Creating and Executing an Effective Small Business Marketing Plan "

As a business owner you probably know that you need a marketing plan for your business. After all, marketing is what helps you spread the word about your business and get new customers.

But, if you’ve never created a marketing plan before, it can be difficult to know where to start. Below we will go over some of the basic steps in creating an effective small business marketing plan.

Identify Your Brand Purpose & Value

The first step to creating a successful marketing plan is identifying exactly what you’re marketing and who you’re marketing to. To do this, you need to start by asking yourself the big questions and doing a lot of research.

What is Your Brand Purpose?

Why did you start your company in the first place? How do you hope to change your industry with your products or services? What problems do you want to solve for your customers?

Who is Your Target Audience?

What kind of people are most likely to buy your products or services? This will dictate what platforms and type of content you dedicate your marketing efforts towards.

What are Your Competitors Doing?

Researching competitors gives amazing insight as to where your company stands in the marketplace. How are you similar/different to them? What marketing channels are they focused on, and how is that working for them?

Once you’ve done a deep dive into these three topics, it’s time to identify your Unique Value Proposition (UVP). This is a short statement explaining the unique value that your company brings to the marketplace.

What makes you different from similar companies, and why should customers choose you? This should be at the forefront of every aspect of your marketing plan.

Create Realistic Goals

Creating realistic, achievable goals and identifying a deadline for these goals is the next step to a successful marketing plan.

What do you hope to achieve from your marketing plan? Are you simply hoping to expand your reach? Or would you like your brand to become a household name?

Be sure to consider the resources you’re able to dedicate to your marketing plan. How much time can you devote to marketing per week? Do you have a set marketing budget? This should affect your goals and the deadlines you set for them.

Specify your Plan for each Platform

Not all marketing platforms are created equal. You will need to specify your plan to fit each platform you’d like to create a presence on. The most popular ones that we recommend are:

• Social Media
• Email Marketing
• Website
• Word of Mouth

Identify which social media platforms your target audience is most present on and place your efforts accordingly. You can also add industry-specific platforms such as affiliate marketing or business cards.

Remember that when it comes to marketing, it’s best to have a strong presence on few channels than an inconsistent or ineffective plan for many.

Turn Your Plan into Action

Once you’ve fleshed out all the details above, it’s time to turn your plan to action.

Create a list of each marketing platform you’ve chosen. Under each platform, write a list of actions needed to establish your company and maintain a presence on the platform. You can divide the maintenance actions by weekly, monthly, and quarterly.

This will give insight into how much time and money you’ll realistically need to dedicate to your marketing plan to reach your goals on time. From here, you can adjust your goals or deadlines accordingly.

Measure Your Success

Measuring your success allows you to see which platforms are performing the best for you, and where your marketing plan needs improvements. There are many tools that allow you to track marketing analytics, some are even free!

You Got This!

Marketing your small business is no small task, and you won’t see success over night. Have patience, take time to create a plan that is realistic for you and the resources you have available, and don’t be afraid to ask for help!