Marketing, if done well, can help you engage your audience, attract new customers, and even break into new markets, ultimately leading to an increase in revenue and profits.
Poorly executed marketing, on the other hand, often marks the beginning of the end for any business. Since marketing takes up a significant portion of any company’s budget, wasted expenses alone could see you on your knees within no time.
This only means that a marketing plan can make or break your business. A marketing plan will help you with the following;
- Maximise your budget and ROI
Your annual budget won’t take you far if you don’t have a marketing plan. In fact, it is the plan that should help you come up with a budget. The marketing plan will guide you on what needs to be done in the upcoming year, thus helping you put your money where it is most needed. And, when a carefully thought plan guides your budget, you are on your way to maximizing your Return on Investment (ROI).
- A plan creates consistency
You’ve probably seen certain businesses start the year strongly, maintaining a healthy presence on pretty much all marketing channels, only to disappear into obscurity in the middle of the year. Half the time this emanates from lack of a marketing plan, and can spell doom for your business. You need to be consistent with your branding and messaging throughout the year to remain competitive. A marketing plan will help you achieve consistency.
- Encourages deeper thought and brainstorming
Success in business is mostly down to never-ending discovery. Although hard work is vital, what will keep you on top consistently is being able to see what others don’t. Whether it’s in tech, management, automation, or any other business-related activity, discovering future trends and adopting cutting edge e-commerce solutions will always give you an upper hand. When you have a marketing plan, you’ll be challenged to think of ways to improve your business, leading to these discoveries, and thus a higher chance of success.
- A plan unifies your team
Typically, planning involves every stakeholder. For marketing plans, you’ll have everyone from the marketing, sales, and possibly IT departments coming together to brainstorm ideas and come up with a marketing roadmap for (say) the whole year. It might not seem significant, but bringing everyone together like that is invaluable for team spirit. When a team member knows that their input matters that much, they will feel even more attached to the job, and the company at large.
- Improves your chances of reaching your goals
There have been many studies out there about the importance of writing down your plan. One of them is that planning instantly increases your chances of reaching your goals. One study found that with a written plan, your chances of achieving your goals are increased by 21%. There are several reasons for this, including the fact that planning increases your desire to accomplish those goals.
So, don’t begin marketing this year without a plan. Before you even create a budget, write down a great plan.
