A marketing action plan is the most vital part of the planning process in your business. It details what strategies you will use, when you will do them, and what you hope to achieve. Setting goals and a timeframe is also crucial. Below are 5 tips to help you create your marketing action plan.
1) What are you really selling? You need to work out what your benefits are, rather than your features. For example, if you are selling natural baby products, then your feature may be ‘all natural products’. But what does this mean for me? It means that I won’t have a chemical baby or bubs will be less prone to health risks etc.
2) Define your own uniqueness. What is your USP? And try not to use cop out’s like ‘top service’ or ‘money back guarantee’. Find something that is unique about you and your business, that no-one else can replicate. Then use it. Use it all over your website, your emails, any interaction you have with your clients and prospective clients.
3) So who might your target market be? Take some time to really think about this. Following on from the baby example above, you may think that your target market is mothers. And in a way, it is. But if you delve deeper into this, and ‘segment’ your market further, you will find that your marketing can be much more targeted. For example, if your products are priced at the higher end of the market, then you need mothers with a certain amount of disposable income. You won’t want to be attracting the bargain hunters, and this means you can cross out coupons as a method of marketing.
4) Which strategy is for you? This is where many people fail to do some real research. The average business owner believes that the best way to market their business is via advertising. Wrong. Advertising may work for some businesses, but not for others. So how do you know which strategies work best for you?
Think about your target market. Your ideal customer. How are they feeling? What emotions do they go through before purchasing your product? Appeal to these emotions. Put yourself in their shoes and ask yourself how would they go about purchasing my product. For example, many products needs to be felt and touched before purchasing. Use strategies that incorporate this emotion.
5) Track and report on how all strategies are doing. Always track your marketing. Ensure you keep an eye on it and take out what isn’t working, and increase those strategies that are working.
By now, you will be noticing that creating your own action plan takes time and effort to get it right. If you are unsure of what strategies will work best for your business, contact Emma at Diva Promotions and apply for your very own, personalised marketing action plan – http://www.divapromotions.com.au/actionplan or get your free list building guide – http://www.divapromotions.com.au
