What's in an effective strategic marketing plan anyway?

Goals

First, determine (or collect from your business management team) your business, sales and marketing, and operational goals for the year.

Be as specific as possible, but include only the critical goals (i.e. revenue goal of, increase gross margin by 4%, launch of new X product, enter new market, improve customer service procedures, etc.). This is the heart of your plan and provides the ability to measure its effectiveness.

Your Market

Analyse the industry in which you compete and gather as much research information (both quantitative – more number specific, and qualitative – more behavioural perhaps trend orientated) as possible on the market conditions, trends, and competition.

Concentrate on the information that directly relates to your company and its products/services (both current and planned).

“This may seem simple, but you need to give customers what they want, not what you think they want. And, if you do this, people will keep coming back.”
John Ilhan - founder of the Crazy John's mobile phones chain of retail stores in Australia and the richest young Australian

Your Company Identity

Develop a clear and concise description of your company identity, including a definitive positioning statement, your one key brand promise to customers (your key brand promise – it’s what a customer will think of you, when they think about your company, eg: McDonalds – speed and convenience.), and your key personality traits (otherwise known as your brand essence - they don't change).

Consider what the company stands for and how you want customers to feel about the company and its products or services. What is your unique value proposition and what can prospects, customers, employees, or other stakeholders ALWAYS expect from your organization?

Your Products/Services

Look at how your products and/or services are packaged and categorized, and provide an overview description. Describe a detailed features and benefits statement of each product or service. Concentrate on the differentiating features and not the "me-too" elements of each product.

“A market is never saturated with a good product, but it is very quickly saturated with a bad one.”
Henry Ford – founder of Ford Motor Co.

Your Target Market

Define your target markets and rank them in relation to their ability to achieve your company goals.

Answer questions such as, which markets have the highest profit potential? The least competition? Most need your expertise? Also define your target customer profile by specific characteristics (i.e. life stage, decision making status, motivations, desires) and what their perceived needs are.

Document your buyer (the person highest up the decision chain who daily feels the pain you are solving or the desire you're fulfilling) and your buyer's influencers (those above and below this person who have a stake in the buying decision).

Finally, develop a market penetration strategy that addresses issues such as which market you'll target first with what product/service, and how you will leverage sales from market to market and from product to product.

Your Competition

Using the information gathered earlier in your market research, describe each of your competitors, how their pricing structure compares with yours, their competitive strengths and weaknesses, and how you plan to compete with them.

Your Company Sales Model

Outline how your company sells (i.e. field, inside, channel via partners or resellers, or some combination of these), how territories are structured, the sales process, and what specific tools will be needed to support sales objectives.

Your Marketing Promotional Mix

Once you've documented, and have gained internal consensus around the above elements, develop a mix of marketing activities that will support your business goals and marketing strategy. Categorize the mix by sections of tactics used to achieve your goals (such as Brand awareness through print, direct sales, marketing collateral requirements, online advertising, etc), give a brief description of each item or activity, and detail an implementation calendar for the next six to12 months.

Your Marketing Organization

Document the organizational structure, with brief descriptions of the responsibilities of the key positions required to implement your plan and what, if any, outsourcing you plan to do.

Your Marketing Budget

Finally, use your Marketing Mix implementation calendar and your Marketing Organization decisions to develop an itemized, monthly budget. Only after you've researched, developed, and digested this essential information you are ready to begin implementing a marketing campaign—that is if you're intent on acquiring good sales leads and building solid brand equity.

Spending the all important time upfront to put together a powerful plan will pay off in the long run— unlike the quick and dirty alternative.

”You can't overestimate the need to plan and prepare. In most of the mistakes I've made, there has been this common theme of inadequate planning beforehand. You really can't over-prepare in business!”
Chris Corrigan - Growing logistics company Patrick Corporation into one of Australia's most successful companies

Your level of success is only limited by yourself.

Best wishes,

Vaughan