More often than not, most marketing plan approaches fail because they are primarily focused on tactics (the social media campaign, the website redesign, the brochure), without adequate attention placed on the outcomes you want to achieve as a result of the tactics you’ve selected.
Before spending a minute brainstorming creative ways to promote your business or nonprofit, focus first on identifying the measurable objectives you want to achieve. Make sure your objectives meet the SMART test — that they are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-based. In my December 18 marketing teleseminar, we’ll spend a good portion of time on this very topic.
An equally common reason marketing plans sit on a shelf collecting dust is because writers include far too much information in the plan itself — such as page after page of market research, customer analysis, and marketing strategy notes.
An overly complex marketing plan is just that — overly complex. It can hinder the approval process significantly, while also making implementation more difficult to manage. If even you have trouble digesting your plan, chances are it’s time to simplify.
While market research and your positioning strategy are definitely critical factors in the success of your marketing program, I disagree that this information needs to be included in the plan itself. Think of your plan as your roadmap: a tool to keep YOU organized and accountable. Rather than include market research in your plan, summarize your research in a separate document, or in your situation analysis.
The most effective marketing plans leverage your existing resources AND talents for optimum results, rather than focus on a laundry list of tactics that require substantial additional investment to achieve.
As part of your planning process, conduct a simple marketing program audit using the worksheets included in my book, Writing a Results-Driven Marketing Plan. The entire audit should take less than an hour, but is an important step in realizing and quantifying the key talents, skills, available time, and financial resources currently available.
This audit is also essential to focus your tactics in areas that optimize your key strengths as a marketer, while also quantifying areas where you may need to invest in additional training our consultant support to achieve.
Another common reason marketing plans fail is they get bogged down in the approval process. Rather than attempt to obtain approval for the entire plan (which is really just a tool for YOU), we recommend to get buy-in from administrators at the beginning of the process, preferably via a marketing committee planning session as described below.
Facilitate a planning meeting with your top administrator (your CEO or executive director, if appropriate) and your board marketing committee, limited to one-hour. Prior to the meeting, you should have already conducted a year-end marketing review, so provide your year-end summary to the group prior to your meeting.
Remind the group of the available resources you have to work with (staff, money, volunteers, etc.), as well as any special projects you’ll be managing for sure in the coming year (i.e. web site redesign, a big event, a new graphic identity, etc.). Take the first 30-40 minutes to brainstorm all possible goals, objectives, and specific tactics to use to get there, with consideration to your resources.
Then, over the last 20-30 minutes lead the group to agreement on the top goals, objectives and suggested tactics. This is your chance to provide your professional feedback to what’s listed, including tactics that may take far more time or money than they realize, or tactics that, in your experience, simply have not been effective in the past.
Once you’ve narrowed down your list, either ask for approval immediately, or distribute the list by email in a meeting follow-up and ask for approval by a set timeframe.
Going minimalist is the key to obtaining board approval in as short an amount of time as possible. Let’s remember, boards are typically policy-making and enforcing bodies; not a working group. And, you and your marketing committee have already done the work anyway, you just need their final OK.
Summarize your entire marketing plan in 1-2 pages, maximum, with focus on goals, objectives, overall strategy, and how/when you’ll report your progress to this group. If possible, present this information in person, providing 2-5 minutes for feedback or discussion. [You can find a great Marketing Plan Summary template and samples in my book, Writing a Results-Driven Marketing Plan.]
As 2010 quickly approaches, we could all use an extra boost to secure the critical role we play for the organization or business we work for. Refining your approach with a simple, results-driven plan will further establish your credibility, enhance your overall support, and help you develop the positive relationship with administrators you need to ensure your ultimate success.
