Editor’s Note: I’m pleased to feature guest blogger, Janet Peischel of Top of Mind Marketing. Janet and I met six years ago at a networking event when I was just launching LET’S MAKE ROOM. She is a writer and expert marketer for small businesses. Here she talks about how developing a marketing plan is a great way to organize your time and help you stay productive:
I have a client who loves advertising. This made him easy prey for ad reps that knew they could sucker him into those special one-off deals that aren’t deals at all, but a hopeless waste of his marketing dollars.
I did a cost-benefit analysis to prove he wasn’t getting enough conversions on those one-off efforts to justify the money he spent. Then I worked with him to create a marketing plan and a budget for the entire year.
This plan has been enormously helpful in reining in ad-hoc spending and keeping him on track. He still gets those “special” offers, but he’s not wasting time agonizing over them because he knows that if they’re not in his plan, he’s not going to spend money on them.
As a writer and marketing expert, I recommend developing a marketing plan and budget for at least a year at a time. For every line item, identify the cost and the person who’s responsible for executing the activity – strategies or tasks. Planning and organizing your marketing activity makes you accountable and increases productivity because you’re not second-guessing yourself or wasting time on efforts with no ROI. (Return on your investment).
It is worth your time to map out a marketing strategy. By doing so you can see what’s working and not—and conversely defer those activities that are not delivering on your investment of time and money. A well-thought out marketing plan is like giving your business tough love… it may be painful at first but it works!
For more information contact: Janet Peischel, Top of Mind Marketing http://top-mindmarketing.com/
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