A simple plan may not have been of any benefit to the sibling characters played by Billy Bob Thornton and Bill Paxton in the film of the same name, but if you are a small business owner, you can ill-afford to not have a marketing plan and at the very least, a realistic, simple one. In a timeless post, 10 Reasons to Create a Simple Marketing Plan, Debra Murphy lays the foundation and lists key elements for one of the most important documents for your business. Many components, such as vision, mission, goals and target audience, are familiar; however, here are three that small business owners and marketers often ignore:
What makes you different
The secret to defining what makes your business different is to understand what your ideal client really wants and make sure you deliver it better than anyone else. What do you uniquely offer that your clients find amazing?
Usually what makes us different may not be a complicated process or service but in fact, it may be something that is simple but has the effect of wowing our clients. We are taught to believe that things of value have to be hard or complex. Just because these things we do are easy for us does not mean they are easy for others. You need to become consciously aware of this value you provide and use it to your benefit.
Your marketing road map for achieving your goals
You wouldn’t take a trip without planning your route. Marketing your business is no different – you need a plan to guide you towards your destination. This plan defines the marketing strategies and the tactics within each strategy that you will use to achieve a particular goal.
To create an action plan for what you need to do and when
A marketing action plan eliminates random activities that create haphazard results. It takes your road map one step further and assigns dates, topics and other activities to each activity so that it eliminates the guess work – you always know what you’re doing and when you’re doing it.
Read the original article at Social Media Today.
Do you have a realistic, simple marketing plan? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section of this post.
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