6 Questions to Answer for Your Marketing Plan
In order to get the most out of any marketing activity you implement, you need to be clear on 6 specific areas. By answering these questions, you'll ensure that you are focused and on-track with exactly what you want and need to accomplish in implementing a particular marketing tactic.
Let's take a look at each of these 6 questions:
1) Who is your audience or target?
What group of people is this marketing strategy aimed towards? Is it your main target group or a subset of them?
You need to be very clear about who this specific marketing strategy is targeted towards in order to ensure that the content, distribution and promotion of it are actually reaching the people you've intended it for!
2) What is your main objective?
Before you start to figure out and follow the steps required to implement this marketing tactic, you need to be very clear on your objective(s) for undertaking this.
It's perfectly okay to have one main objective and several smaller, complementary objectives. This makes sense as marketing strategies do not exist in a vacuum - they are all intertwined and work together. Just pick the objectives that are the most compelling reason right now for implementing this particular marketing tactic.
3) Is this part of another marketing tactic or strategy?
Many of your marketing tactics work in conjunction with each other. The ideal is to have everything work together and feed into each other to gain the most momentum and leverage with your marketing.
If this particular marketing tactic is part of another marketing strategy, then keep focused on that while creating your marketing plan. You want to make sure that everything you do is aimed at reaching all of your objectives - general and specific.
4) How much time is required, and how much time do you have, to implement this?
The time needed to create, produce, distribute and promote a marketing tactic is dependent on you and any other persons you use as a resource (i.e. copywriter, design company, Virtual Assistant, and so on).
There are many things that can impact how long it takes to get something done, such as:
* being a perfectionist
* procrastinating
* not planning ahead
* not having enough money allocated
* not giving people enough notice
* unrealistic deadlines
* not having the tools readily available
* emergencies and unplanned events
* personal commitments
Depending on what you've got going on (big promotion or launch, personal vacation or event, busy time of year, etc.) and how much of the work is dependent on other people, try to determine how long it will take to complete all the steps involved in getting your marketing tactic up and running.
5) How much is it going to cost and how much money do you have to spend on setting up this?
This is a hard question to answer as it depends on how much of the work you farm out to other people and your existing resources. Many marketing strategies can be done for not-too-much money.
Depending on where you are at in your business, you may already have some of the software and products needed to get this marketing tactic up and running, and therefore it won't be a new expense for you. If you have extra money you can hire outside help, but many of the steps and activities can be done relatively inexpensively by you.
6) Do you need this implemented by a specific date?
When you plot out due dates for your plan, start with any hard deadlines that you are working towards. This usually ties back into your objectives for the marketing strategy.
For example, do you want this tactic to be up and running a couple months before you have your big summer sales promotion? Or do you want to get in on a great Joint Venture opportunity and need to have this strategy in place before then?
Take the time to answer these 6 important questions before you even attempt to put together a marketing plan. This will ensure that the marketing strategies are aimed at the right people and are easily, quickly and affordably accomplished by you.
(ArticlesBase SC #690573)
Article Tags:
Marketing
,marketing plan
,marketing tips
,marketing tactics
,marketing systems
,Marketing Strategies
,marketing solutions
,Marketing Basics
,marketing Activity
Learn About Combining a Business Plan and A Marketing Plan
What's the difference between a business plan and a marketing plan? Tim Berry discusses how they fit together. (03:45)
Google Search Wiki and your Online Marketing Plans
Oscar Pico, Senior Natural Search Specialist, Google Search Wiki and effect on online marketing plans. (04:37)
Learn about Marketing Planning Errors
Prof. Malcolm McDonald on Marketing strategy. Brought to you by www.oxlearn.com (03:25)
How to Write a Marketing Plan
Learn how to Write a Marketing Plan in this easy to follow step by step tutorial. (01:35)
How to Market Books with Bookmarks
Book Marketing Plan. In this episode Dale Beaumont goes into a unique and low cost strategy for marketing your book that can be very effective. (08:26)
Learn to identify your core marketing strength and create a marketing action plan that encompasses your competencies, and you'll be well on your way to successfully and enjoyably marketing your small business.
Creating a marketing plan is great, but you MUST transfer the information in your plan to a marketing calendar. Without implementing a schedule, all the work you've done with your marketing plan could go to waste.
Tips for how businesses can generate leads, sales and new business opportunities through the application of internet marketing resources. Search engine marketing, search engine optimization and other internet resources can help budget crunched businesses generate new opportunities and are easy to implement.
Learn the 5 major steps involved in creating and promoting any marketing strategy or tactic.
Before you can even begin to put together a plan for marketing your business, you have to know the 3 main building blocks of any and all of your marketing activities.
Discover all the good reasons why no matter what your profession or business, you need a marketing plan!
The timing of your marketing is an important factor in how successful not only your plan is, but how effectively you implement your marketing plan. Learn how different marketing tactics have different timing needs.
Aarkstore announce a new report "Aurelian Oil & Gas PLC - Financial Analysis Review " through its vast collection of market reserach report.
Aarkstore announce a new report " First Calgary Petroleums Ltd. - Financial Analysis Review" through its vast collection of market reserach report.
Aarkstore announce a new report " Grand Gulf Energy Limited - Financial Analysis Review" through its vast collection of market reserach report.
Aarkstore announce a new report "Abenteuer Resources Corp. - Financial Analysis Review " through its vast collection of market reserach report.
Aarkstore announce a new report "Fertilizer Investment Research Report Proposal " through its vast collection of market reserach report.
Aarkstore announce a new report "Buffalo Resources Corp - Financial Analysis Review " through its vast collection of market reserach report.
South Africans are getting ready to host the world for a month of soccer celebrations, with a number of new iconic stadiums built to host the games.
Aarkstore announce a new report "Proposal for Dairy Investment Research Quarterly Report " through its vast collection of market reserach report.
A newsletter or ezine is one of the best marketing tactics you can do. Use these 5 tips to make sure you get the most out of your ezine or newsletter.
If you're feeling out-of-sorts with your marketing, discover some questions that will help you to evaluate what you're currently doing and give you some ideas about ways to get feeling excited again about your marketing.
A negative or fearful attitude towards our marketing can lead to inertia, inaction, or saying no to great opportunities. Learn some actions you can take to help you move more confidently forward and get a positive mindset about marketing.
To free up your time, have the lifestyle you want, work less hours and be highly profitable, you want to eventually have most of your income coming from passive sources. Learn what steps can you take to make this happen.
Your marketing plan needs to be based on your objectives or goals. Take the time to get really clear on what objectives you want your marketing plan to address and fix.
You must schedule a specific day into your calendar to spend time on activities that will grow, develop and enhance your business. If you don't spend your time on business growing/development days, you won't spend much time having profit-generating days!
Often it's things, events and people that direct your day - not you. Learn to be in the driver's seat of your business, control what you spend your time doing in the workday, then you'll really start to see results.
The timing of your marketing is an important factor in how successful not only your plan is, but how effectively you implement your marketing plan. Learn how different marketing tactics have different timing needs.
