By Nicole Martin
Pinpoint Marketing Consultancy Ltd
If you haven’t set any objectives for your company and your marketing activities, how can you decide at the end of the year if you have achieved what you set out to do? The best way to implement marketing successfully into your company is to create a marketing plan.
So, what is a marketing plan?
There are 7 stages to a comprehensive marketing plan:
- Objective Setting defining the business purpose setting objectives and goals assessing the market situation
- Defining the messaging messaging, branding and positioning
- Defining a strategy mission and vision
- Defining the target audience by demographics, behaviour and profiling
- Developing the tactics covering advertising, PR, personal selling, direct mail, online and sales promotion
- Implementing the plan suggested timelines and tips
- Measuring and evaluation tips on how to measure success
Example - using a locally based supplier and fitter of quality office furniture (known as “company A”):
Objective & Goal setting
The objective is to increase the number of Company A’s customers in the local area (in a 5 to 10 mile radius of High Wycombe) to more than 10% of the total customer base by January 2010.
Defining the Messaging
What is it we want the marketing activities to say about Company A to the customer/s?
What perception do we want to create and what message do we want to give across through the emails, website, PR, any advertising and so on?
The messaging needs to be defined and used in conjunction with the existing wording in the brochures and on the website and utilising the existing branding. Company A’s unique selling point, to be maximised, is the company is a furniture full service specialist and the level of customer service and detail given.
Defining a strategy considering any constraints – utilising the Promotions Mix
This relates to how the objective will be achievable in marketing terms. The strategy encompasses the 7 P’s e.g. the product, place, price, promotion, people, process and physical evidence.
- Product is the furniture itself
- Place is where the furniture will be fitted
- Price is the price of the furniture and of the full service including design concepts and fitting
- Promotion refers to how the furniture and fitting service will be advertised, sold and publicised
- People are those involved in the service happen e.g. the staff of Company A
- Process refers to how customers are sourced, marketed to and converted to sales and then to repeat/loyal customers
- Finally, Physical evidence refers to something to give to potential customers and companies proving the worth of the furniture, the service and so on. As we are selling part product and part service, this element is key. Examples are brochures, website and customer testimonials.
Defining the target audience
This step essentially focuses on who to target and with what message. This process involves breaking down the total potential market into smaller groupings, which determine the marketing mix used in the tactics.
Developing tactics
These are the day to day promotional activities used to deliver the marketing plan. The tactics are grouped into 6 key elements which each have their own uses but using them in conjunction with each other to support the messaging enhances the effect.
- Advertising
- Personal Selling
- Direct Mail/Email marketing
- Online marketing
- Sales promotion
- PR/publicity
Implementing the plan
This is the auctioning and carrying out of the strategy and tactics outlined above. Successful implementation depends on gaining approval of the plan and assigning people responsible for the execution of each step of the plan.
Measuring and evaluating afterwards
Evaluation is vital to measure and constantly review to minimise risk and failure in this ever changing industry. Evaluation is necessary, but control is more so as this ensures that the results and feedback from a plan get reported back to the appropriate people who are in a position to change things and to ensure the objectives are being met both now and in the future e.g. more events are taking place with the highest possible attendance. Company A would review the marketing plan monthly to ensure we remain focussed and on track.
