You will learn where to allocate your resources or delegate tasks to so that you can get the greatest return on your investment.

PROGRESS & ACCOUNTABILITY – One area that is often over looked in planning is the reflection of how far you have come from where you started. When developing your plan, it is important to build in benchmarks or milestones where you can measure your success and celebrate! These benchmarks or milestones can act as an accountability check or reminder of your goals and next steps. Each step along the way build momentum for the next.

Successful marketing NEEDS a plan and you need to consistently work the plan.

There are many ways to market your business! Start with focusing on 2-3 ways and get really great at them and then try something new! You will discover what works for you often through trial and error, however, you will never know if you are on the right track if you never measure the metrics of your efforts. What ways do you market your business?

Why You Need a Piece of the Marketing Pie?

July 17, 2012 by Debra Kasowski 5 Comments

Are you wanting to grow your business and taste how sweet success can be? You will definitely want to know how to learn about marketing pie! Marketing is an important part of your business operations. Your marketing strategy is the part of your business that attracts clients to you and your products and services – it is how they get to hear about you and get to know you. Marketing helps you build your list or database and then key in your follow-up.

The marketing pie is a tool that I use to help me focus on my business and plan for my day, month, and year. To help you understand the marketing pie, I want you to get a piece of paper and pen. Draw out a circle and draw a line through the middle horizontally and then vertically. Draw a few more lines dissecting the centre of the circle just like you would be slicing a pie. Let’s start with 8 slices. You can keep adding slices to the pie. Each slice of the pie is a marketing tool that you use to attract more customers by serving them with valuable content to boost their business’s bottom line.

Here are eight ways you can build your list and share your expertise with your potential customer:

Opt-In Box on your website offer a free report, ebook, teleclass, video series, or podcast. If you do not have an opt-in box, you must get one as soon as possible and offer the guests to your site something of value. A way in which they get to know you and what you do.
Ezine – An electronic newsletter keeps your clients and prospects in the know about what you are up to. They again have another way to get to know you and what you currently up to. You can share articles, blog posts, testimonials, and tips and techniques to help transform their businesses. If you do not know what one is or need some ideas about you should include, I invite you to sign up for mine. Ezines can be sent out every week, biweekly, or monthly. I find biweekly is the best way to stay top of mind.
Articles – You can create high value content for potential clients that has a bio that send them to your website to learn more.
Blog – You can blog and showcase your expertise. This a great way for people to learn about your business.
Video – Create videos that a less than 2 minutes offering 3-5 business tips related to what your offer your clients. This is a very powerful tool!
Social Media – Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn are the top venues for sharing yours events, articles, blogs, and other valuable content with others. Not only can people like or comment on your postings, they can share your posts with their followers.
Direct Mail – You can utilize postcard marketing to get the word out about your business and provide a free offering to a special report, ebook, or download.
Teleseminars – Offer a 30- 60 minute teleseminar teaching your clients and prospects about something that they can be doing in their business or their life. This a great way for them to also get to hear your voice and get to know you.

There are several more pieces to the marketing pie that can help build your list, expand your reach, and ultimately grow your business. I challenge you to utilize at least 3 of these marketing tools to launch your business to a whole new level. Learn one piece well before venture onto yoru next piece. Now what piece of the pie would you like? I hear they are pretty delicious!