Marketing plan 2021

You should start with a marketing plan.

A plan will help you to think everything through.

It will keep you focused on the important issues.

Here is a marketing plan checklist updated on 12th January 2021:

Current position

Where are we now?
Marketing culture? | Product or customer-focused? | Investment in marketing training?

Marketing strategy

Digital first?
Push vs Pull marketing
Knowledge sharing strategy
Key messages

Sales targets

Projected sales turnover
Monthly, quarterly, annual targets

Marketing timeline

How far are we planning ahead?
Timeline of key activities

Marketing budget

Minimal with an emphasis on marketing for free?
Modest promotional budget?
Percentage of projected sales?
(The latter tends to be a substantial figure)

Differentiation

Differentiation
Competitive analysis: who are we up against?
Competitive SWOT analysis
Standing out from the crowd

Positioning

Positioning strategy
(How is your enterprise positioned in relation to your competitors?)
Your USP (Unique Selling Proposition)
Pricing strategy

Customers

Customer research
Customer segmentation
(Groups of people with shared needs)
Customer service strategy
Customer retention strategy
New markets
CRM software
What is our offer?

Brand

What is the big idea behind our brand?
Values (your)
Visual brand identity i.e. logo, colours, font
Strapline (AKA Slogan)
Trademarks
Building your brand

Products / services

(Note how far down the list this appears)
Product / service categories
Individual products / services
New products / services
Features and benefits

Price

Pricing objectives
Pricing strategy
Pricing techniques

e-commerce

e-commerce enabled website?
Payment integrations
Ease of use

Place

Where will we market?
Locally, regionally, nationally, internationally?

Website

CMS (Content Management System): we understand how to use it?
Professional design?
Easy to read webcopy?
Fast loading speed?
Optimised for the search engines?
Up to date list of SEO keyword phrases?
Mobile friendly?
Website statistics

Promotion

How will we promote our products / services?
For example:
Website
Blogging
SEO. Here is an SEO Guide.
Email marketing
Social media, i.e. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn
(Some platforms are more suitable for consumer marketing, whilst others are better for B2B marketing)
Photography and images: up-to-date, professional, interesting?
PR
Events
Advertising
(There are 300+ promotional techniques to choose from)

Copywriting

Copywriting strategy?
(Writing is a strategic asset within a digital economy)
Who will be doing the writing?
Do you / your colleagues love to write?
Where will the ideas come from?
Case studies
Copywriting training?

Integration

To what extent is our marketing integrated?
(So that there is a consistent look and feel)

External help

For example:
Website development
Graphic design
Marketing consultant

Measurement

Marketing measurement
Promotional effectiveness
Sales enquiries
Sales
Turnover
Profit

Are plans a good idea?

Yes, because the planning process makes you think.

Startups should have a marketing plan.

So should charities, small businesses, professional service firms. government departments and large enterprises.

Creating a marketing plan will help you to succeed, generate more awareness and spend your money wisely.

Join The Marketing Compass for help and advice.

Ask Nigel Temple to help you with your marketing strategy and plan.

He has helped 3,000+ enterprises to sharpen their marketing thinking.

Call 01628 773128 or email: nigel@nigeltemple.com