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Marketing is the backbone for success for every business. Survival and success depend on how much the marketing plan comes to fruition. Marketing gets your business known outside your walls.
Without a plan, there’s no direction for the company or its employees, decisions can be uninformed, opportunities can be missed, and threats can damage or destroy the business.
Let's have a small questionnaire here.
1. How has your business succeeded in marketing?
2. How do you find executing an activity without a plan?
3. Have you ever done an activity where there was no prior plan?
4. What was your experience like?
For proper execution of any single activity, having a plan is essential to have your activity come to accomplishment otherwise, without a plan, any activity would appear like it’s just random without a starting point. Customers don’t come your way because you have a beautiful name but rather what you offer.
To be in a position to do marketing appropriately, you need to conduct market research. This helps you to understand your target customers, what they want. This and so much more can be done in market research to help you make a marketing plan you base to do marketing for your company.
Marketing is the activities you do to attract customers and even retain them; however, what matters in this context is how you do it; of course, it has to be done because there must be a guiding plan called a marketing plan. Marketing is one of the biggest expenses and challenges for businesses is marketing. What is going to put you ahead and guide the prosperity of your business is a marketing plan.
What is a marketing plan?
A marketing plan is a report that clearly shows your marketing strategy, managing and optimizing your digital marketing strategy while defining the path for business development. This may be an annual plan, quarterly plan, monthly plan or a weekly plan. A marketing plan might have a few aspects, for example;
Business Marketing and advertising goals.
Business’s current marketing position.
The timeline of finishing up tasks.
Key performance indicators.
Target market and customer’s needs.
A well-defined marketing plan helps you keep focused on your business goals. Having your own marketing plan helps you think deeper to create an important marketing strategy that will last longer while supporting your business to stay on top. Much as it is possible to have a marketing plan broken down every week, an annual marketing plan aids you in setting your marketing on the right course to make your company’s business goals a reality. It is a high-level plan that creates the direction of your team’s campaigns, goals and growth. Without a marketing plan, things can become funny. They might become hard a little bit, especially when executing activities and achieving your set goals if you have not laid out a well-organized marketing plan.
What you need to include in a marketing plan;
1. Information about the business (an executive summary about the business)
This is literally about the business, where it is located, mission statement, vision, goals, values, company name, and so much more. So make it exciting and catchy.
2. Business initiatives
This carries the goals of each business function. This part specifically outlines objectives that are meant to be filled by each department. The goals for each function and how they should be achieved are always outlined here and measured.
3. Knowing your customer
This literally looks at knowing who your customer is, and this calls for market research to identify your target audience; their age, who they are, where they are, what they do and what they like.
4. Defining your marketing strategy
The marketing strategy is defined by the kind of products, services and goods you offer to your customers; this partly depends on the market research you make. Therefore, market research is what informs the strategy you are to deploy.
5. Knowing who your competitors are;
While doing competition analysis, this can be done during the market research to help you understand what your customers are doing, how are they doing it, how are their products performing, what is unique about them and what is outstanding about them. This will help you find out where there is a gap so that you can come in and occupy that gap and out-compete them if possible.
6. SWOT analysis
This involves understanding the strength, weaknesses, opportunities and also threats around your business. Studying weaknesses and threats around your business helps you know how to manage them if they come up. Likewise, knowing the strength and opportunities available for your business helps you know how to prepare enough to tap into those opportunities if there is any chance by case.
7. Budget for your activities
To align your marketing goals and achieve them, you need to allocate a budget for your marketing team to work with. This depends on your marketing strategy and the methods of marketing you intend to use.
8. Marketing channels
This entirely depends on the kind of marketing method you want to use; for example, if you choose to use inbound marketing, then you might have to concentrate more on social media, and if it's outbound marketing, then you might have to use things like billboard posts, televisions, radios and so much more.
9. Projection
This involves a financial estimation of how much will be spent and what will be earned in return.
Steps to create an elaborate marketing plan
1. Conduct a situation analysis
Before you put pen to paper to draft the marketing plan, you need to know where you stand. What are your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats? Conduct a basic SWOT analysis is the first step to creating a marketing plan. Then, under what other products have that yours doesn't, understand this competitive advantage and work to eliminate it and get you on top.
You need to understand the market. This will help you define the businesses in specific sectors, average numbers of employees, average earnings, average income per household and more. This valuable information highlights market values, market potential and opportunities. This enables you to understand where your business sits in its market sector and the market share available.
2. Discover your target market or audience
Knowing your target market and the audience is very key for your business. To know your business, you might need to have a buyer persona in place; this helps you know your target audience, what kind of things they like, where they are, and their preferences. Additionally, your buyer persona should include; demographic information about your supporters or purchasers. This information includes; age, gender, income, what they do and any other thing you would like to know about your customers. Finally, you can ask your audience what drives them and the problems your product or service can address concerning the above.
3. Set SMART goals
Setting goals in your marketing plan is important because they give you direction. These goals should be specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound.
For example, your goal could be to increase your Instagram followers by 15% in three months. Depending on your overall marketing goals, this should be relevant and attainable. Additionally, this goal is specific, measurable, and time-bound.
4. Analyze your tactics with a watchful on your competitors
It is next to impossible to operate without competition. After figuring out your goals, you have to determine what tactics will help you achieve your goals. You have to be watchful of what your competitors are doing so that you stay on top of your game and top of them. Make sure the tactics aren't exorbitant to stretch your budget.
5. Put up your marketing budget
When you are designing your marketing plan, your budget is essential.
How much do you plan to spend on marketing and promotion throughout the next year?
How much will the action items cost you?
Most importantly, where will this money come from?
Indicate the money for every other single activity and indicate where the finances will come from. Budgeting helps not to run short of funds since everything is done before time and gives you a chance to make informed decisions.
In conclusion, marketing is an activity that is essential for the survival of every other business that is involved in offering goods and services or products and to have your marketing plan ready. Here is why your startup needs - MonkeyPesa; From conducting market research to writing and executing your business plan, from determining the company name to registration, from business structure to legalities, sign up and follow MonkeyPesa for all your information.