How to Map Out a Successful Marketing Plan

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Creating a marketing plan or strategy for your business might sound scary, but it’s important not to become overwhelmed when you first start. If you Google “small business marketing plans” you’ll get more than 77 million results with a huge variety of pointers about things to include. That’s a lot of advice to sort through. So, we’re going to cull it down to 3 simple questions to help you hit the ground running with your plan.

Where are we now?
Where do we want to be a year from now?
How do we plan to get there?
These questions may seem pretty simple, but the thought you put into them now will pay off throughout the year.

Question 1: Where are we now?

This seems like good section to skip to save time, but don’t! The answers you come up with here will lay the foundation for your plan. You should be able to write concise answers to these questions:

What kind of business are we in?
Retail store
Online
Service
What products or services do we provide?
What are our current sales, in both dollars and units (if applicable)?
Who are our current customers?
How did we get the customers we have?
What do our customers like about us?
Why do we lose customers?
Who are additional potential customers?
What are our prices, how did we arrive at them, and are they still taiwan whatsapp number database reasonable?
What are the major developments in my line of business?
Who are our competitors?
How do we stack up against our competitors?
Is our product/service better?
Do we provide greater value?
Do we have any differentiating factors?
Answering these questions will likely get you thinking of additional information relevant to your specific situation – include these answers as well!

Question 2: Where do we want to be a year from now?

Now that you know where you are, it’s time to decide where your company is going. This is a step that many people don’t put nearly enough thought into. Some want to dive right into marketing tactics, but if you don’t know what you’re aiming for, your marketing tactics will be scattershot at best.

You should set goals that are measurable and specific. “We want to increase our profitability by 10%” is a good goal. “Make more money” is not. “Win 5 new customers generating at least $1000 of revenue” is a good goal. “Get more customers” is not. You get the idea…

Make sure your goals are challenging, but attainable and identify potential obstacles that might prevent you from reaching your goals. For example, do you suddenly have five new competitors in your local market? Also look for opportunities you can take advantage of, like a cost decrease in your product line.

Many of your goals will be financial, but remember other aspects of your business that can differentiate you. Think about things like:

Customer satisfaction