Wrong strategies
You
Digital mistakes
Most of the mistakes fall into multiple categories.
There’s only one thing that I ask, that is, learn from these mistakes. The hope is that we begin to market differently. I’ve developed a way to do that called The Lean Marketing Plan. If you’d like to learn more, please go to my website, www.KenyonBlunt.com.
PART 1
ERRORS OF OMISSION
Mistake #1
No Written Marketing Plan
It’s unlikely that you started your business because you love marketing. Your passion is serving customers. If marketing isn’t what you like, here are six reasons why you should consider developing a marketing plan:
1 Marketing gives you leverage. Marketing can grow your business faster than anything else you do. Building a consistent funnel for sales is the key to business growth.
2 A plan forces you to think. The act of completing a plan forces you to formulate and articulate your thinking about customers, products, and the value you deliver.
3 You have measurable goals. CEO’s reason that if they just beat last year’s numbers, it’s okay. It’s not okay. Having tangible goals will help you increase performance.
4 You’ll allocate your money better. If you only spend money when it seems like a good idea, you’ll increase the chances of wasting it. Having a plan means that you’ll have something with which to judge new opportunities. Does it fit the marketing plan or not?
5 It helps you focus. Since you only have so many hours in the day, you need to prioritize those actions that have the highest likelihood of success.
6 Being proactive is better than being reactive. Many business owners have BODD “Business Owner Distraction Disorder.” Jumping from one fire to the next is a sure recipe for disaster. Having a written plan helps you anticipate your actions in advance and enact a more measured response.
Trying to create a marketing plan beyond 90 days is futile. Getting on a quarterly rhythm is the key to using it continually. A quarterly cadence gives you the flexibility to adjust your marketing activities based on what works and what doesn’t.
How to Develop a Marketing Plan
A small business marketing plan outlines how you’re going to accomplish your goals. If you’ve never put together a plan like this, it isn’t straightforward. It seems like every how-to book on marketing has a different take on the essential ingredients of a plan. But, no matter, your plan should be an easily understood document that provides direction for the next quarter or year.
I call my process, The Lean Marketing Plan. It’s 8-steps for developing a quarterly marketing plan.
Pre-planning
The first step in the planning process is to do some pre-work. Here are three activities I like to do before starting:
Preplanning. Every small business plan differs because the situation of the businesses is different. Before you start planning, determine which strategy is most appropriate for your company. Are you a stable business or just getting started? Whatever the situation, try to develop goals and tactics that are consistent for your stage of growth. Arm yourself with the company’s latest financial reports, a listing of products/services, a competitive analysis, and feedback from your employees. A SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) is also helpful.
Determining your budget. Having a budget lets you know which activities you can afford. See mistake #2 for more information on how to develop a budget. In addition to money, set a budget for how much time you can allocate to marketing.
Establishing a timeline. Most marketing experts recommend a planning horizon of one year. I like quarterly plans. In my opinion, things change too frequently for an annual plan to be effective. Whether you choose quarterly or annual planning, know that some course corrections will be required. Review your plans periodically and make the necessary revisions.
The Lean Marketing Process (8-steps)
The purpose of my Lean Marketing process is to present a new concept for planning. It’s a simple, two-page plan that business owners can use to plan their marketing efforts, allocate scarce dollars, and keep a consistent supply of leads coming into their businesses. The eight steps in the process are: 1) setting quarterly marketing goals, 2) creating your core customer, 3) developing a brand identity, 4) creating a value ladder, 5) determining your pricing strategy, 6) providing killer content, 7) optimizing your website, and 8) developing your quarterly marketing initiatives. These eight steps are all detailed in my eBook mentioned above.
Measure Results and Make Course Corrections
The last step in my process is to measure results and adjust the plan accordingly. Your priorities will shift during the year, which is another reason why quarterly planning makes more sense than annual planning. Additionally, you’ll want to make sure that you’re maximizing the investments of your time and money. I like to do this by setting up a regular cadence of meetings. There are three types of meetings I hold to create and monitor marketing plans:
Quarterly development meetings. These meetings are usually half-day or full-day sessions that review the progress of the last quarter’s initiatives and create a plan for the next quarter. It’s also a good idea to compare the marketing plan to the company’s annual or strategic plan and make sure it’s in alignment.
Monthly calibration meetings. Just like the name implies, these meetings review the quarter’s initiatives and make any changes necessary. Calibration meetings range from two to four hours in length.
Weekly tactical meetings. Tactical meetings are one hour or less in length and held on a Friday or Monday to review the marketing tactics for the coming week.
Planning is essential for small businesses. Create a blueprint, follow it, and make the necessary revisions. More importantly, always go back to your plan and make it a living document. Otherwise, it will just gather dust on your credenza.
Mistake #2
No Marketing Budget
Most small business owners won’t admit it; they don’t have a marketing budget. If pressed, they don’t have any budget. Furthermore, most small business CEO’s don’t look at what their competitors spend, what’s normal in their industry or any other rationale. A new 1survey from Clutch revealed that close to two-thirds of 61 percent of small businesses didn’t have an official budget of any kind.
Small business owners wing it. It’s a haphazard approach to marketing and one that leads to a lot of wasted money.
Why Budget?
Businesses of all sizes should create a budget if they don’t want to risk the future of their companies. Without a budget, you don’t have a measuring stick against which you can judge performance. A budget gives you a clear picture – you’re able to see how your actual results varied from the budget you established. More importantly, a budget allows you to make decisions so you can turn the ship around before it’s too late.
How to Budget?
The truth is, nobody knows what to spend on marketing because every business and industry is different. Most can’t agree on what expenses to include in a marketing budget. Should the website be part of marketing or separate? How about PR and promotion? This lack of definition shouldn’t discourage you. You still need to do it.
The most common method of developing a marketing budget is to base it on a percentage of revenue. It’s usually between 3-5 percent for small businesses.