The first clue is that your marketing plan should be a working document…it isn’t something to be created once a year and then left in a desk drawer (safe in the knowledge that the job has been done).

Of all the plans I’ve seen and created, my top tips would be to:

1. Keep the plan short (if it’s too long people won’t use it)
2. Ensure it’s measurable (so you can prove your worth)
3. Base it on fact (marketing plans and strategies are no place for guesswork)

So what to include?

• Your goals – what are you trying to achieve (over what period)
• Your target customers (with as much detail as possible)
• Your results so far (what you’ve achieved in what time scale)
• Your marketing methods of choice (4-6 methods you think will bring you the best results)
• Your expected results (based on your conversion rates above)

You can then judge whether your plans will achieve the goals you set out at the start.  If not, it’s back to the drawing board.

Good luck!

It’s easy to be swept up in the news and general negativity of the economy and perhaps be tempted into thinking it’s too late to make a difference to your income for this year… but of course I’m bound to tell you that you’d be wrong.  There are at least a full 80 days left between now and Santa’s visit and they’re 80 days that definitely shouldn’t be wasted.

What top three things could you do (for free) every day to boost your profits pre-Christmas?

1. Call five existing customers and ensure they have everything they need for this quarter / ask whether they need any help with other items you provide
2. Call five past customers and remind them you exist.  Perhaps tell them about your autumn special offers and incentives
3. Make contact with five prospects and give them a special offer if they buy before Christmas

If you did this every day to Christmas, you’d make contact with 1200 people who already know, like and/or trust you – in other words, the people most likely to buy from you.

I’d love to hear your results – if you stick to the plan, I’m certain your tills will be ringing into the New Year.

Good luck!

It’s the time of year when we typically start thinking about our business plans for 2012.  We have a good 90 days left prior to the Christmas break, which is a great period of time to finish the year with a flourish and plan for growth in 2012.

And I hope we’ll be planning for growth in 2012, rather than survival.  It’s that mindset that will help us pull free from the recession.

So what can the history books teach us and what trends should we look out for?

I’ve always said that the 2007 Crash has more in common with the Great Depression of the 1930s than with subsequent recessions, so I’ve looked back at things that happened post-depression to get a feel for what some of the top trends could be in the next 6 months.

1. People are looking for escape, so books, games and films are all popular.  As are gambling and drugs / alcohol (sadly).  We want a few minutes to relax and forget our troubles and it’s likely this will continue through the winter months and at least into Spring 2012
2. Health became increasingly important after the Depression, perhaps because of the subsistence diets which led to increased cases of scurvy, rickets and TB.  I suspect the same will be the case next year, as people witness more friends becoming ill through stress and worry; meaning they start to look after themselves better
3. People are already questioning their beliefs in democracy and the use of endless credit, with some looking for a simpler life where they live within their means and have a smaller impact on the environment.  Whilst there will be smaller numbers who take this to extremes, their influence on society as a whole shouldn’t be overlooked
4. Allotments and home-grown produce have boomed this year and I suspect this will continue.  As people begin to learn about the seasons and the higher nutritional values (and taste) of local produce, this trend may well continue into supporting local growers and a resurgence of the local markets that had lost ground to the convenience of the supermarkets
5. Make-do and mend and second-hand markets are likely to continue to thrive, as people realise they don’t have to buy new to get a great product and an even better deal.  Charity shops now compete on our high streets and no longer give clothes and goods away cheaply.  They now offer value and a feel-good factor in that you can save money and donate to a good cause at the same time.

If you can tap into these trends in your business, there should be plenty of opportunities for you.

The one trend I’m hoping isn’t repeated based on the 1930′s history is the Second World War; the reamament for which pulled us out of the Great Depression.  Let’s hope the government come up with a better plan than that one!

Once you have your goals in place, and you’ve started your plan of action, you’ll soon be looking at marketing techniques you can employ this year.

This week is a series of the most cost-effective techniques we use with our consultancy customers – I hope you find them useful for you in achieving your goals in 2010.

They include:

• Customer Retention Tips
• Re-connecting with Prospects
• Maximising your Word of Mouth Marketing

You can achieve most of these without spending very much money – and your returns will be higher than many other forms of marketing.

The vast majority of companies we meet haven’t created a marketing plan or budget for the year.  Often, this results in reacting to offers of advertising and promotion, rather than knowing what works and where money (and time) is best spent.

In most cases, a one-off advert will not cover it’s costs.  And this is unfortunately what leads to most business owners being unhappy with marketing as a whole.  But, what they sometimes don’t realise is that there are many other marketing methods they can use; most of which are less expensive.  But they do require a bit more thought.

I’m afraid there is no magic marketing bullet that will bring you an inordinate amount of business overnight.  It’s a question of trying different methods and measuring your results.  But, we always recommend looking at the cheaper methods first – what difference could you make to your bottom line, for example, if you improved your customer retention by 10%?  Chances are that’s cheaper than looking for new customers.

By creating a plan, you can put some science to your marketing.  Henry Ford once famously said ‘I know 50% of my marketing spend is wasted – I just don’t know which 50%.’  My argument is that he should have known what was and wasn’t working – just by asking ‘How did you hear about us?’ you can reduce your spend in the areas that aren’t covering their costs and boost it in others.

One of our favourite customers did just this and re-allocated £5000 in advertising that wasn’t working, into a campaign that was generating results.  This year, his audience figures are up 18% on last year.  In the middle of a recession.

The Marketing Mix (or the 4 Ps) is one of the most important marketing models, as it helps you look at different aspects of your business and ensure each one is working well.

This is what the model looks like:

PRODUCT, naturally, concerns your products and / or services.  Do you provide the products people are looking for and what problems do they solve?

PRICE, concerns your pricing structure and what you sell your products and services for.  This area of the marketing mix is also concerned with ‘market price’ – are you cheaper than your competitors, or more expensive?  How do you know what the market is willing to pay for your product?  Can you be sure you aren’t under (or over-) charging?

PLACE, is about distribution – having your products and services available in the right place, so customers can find them.  This also concerns delivery, logistics and timing.  Distribution strategies are considered in this section – could you increase your customer base through the use of agents, wholesalers or ecommerce?

PROMOTION, is the area of marketing most people think about when they hear the word ‘marketing’.  (It’s also the reason why so many companies say they are ‘marketing’ companies, but they never actually get involved in product development, pricing structures or distribution strategies.)  Promotion is all about telling your customer you (and your product or service) exist and selling the benefits to encourage them to buy.  This area of marketing can be really creative, but it’s only of equal importance to the other three parts of the model.

Take a look at your business – and your marketing plan.  Do you have strategies to improve each area, or are you focused on the ‘pretty’ bits and avoiding the sharp (or financial) end of marketing.

Tomorrow we’ll cover another three P’s – a development of the marketing mix which is specifically relevant to organisations who sell services.