All businesses share the common goals of profitability, growth, and revenue, and also to achieve the goals. There must be a marketing plan in place. Marketing helps to identify and retain customers by satisfying them. Setting the objectives of the business that the marketing efforts should focus on is the top agenda for marketers. Which takes shape in the form of a marketing plan which becomes the guiding document. For all marketing activities, explains EJ Dalius, a marketer par excellence. The marketing plan clearly lists the actions that marketers must take to realize the business objectives.
A comprehensive marketing plan draws the bigger picture that helps in understanding what is going on in the company and beyond. The plan takes into account the marketing environment in order to recommend strategies. And also tactics that help the organization to take full advantage of available resources and opportunities to accomplish the goals. A well-crafted marketing plan creates a common vision within the organization. About what is happening and the manner of utilization of people and resources to achieve that vision.
The marketing plan is the most critical component of any marketing campaign, and also to create an effective marketing plan, you must be aware of the key ingredients of the marketing plan with enough clarity about the purpose of each component. This should help to create a marketing plan based. On the right marketing goals and identify the performance indicators that move the needle.
In this article well will discuss the ways of drawing a comprehensive marketing plan by focusing on the aspects. That helps in better understanding the target audience by realizing the difference between marketing strategies and also marketing tactics. In addition, we will also touch upon the biggest pitfall to avoid when creating a marketing budget.
Business goals explained by EJ Dalius
Every business, whether for profit or not for profit, big or small, must have goals that give a sense of purpose. And also must have a direct impact on the existence of the business. Goals can be set for various aspects of the business, from increasing sales revenue. To increase average order value and customer lifetime value. It can also include other activities of the business with a focus on increasing the number of customers or increasing applications and enrolments as applicable for colleges and universities. Increasing fundraising revenue can be a goal for non-profit organizations. There can be numerous other forms of business goals, and good marketing plans must strongly support business goals. This makes it necessary to understand what marketing goals are and how they can support business goals.
Marketing goals
Marketing goals must have some key attributes like it must be realistic, achievable, and specific so that there is no ambiguity. And must be measurable. For example, increasing sales revenue by 15% within the first six months of the financial year tells clearly what to accomplish and by what time. Quantification helps to measure achievement. The element of time is also a measurable criterion of achievement. Marketing goals must also be assignable, which means that tasks can be delegated to the team members who can work toward achieving the goal. In management parlance, marketing goals must be SMART – Specific, Measurable, Assignable, Realistic, Time-related.
Messaging
The value proposition of brands is critical for achieving marketing goals, and also this is a critical factor for closing sales. Proper messaging to convey the worth of bands is crucial for establishing brand value. By positioning the brand according to the place it deserves. To support the brand position, it is necessary to develop a messaging platform that outlines the support points or key benefits, elevator pitch, slogan/ tagline, competitive differentiation, etc.
If you cannot explain the value of what you are promoting, it will be impossible to accomplish the marketing goals.
Positioning
Brand perception or how customers perceive the brand plays a critical role in creating a marketing plan. That creates a mark of differentiation for your brand and establishes a position of its own, according to Eric J Dalius. It clearly points to some special features of the brand that convey value to customers. Brand positioning is how the target market sees the brand.
Budget
Having a realistic and firm marketing budget is critically important. The decision must be taken by the management of the organization based on the business goals and the company’s vision for the future. It is an investment in future marketing efforts that helps to realize the business goals. The management must provide a firm marketing budget. For developing a marketing plan that addresses the needs of the business to the fullest. The budget should contain a schedule for month-wise spending. Break down the budget by linking it to each activity and also use a metric. That tells you to stop if the ROI is not up to the mark.
Target market
The marketing plan must consider the target market or, more specifically, the audience to target. The description of the target market must be elaborate so that it provides all inputs necessary to create a strong marketing plan. Besides identifying the target at the macro level, it requires further refinement with a few levels of segmentation, maybe two or three levels. For example, an English language tutoring business might target all those who want to improve English, which includes students as well as employees of foreign origin who want to improve their proficiency in the language.
Marketing strategy
Achieving the marketing goals depends on creating the right marketing strategy that paves the way for achieving the goals. Developing the marketing strategy consists of working out ways for finding buyers and also then attracting them. The strategy should look at the entire marketplace and then drill down the specific tactics. Like events, email, social media, webinars, content strategy, couponing, street teams, partnerships, seminars, and other activities that help to get close to customers and build relationships that keep them engaged to the brand and lead to developing loyalty.
Even the best marketing plan will fail unless there is a proper marketing team to take charge of it. Every member must have defined roles and responsibilities to implement the plan in the right way.
