| |
| |
|
Marketing Information |
|
|
|
The 5 Minute Marketing Plan
If I were to ask you right now, what marketing tactics have you used, umm, say in the last month, could you tell me? Chances are you probably could rattle them off quickly enough. Now, say if I asked you if you knew the results those tactics brought. Meaning do you know specifically what each tactic brought in as far as sales, new leads and/or new subscribers, could you tell me that? If you can, then fantastic!!! If you can't, then know that you aren't alone, many business owners fall into the trap of not planning and tracking. When you think about it though, the word "plan" seems so, daunting, doesn't it? I mean really, all you want to do is "get at it," right?? What if I gave you a little tool that would take about ten minutes to set up and it would give you a clear picture of where you are, what is working and what isn't? Doesn't seem so daunting now, huh?? Ok... hang with me for a bit and I will give you a tool that I use and many other successful marketers are using as well ;o) First of all, why do you need to set a plan of action in the first place? I think we all know "why" we should be doing it. In order to know what is working and what isn't. If you are paying for advertising and you aren't tracking the results, then how do you know if that investment is paying off? If you knew the answer to that, then you could decide a few things: 1. If it is working then of course you continue on with it. 2. If it isn't then you let it go and spend that money elsewhere. You should track EVERYTHING...yes even the free classified ads you place. People will dispute this with me and say "what for, it's free, if I get a hit, cool, it didn't cost me a thing!" Valid point...but consider this...what is YOUR time worth? Sure, it's free, but the time you take in submitting to the "free" stuff, takes you away from the other tasks that could be making you money. We call that "opportunity cost." Your time then is not FREE. If you have a "submitter" and it takes a few minutes, you just click and it runs then fine, you should try and always automate as much as possible. However, if you are posting on an individual basis...and it takes you an hour or more and you aren't getting anything out of it...is it really worth it??? Put a price on everything, even your time ;o) Ok, let's get to the Plan. This Plan can be used for each and every tactic that you put into place or you can use it as a General Plan as an overall game plan, the idea is to at least use it. --------Sidebar------ -------Start----- Mini Plan For: _____________________________ Dated: _________________ 1. Purpose (what is the purpose of your marketing, ie to add subscribers to my list) 2. Target Audience (the specific group that you are trying to capture, ie start up eBusiness owners, pet owners..etc). 3. What Tactic Are You Using (if it is a classifed in a newsletter, then be specific, provide a sample of the ad and what newsletters you have put this ad in). 4. What Is Your Budget I have this much time per week ___________ I have this much money to spend: $________ 5. What Is Your Schedule (break it down into steps of the things you need to have in place for this particular tactic) 6. Results (log to day your ad run or the day tactic was implemented from there track your results. Day 1 ad placed no hits, Day 2 received 2 hits). 7. Final Evaluation/Notes (once the particular campaign is over, then you look at the purpose, if it was to add subscribers, how many did you receive in the then and based on that was it worthwhile to spend the money you did. Also are there things you had to do during the process to adjust for and any other notes that you want to keep track of if you decide to use this down the road again) 8. Samples - I personally keep a folder that has all the advertising samples that I have used along with a results log (like the one in step 6). I keep a running log for each piece of marketing I use so that later on if I want to use the same piece again - then I can quickly look and see how succesful it was in other similar newsletters that I ran it in...saves me having to look through past plans to find the ad, keeps things all in one place. You can make this as easy or as elaborate as you wish, this is your plan and its purpose is to serve you. The important thing to understand is that you use it to track the successes of tactics so you know if it is worth it to you to use again. A mini-marketing plan like this keeps you organized and on track. You can tell very quickly which of your campaigns worked and from there determine if you want to re-use it again. Good luck! Denise Ryder is a Marketing Coach writing from her home office in Northern Ontario (Canada). Hey... are you a do-it yourself marketer? Are you struggling a little? Need just a little help??? Can you imagine how far your business could grow with a Marketing Coach in your pocket? Take a no cost Test Drive TODAY! http://www.profitspace.com/coach
MORE RESOURCES:
Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Overview on Qualitative Data Collection Techniques in International Marketing Research This article is meant to be a brief review and reminder of some valuable yet often bypassed techniques to collect data on international markets and consumers.When thinking of market research, surveys are most likely the first technique that comes to ones mind. How To Achieve Success With Your Own Money Making Newsletter Writing and publishing a successful newsletter is perhaps the most competitive of all the different areas of mail order and direct marketing. You can still publish newsletter through regular mail. Why Cutting Prices Is Like Cutting Your Own Throat Why cutting your prices is like cutting your own throat. It's the oldest sales tactic in the world? And one of the worst? Price cutting. Simplicity In Marketing In a world that is spinning out of control; with consumers being bombarded with hundreds of advertising messages per day in a variety of mediums, it is imperative to develop an understanding of the consumer's thinking to develop an edge in advertising.Consumer's get confused with excessive stimulus. Grow Your Business By Getting Your Customers Buying From You More Often - 35 Ideas 35 Ideas to Spark Your Creativity:There are 3 ways to grow any business. Just 3:- Get more customers- Get more from each sale- Sell to each customer more frequently. How Much Is Your Popcorn Worth? Powerful Lessons In Marketing & The Psychology Of Selling - Part 4 Let's continue to discuss the various marketing principles that are involved in "popcorn marketing":4. Engaging the "Senses" You may already know that people usually buy for 'emotional' reasons more than 'intellectual' reasons. Sell Big Ticket Items Now! - 1 Simple Step To Keep Your Fears From Holding YOU Back First, some background on today's topic. I've had a terrible week. Small Business Bonzai Marketing Do you own a small business? Do you wish to increase sales? Do you wish to draw more customers into your store or find more customers for your service business? You can do this for a relatively low cost by building as small sales team of high-energy people. Direct Sales marketing will help increase your business, future referrals and image in the community. Benefits of Developing & Maintaining a Database A database is more than a simple list of names and addresses. What turns a list into a database is the additional information, coupled with your ability to select names from or report on the list using any combination of data elements. Lessons Learned at the Harvard Business School "If God wanted to create a perfect punishment for a high achiever, then He would have that person manage a professional service firm," says Professor John Gabarro of the Harvard Business School.Gabarro is on the faculty of the Leading Professional Service Firms program, an intensive, one-week executive education program taught twice a year at the Harvard Business School. Loyalty Cards Systems - Beware, Some Should Be Avoided Recently, I discussed a loyalty card system with a vendor who was selling quite a number of his systems to restaurants. I was shocked to discover the lack of detailed information that this vendor catered for, and the opportunities the system he provided squandered. A Jack Of All Trades Is Often The Master of None You've heard variations of that saying your entire life. Consider: a marketer to all markets . Multicultural Marketing - Taking Care of Business At Hand Multicultural marketing mirrors the changed face of America and is getting the attention of small-business and other organizations looking for an edge in diverse ethnic markets. "Gone are the days when businesses succeed with a 'one size fits all' approach to marketing. Your REALTOR® Marketing Plan The steps to creating an effective marketing plan begin with identifying who you are going to be targeting, what you are going to spend, and how many sales you are going to receive as a result of your efforts. By identifying this information in the initial stages of your market plan development, you will significantly increase your return on investment and substantially increase your sales. The First Rule of CRM for Financial Services Things have to change. Cross selling is not going to happen simply by installing new CRM technology. Limited Time Only (Shh! Its A Secret) Under normal circumstances, you'd shout it from the rooftops. After all, when you have something urgent to say, you want others to know about it, right? But when it comes to "limited time only" offers, lately I've noticed a disturbing trend. How to Turn Your Promotional Products Expense Into a Profit Center If you use promotional products you probably already know the power of giving away freebies. You may use them to thank current customers, or to give incentives to potential customers. Your 30 Second Commercial This tip is so simple, that many people we've talked with never bother using it, but it is highly effective. Prepare a 30 second verbal commercial about what your business offers. Marketing Discipline and the Joy of Success Discipline Is Important.I recently read an article about why discipline is important to a marketer. Love My Dentist I love my dentist! When is the last time you could say that about yours?True, dentists do tend to get a bad rap (remember Steve Martin's sadistic character in the movie, Little Shop of Horrors?). But even real-life visits to the dentist aren't high on the list of relaxing things to do.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
