WHAT’S THE PLAN?

How to get from here to there

Go ahead. Pick at random ten companies. Size doesn’t matter. Some can be big, some can be small. You will find that the majority do not have a marketing plan. Some will even be proud that they don’t have a marketing plan, and they will tell you, without asking, that they are smarter than the competition because they don’t waste money on marketing. We wish them luck, because they are going to need it.

Do you need a marketing plan? Absolutely. But it needs to be resized to meet the client’s needs and expectations. So while the goal is always the same – Finding customers, Creating customers, Keeping Customers – the format of the plan can vary significantly, depending on whether you are working with a street-smart business entrepreneur with minimal formal training, a company president with no marketing training, or a by-the-book MBA trained to deal with the three Cs (customers, competitors and company) and the four Ps (product, price, promotion and place).

Success depends on setting realistic (and quantified) goals for the short and long term and being customer driven, which means everything in your plan exists to find customers, create customers and retain customers. Anything else is a distraction that will cost you time and money.

How about you? What’s your plan?