I am regularly asked to help companies develop a marketing plan. Some are for a new company, others for a new product. My first question is usually “do you have a marketing strategy and is your management aligned with it?”
Otherwise, you may be setting yourself up for failure. For those who need support, I usually recommend holding a strategy workshop. The goal is to collect key data points, align management team goals, and determine next steps to create a go-to-market plan. Attendees should be mixed members of your management team (ie sales, marketing, finance, operations).
Although the workshop can be carried out in a single day, additional research will be needed if you wish to obtain additional information and confirm the strategic direction. This may include discussions with internal and external resources (ie customers, partners, target customers) and analysis using available tools.
The strategy workshop will provide you with the basic framework used to develop a marketing plan. The marketing plan will then focus on implementation.
The basic elements to be solved in a workshop are detailed below:
Market segmentation
Start by identifying the needs of your customers and, accordingly, determine the best way to satisfy them. Keep in mind that it is almost impossible for one company to satisfy every single need. Instead, it is more efficient to allocate resources to specific customer groups. Because customer needs vary, marketers must identify common needs within similar customer groups and recognize distinctive needs among different customer groups. The first part of the workshop should be for
- Identify or align market segments based on revenue potential and market size
- Profile your ideal customer (size, location, capabilities) and identify target accounts by name
- Create personas to identify who has the buying power in your target company base
- Set market priorities to target with limited resources
Company and product positioning
Identify what you do best, what your target market wants, and why customers buy from you. Then come up with a basic set of messages that will allow your business to quickly differentiate itself. Areas to discuss should include who you are, what you stand for and want to stand for, your experience, and what you offer to the marketplace).
Separate from the business is the positioning of the product portfolio itself. Key features, benefits, product names, order details, roadmap, technical and promotional details, and other data needed to develop products and web warranties.
Market analysis
Success depends on knowing your business inside and out. To do this, you should plan to conduct a SWOT analysis to:
- Identify methods to address weaknesses and threats, and to take advantage of strengths and opportunities
- Identify a list of top competitors and identify their differentiating characteristics
- Entry barriers to this market
- Market trends, effects on economic prospects, available financing
Set sales and marketing goals
These goals should reflect what you think your company can achieve through marketing in the coming years:
- revenue forecasts
- The amount of new business vs. old or repeat business
- Estimate average transaction size and order/sales cycle
- Outline a strategy to attract and retain customers to identify and anticipate change
- Identify marketing objectives based on resources and ability to meet forecasts
Sales channel and partners
Much of your marketing plan and budget will depend on the channels you will be selling on. The type of sales tools, the size of the campaign, and the methods to retain customers all depend on determining the right mix of marketing and sales programs. Questions to address:
- What are the short- and long-term plans for recruiting sales and distribution channels?
- What pricing structure is being offered at these levels?
- Do you have a list of potential partners and distributors to target by industry type and by name?
some additional points
Keep in mind that marketing strategies can vary in length and style depending on your company. In general though, you should have a few additional items in mind before starting a marketing plan:
- What is your marketing budget (i.e. a percentage of existing or future sales?)
- How your spend will be allocated and tracked (print materials, web development, promotion, etc.)
- What is your timing for a soft launch (internal and select customers) and a hard launch (public promotion)?
- How will you measure success or failure? Leads, revenue, conversions, gross sales?
So what comes next?
Review the final results of your strategy and engage with your management team to ensure agreement on the strategy. Then move on to implementing your strategy using the information you’ve collected to develop a marketing plan.
Need help creating a strategy or plan? Consult an expert who has worked in her area of expertise, who can extract information using interview techniques, and who has the network of vendors and tool providers to assemble reliable information.