marketing Planning for Marketing Success
Turning the “Wheel”
by Creating a Task-Oriented, Executable Marketing Plan Final Installment of 7 part series
“Your work is to keep cranking the flywheel that turns the gears that spin the belt in the engine of belief. Annie Dillard—author, poet By Mike Davids and Kelly Newcomb
T
he past six articles in this section have covered many tactics and strategies for improving your marketing at each of the critical areas of customer relations—Awareness, Comprehension, Conviction, First-Time Customer, Repeat Customer, Loyal Fans…see graphic. (All previous articles are available at www.clla.org/debt3). Now we will be crank-
ing the Wheel up to full speed by developing an actionable marketing plan.
The first thing to remember as you create the marketing plan is that marketing is simply a means of communicating how you and your company can fulfill the needs of a customer.
Getting Started Sitting down to write a marketing plan may at first feel like preparing to perform “home dentistry.” If you’re daunted by
Debt3 July/August 2006
the thought of writing a long, voluminous plan, then choose
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It is true that great marketing can sell anything once. Even the
instead to keep it simple. Create a straightforward document
proverbial “snake-oil” salesman can do very well if he plans to
that maps out your overall strategy followed by the tactics that
leave town at the end of the show.
will help you reach that strategy.
However, a business that is here to stay, must ensure that every
Remember that any planning you perform is going to have bet-
word of every marketing promotion is backed up by an organ-
ter results than the haphazard approach that most businesses
ization that can deliver more than any marketing promise can
take. The typical small-business approach to marketing is reac-
ever explain. The goal of the Wheel is not simply to promote
tionary. You hear things like “We need a brochure—let’s do
your business’ services to customers and potential customers,
one now. We need a logo—my nephew is good at art! A sales-
but to build relationships with them. In doing that, the plan
man just told me I should add color to my Yellow Pages
should also build the skills and expertise of all your employees.
ad…etc.”
Keeping relationships strong is much harder than making a one-time acquaintance and it takes daily effort.