Steps for Creating a Creative Marketing Plan

“A goal without a plan is just a wish”. Perhaps these words weren’t meant for a marketer. But when you consider today’s tough market scenario, nothing can be more relevant. For any business, the efficiency of their marketing strategy is as essential as the quality of their products and services, right? But is that possible without a clear marketing plan in mind? Probably not!

A solid marketing plan is key to a successful business. It provides a direction to your teams’ efforts, goals, and growth. And so, if you haven’t focused on developing a marketing plan for your business before, there is no better time than now.

Not sure where to start? Here are the steps to create a robust plan for your next big marketing campaign.

1. Define Your Business

To write a successful marketing plan, begin with defining the workings and goals of your business. Believe it or not, your audience will be more interested in your product when they understand your business better. What is so unique about the business that sets you apart from the competitors? What values drive your organization? What is your mission? Working on the ins and outs of your company will help you market your business effectively to the audience.

2. Establish Your Marketing Goals

Before embarking on your marketing journey, define your goals. Your goals can be short-term or long-term. Having realistic goals will help you in determining whether or not your marketing efforts are effective. Avoid including vague goals in your plan. Rather, identify the KPIs you want to target and by how much.

As a rule of thumb, your goals should be SMART – Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timely. For instance, your goals could be like these:

-        Increase retention rate by 10% in a year

-        Get 50 new website visitors per month

-        Improve customer acquisition rate by 5%

The key is to be as specific as possible where your goals set you on a direct path to business growth.

3. Outline Your Buyer Persona

What is the aim of a creative marketing plan if you do not know who do you want to reach? Start by asking yourself: Who is your ideal audience? What are their needs? How does your business solve its problems? You might cater to a specific location, or you might have more than one kind of customer. When you know who you are talking to, you are in a better position to create personalized marketing strategies.

To create buyer personas for your marketing plan, start collecting information like-

-        Age

-        Location

-        Income

-        Goals

-        Interests

-        Pain Points

-        Motivators

Take your time in establishing the demographics, lifestyle, requirements, brand perceptions, etc., of your audience. This allows you to appeal to specific needs accurately.

4. Analyze Your Competition

Yes, your marketing plan defines your brand and its goals. But what about the market competition? Chances are, your target audience already has several options available to solve their pain points. And then, learning about your competition can help you take lead. What are their strengths and weaknesses? What is their marketing strategy? What is their market share? What are the gaps that you might fill?

Take a deeper dive into your competitors’ positioning, offerings, value, pricing, etc. to create a solid marketing plan for your business.

5. Set a Budget

Next on the checklist is to refine your marketing budget. While you need the perfect marketing strategy, you must also not lose sight of the financial component. Before implementing your plan, know how much you can spend. Allocate your finances to different channels you want to use. When you have a set budget to work with, it will help you create a more successful marketing plan.

6. Create a Marketing Strategy

Finally, it is time to lay down your marketing strategy. Here, include one or more actionable ways in which you propose to achieve your objectives. Get working on the following-

-        What strategy do you want to implement?

-        How do you want to do it?

-        What channels do you wish to use?

Your marketing plan may have several strategies. You can break down your strategies into separate stages and tasks for easy management.

 Final Thoughts

All set to write your marketing plan? While following these steps can help you get started, this is still an ongoing process. Since there is no ‘one size fits all’ approach to this, mapping out a clear direction and goals will ensure you have a successful marketing plan at your disposal!