This is the time of year for resolutions. On the personal side they often centre around weight loss and giving up or cutting down on perceived vices. On the business side they often centre around getting more organised and formalising plans. So, we thought it would be a good idea to share our tips for writing a rock star one-page marketing plan.
It’s really common to feel as though you’d really prefer to run and hide when the terms “marketing” and “plan” are used in the same sentence. Many business owners are put off by the fact they feel a marketing plan needs to be a novel-like document and the sheer size of the perceived document makes it very difficult to get started.
I’m here to tell you, your marketing plan can be effective, realistic and achievable AND be completed on a single A4 page so stick with me and I’ll work you through how to crate a killer one-page marketing plan.
Before you start, remember that a marketing plan is essentially a roadmap. Just like your favourite maps app, it gives you the directions needed to effectively implement a marketing plan. So, importantly, it is specific about exactly what you want to achieve.
An effective marketing plan doesn’t just tell you where you want to end up. It’s also incredibly detailed about what you want to achieve and how you want to get there. Any marketing plan should cover the main areas of Who, What, Where, When, How and Why.
All marketing is essentially storytelling so make sure your marketing plan includes information about how you intend to share your story and the important points within your story that set you, your team and your business apart from others.
I tend to find most businesses struggle to identify their core or ideal customer or audience. And this element is, in my opinion, the most important step in any marketing plan. If you don’t know who you are talking to, there is no way you can craft your marketing message to engage with your audience, nor can you adequately understand and address their needs.
Another point I’ll make here is about your goals. In talking to many businesses in the renovation industry, many people find it difficult to narrow down and identify their core goals. “Making money” is not a goal because it’s not specific enough. All businesses need to make money – it’s why they exist. But you need to be clearer about how much is enough and how you will benchmark and then measure any growth.
An effective marketing plan will also need to clearly set out the steps you wish to take in order to achieve your goals. Again, we need to see the detail here: who will be in charge, what will they do, where will they be or where will the activity take place, how will they implement the plan, when will the activity occur and why are they doing what they are doing.
Here are the essential elements of every marketing plan:
Mission Statement – be specific here, talk about the experience you want your customer to have.
Target Market/Niche – this is a description of the type of person/business you want to attract.
Competitors – List the items or experiences that compete with your business for your client’s attention.
Opposition – List the businesses or expenses you feel are your opposition for your client’s expenditure.
Goals – be specific about what you want to achieve and by when. You are aiming for around 4-5 dot points in this section.
KPIs – these need to relate back to the goals and detail how you will know you have been successful.
Strategies – these also need to relate back to your goals and will detail the steps you will take to meet the KPIs.
If you need help to get started you can download our useful one-page template here MARKETING PLAN FOR XYZ JOINERY PTY LTD.
