Having a successful marketing plan is almost as important as the product or service you offer. A good marketing plan can increase your brand’s exposure enabling it to grow.
As passionate marketers, we help you attract your target audience, further grow and maintain your outreach. And if you don’t have budget, we’ve put together some tips to create your own successful marketing plan.
What is the basis of a good marketing plan?
Let’s start with a situation analysis
Situation analysis is a critical evaluation of where your brand stands, including factors affecting your brand’s outreach and the strengths and weakness of your service/product.
It should give an in-depth review of what the strong points of your product/service are and how they can be used as opportunities. Plus information on your competitor’s product and branding for comparison purposes.
SWOT is one of the most commonly used tools to carry out situation analysis. It stands for strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats (SWOT). The strengths and weakness can be product or strategy related. Opportunities can include prospects like clients, new partners or new markets. Threats can be your competition or new policies and laws that may affect your brand.
Not only will this give you a clear picture of the situation but it will also help identify the key issues and whether your current solutions and strategies are effective or not. It will enable you to decide the best course of action and devise new strategies.
Situation Analysis is an integral part of planning marketing strategies for our clients at Brandari, and it is this information that gives us a clear picture of our clients marketing needs.
Using tactics analysis to measure growth
Tactics analysis means to review your current marketing strategy and check whether the measures you are taking are useful or not. It also checks how effective the strategies are that currently are in play. It helps you decide whether you should change your course of action or stick to the same route.
Setting SMART goals
No plan can exist without a set of goals as these are the major driving force behind the work that you will put in and the reason you are planning in the first place. The more precise and realistic your goals are the clearer your vision will be.
SMART goals refer to Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time-Bound. This method of formulating your goals is a good guide as to how your goals should be. Creating specific, attainable goals will help you formulate an effective plan of action.
Set long and short term goals that are measurable for example; In three months we aim to increase sales by x% or gain x amount of followers. Long term goals should still be measurable and realistic so when the time comes progress can be measured.
The marketing plans we create for our clients at Brandari state their marketing goals and prospects in detail, which we not only plan but also help them achieve through devising personalised strategies for their brand.
Define your target audience
Your target audience is who you are trying to reach or sell your products to. The target audience can be defined into multiple categories and demographics starting from age and gender. Knowing who your audience will not only help you cater to them but will also help you understand what is it that attracts the people to your brand. Setting a target audience gives your marketing plan a clear purpose because now you know who you need to appeal to and it is easier to research how to do it.
At Brandari we help our clients recognise their ideal clients so they can tailor their marketing plan to attract the audience more efficiently.
Setting a budget
You need to invest in marketing to maximize your reach in the most time-efficient manner however most brand owners either spend too much or don’t spend enough. Once you have laid down your goals, set aside a decent budget that you will invest in achieving your marketing goals. Setting aside a budget means you know how much exactly you can spend and what you can afford.
Key takeaways
As mentioned above a successful marketing plan is essential for the growth of a brand. Starting the plan off with a situational analysis and a tactical analysis to gain awareness. Setting SMART goals will give you a clear vision of how to do it. And a budget indicates how much you can invest in it. Finally, knowing your target audience is the first step to finding out the best way to attract them.
These tips will set you on the right path to writing your own marketing plan. Of course, if you have budget we’d love to support you with our marketing services.
“Don’t find customers for your product. Find products for your customers.”
Seth Godin
