Without a plan, every idea looks like a good idea.
That’s why it’s so important to put intentional thought and planning into your goals — and what’s needed to achieve them. Otherwise, you may fall into the trap of creating mindless marketing activity that chases the latest trend or simply copies competitors.
I hear comments all the time about how marketing is a waste of time and doesn’t work. But that’s usually followed by a confession that there was no plan in the first place, and the company engaged in a random set of one-off activities. And there, I agree: sporadic, unplanned activity is a waste of time.
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What exactly is marketing, and why should I care?
Simply put, it’s a set of activities communicating your business model to customers and prospects. If your audience is intrigued by your model, they’ll want to learn more.
This may lead them to engage with your online real estate, such as the company website or social media platforms, ask around about you, or directly reach out to your company. The goal of marketing is to intrigue them enough that eventually, they want to talk to you.
Enter the sales conversation.
To communicate effectively about your model, you must have clarity of your model. This may sound rudimentary, but many companies lack clarity and don’t have it documented. However, there are several steps that can be taken that will lay the groundwork for a meaningful marketing plan.
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One is to articulate who your ideal client is and what daily challenges they struggle with, so that you know who to talk to and what to talk about. Fully understanding your value proposition will help explain the promise made to buyers about how their business will improve if they choose to work with you. Another key element is to define and describe the sales process you will use to help prospects decide whether you have a worthwhile offering.
When you feel motivated by your narrative, planned communication becomes much easier because you know what you’re going to say. Outline a plan of what you want to communicate by asking what you want people to hear from you, where they are going to engage and how often they are going to hear from you.
Plans do not need to be fancy or overly detailed, especially when you’re getting started. The key to marketing planning is to start slow —if you get too much going too soon, or make it too detailed, it will be like starting the new year with a plan to go to the gym five days a week. By January 15th, you’ve failed.
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Instead, take baby steps to transition from getting started to running like a well-oiled machine. And do not fall into the trap of overplanning and over-tracking when you get started. It will lead to fatigue and derail you. Here’s how a thoughtful marketing plan should unfold:
Year one: Focus on the basics
If you’re new to planning marketing activities, make your plan very basic. Focus on asking easy questions that can lead you to take action. What are you currently doing? What’s working that you should keep doing? What’s not working that should be eliminated? What’s one thing you’d like to commit to for the year?
Year two: Take it to the next level
After you’ve engaged in some consistent activity, use the next annual planning cycle to take a more focused approach. What areas of impact — website, LinkedIn, events — do you need to focus on for the year? Who will lead each effort?
If you’re ready to dive further into planning, you can get more detailed in your plans and add activity details, timelines, KPIs, budgets, etc. While the list of what you can do is vast, what you actually need to do should be much more straightforward.
Always check and balance yourself with the question: What are we doing today, and what shouldn’t we be doing? Eliminating waste should be as important as enhancing your effort. In short, start slow and embrace simplicity. One or two activities done well and consistently is far better than five things done randomly and sporadically. Achieve your rudimentary goals and praise yourself and your team. Next year, add something else to it and do the same every year after that.
