Does My Business Need a Marketing Plan?

For many small business owners, the immediate issues of cash flow and daily operations come first and foremost.  This is quite logical, however it’s important to keep in mind that developing and following a concrete, long-term business plan is essential to success.  One important aspect of this plan should be marketing. 

Why develop a marketing plan? 

Marketing allows you to reach new customers, promote your business, and ultimately achieve growth.  Though it requires a financial investment (as well an investment of time) marketing can (and should) ultimately boost your bottom line.

Merely throwing money (or time) at the issue is not enough, however. Developing a plan is the most effective way to put your marketing dollars to work.  A carefully developed marketing plan will help you achieve the following: 

• Form a coherent strategy that reaches a broad yet relevant audience.
• Respond to unique situations.
• Decide upon an appropriate budget
• Establish tasks and timelines in order to promote accountability.
• Measure success and failure (and adjust your strategy accordingly)
• Develop a clear and original “brand” for your company. 

What should a marketing plan address? 

All marketing plans are different based upon the individual needs and goals of each company.  However, there are a few common characteristics shared by all well-developed plans. A good marketing plan should: 

• Consider your products and their place in the market: what niche do you fill?
• Identify your target audience (age, interests, income, etc.)
• Develop a strategy and decide upon tactics: in what ways can you advertise your business?  Newspapers, magazines, billboards, radio, television, direct marketing, and the internet are a few of the most common mediums.
• Set a budget: how much can you afford to spend on marketing?
• Set measurable goals--perhaps you’d like to increase online traffic, or raise brand awareness; or perhaps you’d prefer to measure success based on an increase in sales.  Whatever the case may be, set goals and measure your progress.

What about Internet Marketing? 

Internet marketing is a distinct form of marketing that is in many ways still developing.  However, in this day and age, it is indispensable.  As a bare minimum, all companies need to develop some form of online presence.  After all, 81% of all consumers search for information online before making purchases.

 It is highly recommendable that all small businesses have their own websites.  What’s more, you should be actively engaged in bringing traffic to that site.  There are a number of ways to do this--two of the most important ways are through paid search engine advertising, and through social media.

Social media marketing

Social media marketing is especially important to understand because it is unique, ubiquitous, and low cost.  Successful social media campaigns can work wonders for businesses both large and small. 

What is the most important factor in a social media campaign?  Content.  In social media marketing, it is critical to provide your audience (i.e. your fans and followers) with material that they enjoy.  This could be interesting blog posts, funny videos, useful how-to tutorials, inspirational photos, or any other form of internet media.  The more your audience enjoys your content the more attention they will pay to your social media pages, and the more they will share that content--thus growing your audience.  Social media attention can translate into increased brand awareness and loyalty, higher search engine rankings for your company’s website, and even direct online sales.

Because of the ever-increasing importance of social media marketing, many businesses now hire out social media managers or contract social media agencies.  Whether or not your business chooses to make this investment will depend on the budget and goals of your marketing strategy.