Regardless of the size of your company, as a small business you still need a marketing plan. At least if you want to be successful. A marketing plan is not simply about ensuring that people know you and know where to find you, it’s also about cultivating your brand.
Your brand is very important in this current marketing climate. Your brand is how people come to identify your company within your niche. It’s how people come to recognize you, and it’s also how people come to trust in you.
So where do you begin? How does one create a truly strategic marketing plan for small business? In this article, we cover the key steps that you need to follow in order to establish a solid marketing plan for your small business.
We also talk about some of the do’s and don’ts associated with marketing. And finally, we look at the pros and cons of hiring a marketing agency to help you navigate what could be some of the more confusing aspects of advertising and marketing for smaller businesses.
Some Marketing Plan Basics
While there is no one proven formula for creating a marketing plan for small business, there are certain steps that you should definitely take in order to create a comprehensive plan and one that will be most effective given your niche in your industry.
- Know your brand. While many marketing plan scenarios will begin with “know your audience,” (and we will get to that) knowing yourself is perhaps even more important. What do we mean by know your brand? First off, what value do you bring to the table? That is to say, what makes you different from your competitors. Your value proposition is going to be the key to creating a dynamic marketing plan. And value and brand are intertwined. So really, before you can begin to develop any sort of viable marking plan, you have to take some time to understand your own company. Something to note – your brand will not necessarily mirror who you are as a person!
- Know your audience. This is where the audience portion comes in. Who are you marketing to? Who are the most likely purchasers of your product or service? One thing you might want to do here in order to truly come to know your target audience is to create a buyer persona. A buyer persona is basically an “avatar” of your ideal client. You can define as much or as little as you want about that prospective client. What are their interests, what are their likes, what sort of income bracket do they fall in, what geographic region of the country do they come from, what is their age range…the list goes on. The more that you can identify about this optimal buyer, the more prepared you will be to target your marketing message to the right audience.
- Study your competition. Studying your competition does not necessarily mean borrowing from them as far as their marketing plan playbook goes. But, you can certainly learn a lot from what others in your industry are doing with their advertising efforts. You might look at what keywords they’re focusing on. You might look at the different promos and discounts they’re offering. You can look at their messaging and how they are subsequently appealing to the target audience. It’s about seeing what works and also what doesn’t work given your competition’s results.
- Develop a plan…and a vision. There is a very popular saying that originated from Benjamin Franklin: “By failing to plan, you are preparing to fail”. When it comes to your marketing plan, this could not be truer. Having both a shorter term and longer-term marketing plan in place is only going to help your company. We recommend developing a complete one year, three year, and five year vision. This way, you know what you want to get done in the immediate future, and you also know what you want to get done looking ahead. Having a vision is part and parcel of having a comprehensive marketing plan for small business.
- Create your campaign strategy. Once you have that vision, now you want to devise a strategy to make that vision of reality. Starting with a 12-month campaign strategy is going to be a great springboard for helping execute the various components of your marketing plan.
Your Marketing Plan: A Few Do’s and Don’t
Now that you’ve established a basic marketing plan for small business, it’s important to understand what to do… And also, what not to do. This is where many small businesses can go awry. They have a plan in place, they are eager to get started, but they’re not necessarily well-versed in the nuances of small business marketing.
Don’t be overly salesy
The prevailing sales mentality has changed in even just the past ten years. Buyers are looking for authenticity. They are looking for companies they can connect with. They want to know the real people behind the brands. If you’re just about pushing your product and having a singularly sales driven message, you’re going to turn your buyers off.
Do employ creativity
As they say, creativity counts. You may not have a massive marketing budget, and that is okay. You can still be creative using the resources that you do have at your disposal. It’s perfectly fine to have a little fun with your marketing plan. Consumers will appreciate this.
Do you utilize social media
One of the biggest mistakes that smaller companies make is not using social media to its full advantage. From Facebook to Twitter to Instagram, these platforms are very inexpensive to use and can generate a great deal of traffic for your company. And again, here is where creativity definitely comes into play. Having a creative social media strategy can mean a great deal for your brand in the long run.
Don’t forget about consistency
In any small business plan, marketing or otherwise, consistency is important. This simply means that whatever strategy you employ, be consistent in that strategy. For example, don’t start a social media campaign and then just let it run out within a week or two. That time and effort will have been futile.
The Benefits of Using a Marketing Agency for Your Small Business
What’s the greatest advantages to using a marketing agency for your small business… Time. Sure, you might be able to handle some of the marketing plan details on your own. You might be able to execute even. But do you really have the time to dedicate to your business’s advertising and marketing needs?
Marketing has to be consistent. It demands a significant amount of time when done correctly. It has to be nurtured and cultivated. Most small business owners simply do not have the time to dedicate to this particular endeavor. By enlisting the help of a marketing agency you can:
- Rely heavily on their experience. This is what they do. This is all they do. They know what works and what doesn’t. And if you find a marketing agency that specializes in your particular niche, all the better.
- They can scale with you. If you have one person in-house trying to handle of the marketing, as your company grows, that person may not be able to keep up. But a marketing firm has the ability to scale with you.
- They bring fresh perspectives to the table. Let’s face it, as the company owner especially, your understanding of how your company can market itself might be limited. But by using professional marketers, you gain fresh perspectives and a much broader range of ideas.
- They understand what’s trending. And while keeping up with trends may not necessarily be the most important thing, there is something to be said for knowing what’s popular and what works in the world of marketing. A marketing agency can help you to identify this and capitalize on it.
If you’re in need of a marketing plan for your small business, we would love to help. Our marketing experts understand how to implement a comprehensive marketing plan that gets results. Call today for your consultation by clicking on the Blue “Request a Consultation” button in the upper right hand corner of your screen.
