Getting Your Marketing Plan Off The Ground

By Dan Sweeney

One of the basic tenets in running a successful business is to recognize your core competence – you do this by identifying key areas your company is exceptionally good at… you determine people strengths by clearly defining their skill sets … you delineate the services you perform well or the product capabilities the company possesses by analyzing features, functions and benefits to customers. Once you prioritize the company’s levels of expertise you can identify your competence. Then, and only then, can you can develop a sound marketing strategy that allows you to tell your company story loudly and clearly.  

It is so critical that you be true to yourself about your core competence, because as soon as you step beyond comfort zones or where you niche, you quickly find there are competitors who are much better at what they do than what you can do.  It’s still a fair question to ask “Can we compete?” Probably!  Are some companies better at it than you are?  For sure!  In these difficult economic times, can you push the envelope of competence to increase sales – in new markets through new sources of revenue? Again, the provisional answer is probably ”Yes!”  But… and it’s a big “but”—if you do it wrong, your plan can be a recipe for disaster.  The company can have its soft underbelly exposed.  Its competence questioned.  Your people and product capabilities put under a microscope.  A venture gone south.  

Often it takes the objectivity of an “outsider” to help develop a sound business strategy.  “Objectivity” is the operative word.  The good consultants don’t fear saying “Don’t do that!”  They also will help you define parameters for your company’s business by treading on “sacred cow” programs without any fear of reprisal.  The good ones also realize that they are not as good at your business as you are.  It’s quid pro quo to assume clients are not as good at strategic marketing methods and techniques as consultants are.   There’s just too much to know.  With the myriad methods and unlimited ways to spend advertising and promotional dollars on your company’s products or services, it makes sense to take advantage of consultants.  These days, the good ones are really on top of the inbound pull-through marketing channels that can help drive business efficiently with campaigns that identify the dynamics and analytics and the outbound push-through traditional advertising channels that for years have been the marketing mainstays upon which many companies have depended.

While marketing is perhaps best left to experts, doing some preliminary research can help with the task.  By all means, before hiring a marketing consultant, understand your unique points of competitive difference, how your products are positioned against the competition.  i.e. W hat stage of development are they in? (new, vital, mature or post mature stage) It’s also important to understand the psychographic state of your market. Is your market amenable, meaning, will your target audience(s) be responsive to your marketing messages.

 

In An Adverse Economy – React. Act. Before Impact!

When you’re faced with change, quite often businesses don't plan their marketing strategy to take business shifts into account. Sometimes they don’t “see” change but rather “experience” it.  By then it’s too late.  Before that happens, ask the tough questions in staff meetings to determine what exactly is causing the effects of sales erosion, dried up markets, technological influences, competitive pressures. Don’t settle for generalizations that the economy is awful.  Or nobody’s buying.  These are factors you must first, react to, next, act on, and finally, do whatever it takes to cushion their impact.  This is where marketing consultants can help.  The unique perspective of an outsider-on-the-inside helps create a strategic plan to keep your business on course, whether it’s in familiar territory or uncharted waters.  By addressing your priorities, a consultant puts dimension on sustainable goals, identifies opportunities and provides you with practical and measurable approaches that can answer questions like:

• What do I need to make sure my business continues to grow?
• Is the business operating in a way that reflects our strengths?
• Are our goals in line with the realities of our industry?
• Does every aspect of my company contribute to reaching our business goals?
• Are we positioned to respond quickly to changing market shifts?   

Step 1: Find out where you stand
Begin by evaluating your company's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.  Some call this a SWOT analysis.

Strengths are defined as any competitive advantage, competency, expertise, proficiency, talent, pricing or other factor that strengthens your company's position in the marketplace. In a marketing context, the most relevant strengths are those that are enduring and not easily copied.  Some examples might be a well-trained sales team, low staff turnover, high customer retention, outstanding delivery policies, excellent return policies, low production costs, and sophisticated technology.

Weaknesses are the factors that affect your company's ability to independently attain short-term and long-term objectives. Examples might be unreliable delivery from suppliers, inability to stock inventories, outdated production tools, insufficient marketing efforts, and lack of planning, or dependence on mature technologies.

Opportunities are ways for your business to be more profitable, such as reaching new markets, managing changes in technology and identifying, forecasting and addressing new consumer or customer trends. You need to find ways your company's core competence can be used to take advantage of these opportunities.

Threats are barriers to entry in your primary markets, such as competitor's actions, labor shortage, legislative hurdles, or detrimental economic developments, and inside politics.


Step 2: Conduct a company audit
An audit basically involves defining your business, customers and competitors, and looking at your current marketing efforts. Your goal is to determine where to focus your new marketing energies, both internally and externally.

Business profile
Define who you are: what is your company's mission? What are your company's core skills and expertise and how do they support your mission?
Determine your clients' perception of your business. Never forget that age-old axiom that “perception is reality.”  Take your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats into consideration.

Customer profile
Look at your clients’ profiles and evaluate demographics (i.e. age, income, geographic location, etc.), psychographics (influences, attitudes, perceptions), estimated demand, expected growth rate, purchase motivation, cross-selling potential, and other critical factors.
Imagine your ideal customer: where can you best deliver value and keep promises, while meeting financial objectives? Does this customer have long-term potential?
Keep track of how business and consumer markets are constantly evolving.  Because If you wait for your sales to tell you, it's too late.

Stay close to your market. This will enable you to forecast demand and perceptions with greater accuracy, identify new trends, detect market changes and see opportunities before your competitors do.

Competitor profile
Find out about your competitors' marketing efforts, pricing, market share, public perception and competitive advantage.  Get to know their strengths and weaknesses better than they do.

Current marketing efforts
Know exactly how and where you're promoting your business. Identify your advertising expenditures, measure performance and get sales and pay attention to customer feedback.


Step 3: Design your plan
There's no single recipe, but you can expect the following in a basic plan:

Executive summary
Make it easy for others - your banker, marketing consultant, investors - to understand your plan. Include a brief description of your company (mission, core product/service industry overview, key success factors, market analysis, financial statements and forecasts) and a summary of the marketing objectives and strategy outlined in the rest of your plan.

Current situation / Market analysis
Describe your marketing efforts to date, the markets you've targeted and why, and your opportunities and threats, such as economic conditions, competition, regulations, or technological changes.

Marketing objective
Describe the desired outcome of your market plan. Make your objectives specific, realistic, time-limited, and measurable.

Marketing strategy
Outline how you will achieve these objectives, covering the 4 Ps (Product, Price, Promotion, and Place).

A few rules of thumb

• Ensure that the product concept, design, packaging and use meet consumers' actual needs and expectations.
• Ensure that the market (and not production costs) determines pricing (estimate perceived value).
• Avoid pushing your customers. Short-term gains in sales may be quickly eroded if consumers are dissatisfied with what you offer.
• Communicate value to selected consumers, don’t just point out features.
• Clearly define the message to your consumer before advertising or promoting your offering.
• Design an optimal mix of promotional activities (advertising, direct marketing, events, online cross-marketing) and tools that can best meet your marketing and sales objectives without exceeding your budget.
• Interview consumers prior to implementation in order to ensure your message is clear and meaningful. Be sure your marketing mix is effective in communicating your message.

Once you've done this important homework, the next step is to find a consultant to help you put together a fully developed strategic marketing plan.  So, if you are starting a new business or launching a new product; positioning your company for expansion or re-direction; targeting new markets; facing changes in your existing market or your industry; It may be time to get some expert impartial advice.   

Dan Sweeney is the founder and CEO at IKON Communications Consultants and can be reached at dan.sweeney@ikoncommunications.com.  This material may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the express written consent of its author.