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Marketing Planning: Teamwork To Make The Phone Ring
 An effective marketing plan
outlines what you and your people will do, and what Lawrimore will do as an
agency, for effective teamwork to make new customers pick up the phone and
call you.The best marketing plan
is totally integrated into the overall strategy of the company as a whole.
This way marketing is viewed as a valuable way to achieve company goals and
objectives, not as an expense that has to compete with new computers and
office equipment. That's why we recommend Strategic Analysis as the best way
to start, but we can also modify that with a Market Analysis to concentrate
entirely on marketing-related issues.
We also strongly recommend some kind of
market research to determine objectively what customers want from the
company, how they perceive you now, and what types of communication will
actually reach them and get read, seen or heard. Assuming you've done that,
here are the main elements of an effective marketing plan:
(1) Goals and objectives - "Begin with
the end in mind," as the old saying goes. Let's get clear what we're trying
to accomplish with the marketing effort, so we're all pulling in the same
direction. The best goals are SMART - Specific, Measurable, Achievable,
Realistic and Timed. Realistically, we do NOT have much control over what
will happen in the marketplace or what people who are not yet customers will
do. So marketing plans that forecast X% of increased sales are a shot in the
dark. In spite of that, goals are very valuable because they help everyone
involved focus on the desired outcome, constantly seek the best ways to
achieve those outcomes, and use their energies to make the outcomes
manifest. (Yeah there can be something mystical when this works.)
(2) Target markets - We need to be
clear about the characteristics of our customers and potential customers.
They can be defined with demographics, psychographics, SIC codes, NAICS
codes and other measurable methods. Preceding this phase with market
research can greatly help define target markets and their needs.
(3) Creative strategies - We need to
determine what creative messages we want to communicate, especially the
benefits our products or services provide, and the reasons why (facts and
features) those benefits are real. We need a Unique Selling Proposition (USP),
branding slogan or other concise phrase that packs our core creative message
into a few memorable words. ("GE: We bring good things to life.") The actual
creative details - headlines, text, visuals etc. - will be worked out later.
But core creative strategies should be worked out upfront.
(4) Media - These are all the forms of
communication we will use in our marketing program. Elsewhere on our site,
you can read more about advertising, public relations, publications and
graphic design, Internet websites and videos. The best marketing plans get
down to which newspapers, magazines, TV channels, direct mail etc. we are
going to use. This takes a lot of work but really makes a marketing plan
solid.
(5) Implementation - Key elements here
are timing (schedule), budget, priorities and responsibilities (who's going
to do what, within the company and the agency). Like goals and objectives
these details can't be ironclad, but writing them down assures agreement,
teamwork, and a higher probability that it will all be accomplished.
For more information on how marketing planning can help your business or
organization, or to schedule an appointment, please use our
online contact form
or call 704-332-4344. |
Branding, USP, SCA, Positioning, And Marketing Buzz
In the late 1970s, Al Ries and Jack Trout
published a book that had a permanent impact on marketing: "Positioning
- The Battle For Your Mind."
Positioning is based on the concept that we
all tend to perceive things and companies in the marketplace in terms of
hierarchies. Coke and Pepsi battle for the top rung of the dark cola
ladder. Avis and Hertz compete for the quality rental car top position.
And so on. The general rule is, "If you can't be first or second in a
category, invent a new category." That is still good advice.
A positioning statement then is a brief
sentence or phrase that creatively expresses a firm or brand's desired
position in the minds of customers..
This was followed by the concept of Unique
Selling Proposition or USP (also called Sustainable Competitive
Advantage or SCA). Here the idea is that you should present your
customers and prospects with a unique statement of why they should buy
from you instead of your competitors.
Today "branding" is the buzzword. It's
very similar to positioning and USP but goes a step further by emphasizing
that your brand name should stand for something, so that when consumers
think of a need like facial tissue, they associate it with your brand like
Kleenex. Branding also emphasizes connecting the brand name and statement
with a logo or other graphic identifier so every time consumers see the
logo, they think of the branding statement and its benefits. All this is great if you have a few
million to spend. The larger your market, the more money it takes to
communicate that positioning or branding statement over and over again so
people perceive and remember it.
But even for a small firm, branding and positioning are very
worthwhile. Instead of the whole country or world, your market may be your
community or just a small segment of it. So it is affordable to get your
message across to your customers and prospects. This is more a matter of
discipline and consistency than cost.
To discuss your interests in branding or
positioning, use our
online contact form or call Lawrimore at 704-332-4344. |
