How to Create a Small Business Marketing Plan
You’ve created a business plan for your small business, in
which you laid out your vision, strengths, resources and goals for the future.
Now it’s time to think about a marketing plan. The two documents will work
together in helping you realize your small business’s potential. In fact, your
marketing plan will build on the goals you’ve already laid out in your business
plan.
Creating a marketing plan doesn’t have to be hard. The fact
that a large and established business’s marketing plan may run to hundreds of
pages shouldn’t intimidate you. Your first marketing plan could fill a couple
of pages in an old notebook and still be effective. The saying that “a journey
of a thousand miles begins with a single step” applies to every successful
venture—yours included.
Let’s look at some of the topics your marketing plan should
cover. Keep in mind that not every marketing plan is the same, and that some
will emphasize one thing over another depending on the strength and needs of
your small business. Nevertheless, there are certain fundamentals that will
always apply.
Target customers
Who are you marketing to? Be as specific as possible. You’ve
already covered this question in a general way in your business plan, but this
is where you get down to nuts and bolts. It’s the nuts and bolts that will keep
your small business together, and paying insufficient attention to them in the
beginning will lead to major problems down the road.
As mentioned in How to Write a Business Plan, you may want
to consider creating “buyer personas” that will embody the type of customers
you think will walk through your door. Identify them in your marketing plan and
make them part of your regular conversation with all employees at your
business.
Marketing Strategy
Your marketing strategy can be broken down into two separate
parts:
Your promotional strategy
Your pricing strategy will identify the optimal price at
which to offer your products or services. This will require a good deal of
research, including competitive analysis and market demand. Don’t just assume
that if your price is the lowest of all your competitors, you’ll win the most
business—consider getting out there and polling potential customers to
determine optimal price.
Your promotional strategy will help you allocate resources
amongst advertising, sales, public relations, etc. Maybe you’ve had luck going
to trade shows to sell your product, or buying online ads to drive traffic to
your website. Determine what your customers are likely to respond to and what
marketing channels are best for you.
Marketing Budget
As is the case with all expenses of your business, your
marketing plan needs a budget. Caron Beesley writes in her article for sba.gov:
“As a general rule, small businesses with revenues less than $5 million should
allocate 7-8 percent of their revenues to marketing. This budget should be
split between 1) brand development costs (which includes all the channels you
use to promote your brand such as your website, blogs, sales collateral, etc.),
and 2) the costs of promoting your business (campaigns, advertising, events,
etc.).”
Every small business is different—allocate a percentage of
your revenues to marketing that you think is appropriate and go from there. Budgeting
is a learning process, and as your business develops, you’ll be able to better
hone your budget.
Accountability
At the end of the day, even the most effective committees
don’t accomplish everything in their plan. The way to get things done is to a) assign
individual committee members to specific goals; b) list the definite results
that will decide if a goal is accomplished; and c) create an environment in
which individuals are self-motivated to succeed. Success should be rewarding
and fun, failure not so much. These basic components will keep your marketing
team on its toes. If you’re running your small business on your own, strictly
measuring the results of every task you take on and maintaining a ruthless
account of your shortcomings and progress will keep you honest and on track.
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