Creating your marketing strategy – with FREE marketing strategy template

Companies who are profitable in marketing usually begin by having a marketing strategy. Big organizations have plans multiple pages in length; whereas smaller businesses can usually get by using only a couple of Pages. Once you have placed your marketing strategy inside a folder, check back on it at the very least each quarter, but far better than that, it should be used as a monthly guide. Create a tab inside your marketing strategy folder for placing month-to-month reports on sales and your product. This enables you to track your overall performance as you stick to the strategy.

The strategy ought to cover a single year but factors change along the way, individuals leave the company, markets turn a new corner, clients come and go. Later on, and with the experience you gain from the first year, you can start to develop your 2-5 year marketing strategy. However, the bulk of the strategy ought to concentrate around the coming year.

It is best to enable oneself a few months to create the strategy, even though it could only be a handful of pages in length. Creating the strategy will be the main objective when it comes to marketing and advertising. When executing the strategy, you may come across a few challenges when deciding what to accomplish and the best way to execute it. Most marketing and advertising strategies start off at the beginning of the year or at the start of the financial year.

Everyone in your company should be aware of the strategy and the direction the company is going in for that year unless there is confidential information that you only want kept in the marketing department. It takes the whole company to pull a marketing plan together, accountants, sales, the MD and even the administrator all have valuable ideas and a different outlook. If it is just yourself in your company, then it is a good idea to see what your competition are doing and find ideas on the internet – or ask a freelance marketing agency to help you with some ideas. Reborn Marketing only charge £25.00 per hour for Marketing support, so you don’t necessarily have to employ someone or pay heavy consulting fees.

The Marketing strategy and the Business plan should be harmonious, they should complement one another. Your business plan is the message you want to get across in your marketing strategy. You want to shout out about your products, services and core values as a company which is stated in your business plan. Your marketing strategy gives a clear guideline as to how you are going to reach people and achieve the goals written in your business plan.

Every company should have a marketing strategy and here’s why:

Achieving your goals:

It is a way to keep all your employees focused on making this year a success, plus gives them the strategy to achieve this. Getting something down in writing is like connecting your rudder to your “business boat”, it will take you in one direction, the direction of success. Sure, along the way you can move the rudder, but the important factor is that you have one. It is beneficial to get all your employees involved in understanding and taking part in the marketing strategy so that everyone is on the same page – or in the same “boat”. Success must start somewhere, and even if the plan changes and adapts along the way, you will feel more in control of your productivity and achieving financial goals if you have a solid plan in place.

Measuring success and saving money:

If you have a step-by-step marketing strategy written down for the year and update it periodically, you will have a full and clear view of your marketing efforts for that year. This becomes invaluable when assessing the following years marketing strategy and measuring what worked and what didn’t. Companies can spend thousands of pounds on marketing and advertising in a year, and if they don’t know what worked and what didn’t, they are set to lose money the following year on ineffective marketing. Use your budget wisely for the greatest return on your investment. I am not a great believer in many paid advertising routes, but there are some that really do work, namely Facebook paid ads, Networking and improving your SEO – but this will differ according to your business activity.

Reduces the chance for failure:

If everyone agrees to a plan and it is written down, you know the saying “too many cooks spoil the broth”, well it stops people from pulling you off the course down a road that has not been thoroughly thought out. Don’t get me wrong, it is good to constantly evaluate your marketing strategy and if something comes up that is a great idea, go for it! but having a marketing strategy tends to stop unqualified people trying to pull your marketing in the wrong direction.

It is great to get your company into a situation where you have 2-3 years’ worth of marketing strategies to reflect on. During the day-to-day business activities, it may be hard to evaluate the overall success of particular marketing efforts. Having a 2-3 year overview will really help you to create an amazing and fully successful marketing strategy where you will receive a return on your investment. Marketing can either be a waste or an investment, it is down to creating, evaluating and assessing your marketing strategy that will decide which camp you are in.

I want businesses of all sizes to be a success and I don’t believe that size matters. It is all down to the person in charge, the MD and his or her vision. I love to see businesses get a return on the investment they spend on their efforts. Most of all, I love transparency and a bargain!

Here is a FREE marketing strategy template just for you! – so get started on creating your Marketing Strategy and pave your way to success.

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