|
|
The World's Simplest Marketing Plan
Marketing
After my comments last week... What Marketing Plan? Budget, what budget?...it was déjà vu for me when I read a blog post from Rich Schefren titled “The Single Biggest Marketing Mistake Small Businesses Are Making Today”
Rich goes on to answer the question by quoting Jay Conrad Levinson (author of the multi-million best-seller “Guerilla Marketing”)... “The Number 1 marketing mistake small businesses make is NOT creating a simple marketing plan… and failing to COMMIT to their plan.”
Jay has a brilliant quick and easy way to simplify your marketing plan process called the 7 Sentence Simple Marketing Plan. I think that it is superb in its simplicity... just write down the answers to these questions:
1) What is the purpose of your marketing? (What action do you want them to take?)
2) What is the main competitive advantage you stress to achieve that action/purpose? (What main benefit do you offer that your competitors do not?)
3) Who is your target audience?
4) Which marketing “weapons” will you use to achieve that action/purpose? (Expressed as a list.)
5) For your market niche, what do you stand for?
6) What is your identity, your personality?
7) What is your marketing budget? (as a percentage of your projected gross sales)
And there you have it... the basics of a winning marketing plan.
However, I cannot resist adding a question number 8, “What is your customer looking for?” and a question number 9, “How are you going to measure your results?”
Rich sums up his post beautifully with this comment:
“Even the most mediocre marketing WITH commitment will always outperform brilliant marketing WITHOUT commitment”
Now... commit to your Marketing with a Plan,
Budget and Calendar. It’s Essential!
Jay Conrad Levinson is a special guest on this week’s League Of Extraordinary Minds panel…
keep your powder dry,
Warren Cottis
|