Running a profitable business is all about hustle. It’s about strategic marketing, which also happens to be where many business owners fall short. Often, marketing feels overwhelming, time-consuming, and like a total shot in the dark, but it doesn’t have to be! In fact, marketing should never be done without a specific marketing plan. Just what is a marketing plan? I’ll explain, and show you how to come up with one that will help you make marketing more fun and less “holy cow I don’t have time for this” (which usually means, “I don’t know where to start”)!
A marketing plan allows you intentionally target your ideal clients, by helping you discover opportunities for exposure, and allowing you to create a detailed plan for reaching new audiences.
While many business owners create business plans early in their journey, many fail to realize that creating a comprehensive marketing plan is equally important. A marketing plan outlines how you will attract and retain clients/customers. It’s a plan of action, the roadmap you follow to achieve success.
Follow these four (totally doable!) steps to creating your marketing plan:
1. Know who your ideal clients are.
Think about who it is you want to work with, or the types of people that would be a great fit for your products or services. Go over their age, gender, marital status, interests, income level, profession, social habits, spending habits, biggest struggles, passions, and their general lifestyle choices.
Doing this will make it easier to figure out where to market your products/services. You’ll better be able to communicate with your ideal audience, know what new products/services to create that your ideal audience would love, and sell more efficiently to the people you want to attract.
Be specific! These details will guide you as you continue creating your marketing plan.
2. Jot down your goals.
What do you want to achieve with your marketing efforts? Sales? A loyal following? Buzz? All of the above?
Get specific! How many sales? How will you know when you’ve cultivated a loyal following? What type of buzz do you want to generate, and what is the purpose of that buzz?
The most important thing to remember is to make your goals measurable, so that you’ll know when you achieve them! Broad goals when it comes to your marketing are a recipe for failure.
3. Decide what avenues to pursue.
Think about your ideal clients, and come up with a game plan for appealing to them. What social media platforms do they love? (Psst! Get an idea of what social media platforms would suit you best here!)
Make a networking plan. This is key! Social media is huge, no doubt. But there’s still something to be said for human contact. Think about what other business owners, or organizations, you can reach out to; that have audiences similar to your own. Are there trade shows, or conventions you would be wise to attend?
Will you use a newsletter?
This section of your plan is your game plan. It’s about how you’re going to attract your ideal clients/customers, so this is not the place to slack!
Figure out how to spread the word about your business, among people that would LOVE you. How can you get people at you child’s school, or church, your book club, your mom’s work…wherever…to know what you do, and be excited to tell everyone they know about you?
Develop a plan, and then make a schedule. If you decide to post to Facebook five times a day is going to be important, make a plan for that. Will you schedule all your posts Monday morning? Will you schedule the posts for the day on a day by day basis? What types of content will you post to ensure you’re connecting well with your ideal clients/customers?
Again, the more specific you get, the better. Think outside the box!
Marketing doesn’t end once you’ve sealed the deal. Client retention is a vital part of your marketing strategy! In my opinion, building a referral based business, filled with repeat clients, is the best business to have.
By providing your clients/customers with fantastic service at every turn, they will likely turn into your marketing squad, and they won’t even be on the payroll!
My first business was a photography business, and by the end of the first year, I barely had to market myself to attract new clients. I made it my mission to make my clients swoon and went above and beyond to ensure they would leave their session dying to tell their friends about me. It worked!
Personally, I’d rather reinvest my time and money into my existing clients, and let them bring me, new clients than spend my time and money chasing new clients!
What can you do to keep your clients coming back for more?
How can you wow them to ensure they’ll happily send referrals your way?
4. Create a budget.
You can find ways to market without spending a dime, but if you want to be successful, you’re going to need to invest in your marketing efforts.
Maybe it’s FB ads or dinners with business owners you’d like to connect with, or offering a bonus of some sort to new clients/customers.
Decide how much you’re able to spend each month, and stick to it! Figure out how much you can spend as a whole, and then break that up between each marketing avenue you’ve laid out.
My favorite way to get clear about your budget? Be honest about your current finances. Estimates that are primarily made up of estimates are garbage.
Make your plan, stick to it, and reevaluate often. You can always create a new budget, so don’t make the mistake of basing your budget around your future goals. Use your current numbers, and be honest with yourself about where you’re at financially. Not sure how to calculate how much you should be charging? I’ve got you covered here!
At the end of the day, your ability to market your services or products effectively is what will dictate your level of success. Plenty of people sell junk, but are expert marketing moguls, just as plenty of business owners with fantastic products and services close their doors because they just can’t figure out how to market themselves.
Create a plan, stick to it, and ask for help! If you are stuck and choose not to turn to experts to help you turn things around, you’re doing your business a grave disservice! The only dumb questions are the ones that go unasked.
How would you rate your marketing game? What areas do you need to improve? Leave a comment or head here to shoot me an email. I’m here for you!
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