4 Reasons Why You Need a Marketing Plan
In the fast-paced world of business, having a marketing plan isn't just a good idea; it's an absolute necessity. Although most businesses have some kind of marketing in place, for example, a social media presence, many businesses lack a concrete marketing plan.
Let’s get back to basics for a minute, what exactly is a marketing plan? In essence, it's a roadmap that a brand uses to organize, strategically execute, and track their marketing efforts. But it's more than just a set of tactics; it's a well-thought-out strategy that needs to drive and align with broader business objectives. It's a living, breathing document that should adapt and change as needed. The marketing plan also needs to be rooted in insight and data.
In this blog, we will delve into the top 4 reasons why having a marketing plan is essential to any business, regardless of size or industry.
1. Providing Direction and Clarity
Imagine setting out on a journey without a destination in mind. How would you know when you've reached your desired endpoint? Well, let’s think about this predicament in terms of marketing. How will you know whether or not you’ve reached your marketing goals if you're not sure what they are or how they support other goals in your business? Without a clear direction in mind, there may be confusion within the organization about whether or not you’ve reached a goal.
A well-structured marketing plan sets clear objectives and ideas that everyone within your organization can understand and rally behind. The plan provides a strategic roadmap, outlining where your business is heading and how it intends to get there. It clarifies the big picture and ensures that your marketing efforts are aligned with your overall business goals. This clarity ensures a common understanding, fostering consistency—a crucial element in building a strong brand (if you want to learn more about this, check out our blog that explains the importance of consistency in lead generation).
For many businesses (probably even your business), various departments and/or individuals are involved in marketing efforts. From the marketing team to sales, customer service, and even product development, everyone has their say in what the company should do for marketing. Without a concrete plan, these different units may end up working at cross-purposes or pursuing divergent strategies. It’s important that team members across departments understand the primary marketing objectives. A well-structured marketing plan ensures that everyone is on the same page and working towards common objectives. It promotes synergy and consistency across the organization, enhancing the overall impact of your marketing initiatives. When everyone knows the primary goals, it facilitates more productive conversations within the organization. For example, if the main goal is to build brand awareness, the objectives and tactics will be very different than if the main objective is to drive conversions. Whether you have 5 people in your organization or 5,000, it’s important that everyone has a common understanding to avoid getting off track.
2. Maximizing Resources
Speaking of getting off track, let’s talk about how having an effective marketing plan keeps your company on track and maximizing resources!
Effective resource allocation is vital for the sustainability of any business, and a marketing plan plays a pivotal role in this. First and foremost, a marketing plan aids in budgeting. By outlining your marketing expenses, it prevents overspending and ensures the efficient utilization of your budget, maximizing your return on investment (ROI). Sure, it might seem like a good idea to advertise on that billboard just a few minutes outside of town, or boost that social media post that’s doing really well, but… can you afford it? How is it driving toward your overall goal? And even if you can afford it, it’s important to also consider which channels are likely to give you the greatest ROI, which means considering digital channels more than ever before. Financial discipline is crucial for businesses of all sizes, and a marketing plan helps you achieve just that.
Additionally, marketing plans optimize time management. With clear goals in mind, employees and managers can streamline their efforts, reducing wasted resources and identifying the most effective channels and strategies to focus on. In a dynamic business environment, quick decision-making is essential. A marketing plan serves as a reference point that can expedite or blueprint that can help aid when decisions are required. When unexpected opportunities or challenges arise, a reference can be made to the plan to determine whether the new situation aligns with the established goals and strategies (we’ll talk a bit more about this when we get to the fourth point).
3. Measurability
"How well are you really doing?" That’s the question, isn’t it? Of course, you probably have an idea of how well you’re doing, but can you quantify that success? A well-crafted marketing plan introduces measurability into the equation. It enables you to regularly monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) and make data-driven adjustments.
Let’s say one of your goals is to increase brand awareness, well how exactly are you going to do that? This introduces another key part of measurability, breaking down the overarching goals into smaller, actionable steps. What does increasing brand awareness mean to your team? It probably includes a few different things, for example, increasing social media impressions, the number of organic Google searches for your brand, and more. Whatever smaller tasks you choose for each goal, it’s important that they are SMART goals (specific, measurable, actionable, relevant, time-bound).
Let’s go back to our brand awareness example. Let’s say one of the ways in which you want to increase brand awareness is by increasing social media impressions. It’s been a couple of months since you set this goal and your social media impressions have increased by 10%. Is this good or bad? Without having concrete, measurable goals it’s hard to know if you are tracking toward your goal. However, if you have a SMART goal in place and you’ve picked the time period, level of increase, and more, you will be able to determine how well your brand did against that objective.
In addition to helping you know if you’re tracking well against your objective, by relying on data, your business can readily identify what's working and what's not, allowing you to make informed decisions and pivot when necessary. Think of it as a dashboard that provides real-time insights, helping you stay on course towards your marketing objectives. Without setting measurable KPIs and keeping track of them regularly, you may not know if you’re on track with your overarching marketing goals. Whether you’re a start-up or established enterprise, no one likes wasting time and money on marketing efforts that aren’t working!
4. Avoiding Shiny Object Syndrome
In the ever-evolving world of marketing, more and more new and exciting opportunities are emerging. However, without a marketing plan, businesses can fall prey to the "Shiny Object Syndrome”, diverting their resources to projects that don't align with their core goals. Businesses especially fall victim to this when progress in their main marketing efforts is slow. A marketing plan serves as the anchor that keeps you on track. When new opportunities arise, you can evaluate them against your established plan to see if they align with your current goals. It's a practical way to assess options and make informed decisions, gathering clear facts to share with other team members as needed. This ensures that your time and resources aren't wasted on endeavors that don't contribute to your company's overarching objectives.
For example, let’s say your company is a start-up tech company that caters to small businesses. You hear about all of these other companies having success by partnering with influencers on TikTok and it may be tempting to try it out too. However, this is likely not going to lead to a successful marketing outcome. Firstly, this isn’t likely to reach the right target audience, given that TikTok tends to be a better tool for B2C companies. In addition, partnering with creators on TikTok can be quite a costly endeavor, and therefore would require this business to take investment out of other marketing channels that may be working.
A concrete marketing plan helps to keep you on track. Remember, there’s a reason you’re doing the things you’re doing. Of course, this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be open to change. New advancements, new technologies and new tactics emerge regularly and it's in our human nature to be curious about them. However, when something comes around that seems worthy of trying out, you can weigh it against your current marketing plan and strategically determine how it’ll push forward toward your objectives.
Have We Convinced You Yet?
A marketing plan is not a luxury; it's a fundamental necessity for any business. It provides direction and clarity, maximizes resources, provides measurability, and safeguards against distractions from fleeting trends. While we've discussed the top four reasons, it's important to note that there are so many other benefits to having a concrete marketing plan in place.
Remember, a marketing plan is not cast in stone; it's a dynamic tool that should adapt as your business evolves and market conditions change. If you're seeking assistance with updating your current marketing plan or if you’re just getting started, consider booking a discovery call and we can chat about how to craft a roadmap to success, supporting your company’s growth and guiding you towards achieving those marketing goals.
Sources:
https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/how-to-manage-marketing-budget-free-budget-templates
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/importance-setting-clear-measurable-marketing-goals-alexa-bartimus/