Key Elements for a Successful Marketing Plan

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During my almost two-decade career in strategic marketing I’ve seen numerous marketing cases involving different products and services.  A common element in all successful marketing stories has been an organized and effective marketing plan, which serves as the backbone for the product or service life cycle.

A marketing plan should be a reference for all individuals involved with the project, including both employees and contractors.  It should contain the core elements that keep launch and implementation in synch with the strategy.  Obviously, it is not a static document.  Revisions should be made at a minimum on a quarterly basis to incorporate key learnings during the process.

Starting with a good research plan

The “OVERVIEW” of your plan should include trends and key changes in the macro environment, from the economic and social aspects affecting your audience to important industry information.  Find useful estimates and forecasts that will help you make decisions.  Next, compile key information about the audience you want to reach: gender, average age and income, geography, preferences, decision and purchasing process, etc.  Your entire team should be familiar with the details of your target clients.

The analysis of the competitive environment, or “SWOT”, should be worked subsequently.  At this time, investigate all public information available about your top competitors, and get a clear understanding of their Strengths and Weaknesses.  With this information in hand you will be able to compare and elaborate on your Opportunities and Threats.  You want this section to be clear and objective, with straight bullet point lists.

Bringing it all together

The next step is your numeric “TARGETS”. Include in this page your target revenue and transaction volume for the year, and broken down by quarter, especially if your product involves seasonal variances.  If possible, also break it down by distribution channel such as online, in store, through intermediaries, etc.  Make a comparative chart with columns for the previous year and the year in question.

After completing the research you are ready to develop the “KEY OBJECTIVES”.  Use this opportunity to think through the macro course of actions that will lead your company to reach your numeric targets.  Maybe you want to nurture differentiation through superior services, increase online sales in the channel mix, or enlarge your geographic coverage.  List a minimum of three but no more than six or seven key objectives for the year, which should be aggressive but achievable.

The “STRATEGIES AND ACTIVITIES IN SUPPORT” are the means to realize your objectives.  Start with the “communications message”, the sentiment you want associated with your brand.  This should be reflected in all points of contact with customers such as brochures, advertising, website, call center, locations, press releases, etc.  Brainstorm with your team and consolidate it in a single powerful message, related to your objectives.

Then, develop the “key strategies”, supported by tactics and programs to execute them. In essence, strategy is how resources are distributed and utilized to achieve your key objectives. Tactics and programs are important to make the strategies action-oriented.  

Envision it as an umbrella:

            Main Objectives:

            -Key Message related to the Objectives

            -Key Strategy 1 to achieve the Objectives:

                  Tactics and Programs to execute Key Strategy 1

             -Key Strategy 2 to achieve the Objectives:

                  Tactics and Programs to execute Key Strategy 2

As you work through your six or seven strategies, focus on delivering distinctive value to your customers through your programs.  You don’t have to limit the number of programs and tactics under each strategy.  Keep them focused and well organized, with implementation facts and time schedules.  Bear in mind the resources and marketing funds available throughout the year.

Finish your plan with a detailed “BUDGET” chart, breaking it down by activities and costs.  A year-over-year comparison is always helpful to evaluate the results and calculate return on investment.

As the competitive environment evolves, so should your set of strategies.  Revisions are necessary periodically.  In addition to the numeric targets, it is important to establish parameters to measure the effectiveness of your tactics and programs.  Determine what to evaluate, and establish standards of performance.  That will allow you to take corrective action, adjusting your strategies along the year.

These are the basics of an effective marketing plan.  Make sure you involve your team through the process; it is a very rewarding exercise!

© Lima Lerch Consulting 2006-2007. All Rights Reserved.

Mompreneurs: Hire One if You Can

I'm fascinated by how some home-based-business moms manage to build magnificent empires with little time and basically no business background.

It's hard to focus on a business plan with so many interruptions during the day; not only from kids but also from family members, sometimes inconsiderate of mompreneurs business hours. Even with so many distractions, they still pull their usually limited resources to build their enterprises.

What is the driver? How do they get there? While some are lucky, others are very determined to succeed. It requires a lot of organization, discipline and persistence to juggle personal and professional tasks under the same roof. Immense self-motivation and intelligence distinguish them from the crowd.

Business executives, give these ladies a round of applause, and learn their Modus Operandi! Their ability to multitask is unprecedented, and their team-work skills, simply extraordinary!

Reaching Out to your Audience: Creating an Efficient Marketing Communications Plan

Communication is a key element of marketing in any type of business organization. From small or large businesses, profit or not-for-profit, in all segments; it is an essential part of business planning.

Organizing objectives and how to accomplish them allows business leaders and their teams to stick to the plan, resulting in strategy continuity.

Make sure your communications plan is clear and straight to the point, including the following items:

1. Communications Objectives

Use this section to nurture general actions that will deliver your positioning, and the information needs of your audience. List a minimum of two but no more than four or five key objectives for the period. Be specific, and try to make your goals measurable. Some examples are:

• "Effectively reach key targeted audience."
• "Cultivate a long-term relationship with the audience to gain credibility."
• "Position the business as a niche leader."

2. Audience Profile

Define your targeted audience and be as specific as possible. Learn where your audience is located, and how they live, their standards and beliefs, what, how and when they use your product or similar, what they like or dislike. Is there a primary and secondary audience? List them in order of importance, and identify who and what influences that audience. Focus on the audience-related data that is important to your organization. Understanding consumer behavior is critical in order to successfully build your strategies and action plan.


3. Key Messages

Think about the concept you want associated with your brand. These messages will deliver your objectives, positioning your brand through all media and points of contact with customers, such as brochures, advertising, website, call center, locations, press releases, etc.

Here are some examples:

• "We deliver customized services."
• "We provide the fastest service in its niche."
• "Professional development courses at reasonable costs."

4. Main Communication Channels

Identify the most important and credible channels for your audience, the ones that are popular and would best deliver your message. Take into consideration your objectives and budget. You want to maximize your dollars and exposure, reaching out to your current and potential customers at the right timing, and with significance. Make sure the channels you choose are in line with your objectives, and that they reach a very targeted audience. Don't waste money delivering your message to unqualified customers.


5. Key Strategies and Programs

Strategy is how resources are distributed and utilized to achieve your key objectives. Tactics are important to make the strategies action-oriented. List no more than 5 top strategies, and underneath each one, align programs in support. Keep them organized with time schedules.

For example:

Strategy 1:

• Utilize Press Releases to increase visibility to corporate organizations.

Programs:

• Combine the schedule of topics with marketing activities.

6. Budget

Prepare a detailed budget chart, breaking it down by activities. Prepare year-over-year comparisons to evaluate results and calculate ROI.


7. Evaluation Plan

In addition to the numeric targets, it is important to establish parameters to measure the effectiveness of your activities. Establish standards of performance to use as a benchmark, which will allow you to take corrective action, adjusting your strategies along the year.

Examples:

• Increase in volume of contacts and inquiries after key communications.
• PR exposure and ROI by type of publication.

8. Attachments

Attach a calendar of activities and the timeline.



© Lima Lerch Consulting 2006-2008. All Rights Reserved.

International Marketing Planning

By Renata L. Lerch

Expanding your business in international markets involves risks that should be meticulously calculated. It requires additional steps to your planning process, but the results can be very rewarding!

Having solid operations at home is usually a first step to a successful international expansion. Mastering the production, and the overall business experience, will give you the initial confidence to attract strategic partners.

Begin with a thorough marketing plan, which will serve as a reference to all individuals involved with the business. The document should include all aspects of the product or service life, from complete research to launch, implementation and execution. This will be key for your business plan.


Starting with a comprehensive research plan
A detailed research plan will help you make informative decisions on the objectives and strategies. It will also help you decide how to enter that market, whether by finding a local partner to distribute your goods, or by opening sales offices and importing your products, or by building facilities to produce your goods in the new market.

The analysis of the macro environment is one of the most important steps of international planning. This involves a clear understanding of the political, social and economic climate of the target market. Search for trends and forecasts of variables like the exchange rate, inflation, unemployment rate, purchasing power, import barriers and tariffs, and important socio-political events. You need to understand what affects your audience and the industry in general. These issues will hugely impact your operations, and your business model should make provisions for them.

Next, compile information about the audience you want to reach: gender, average age and income, geography, preferences, decision and purchasing process, etc. Based on cultural background, consumers in other markets have a different perception of products, brands and related services. This will dictate the level of adjustment required to your line of products and how you will promote it to that audience. The importance of understanding diversity cannot be overemphasized. A common mistake that many companies make is to lump many countries together into regions. Each country on every continent has very individualized habits and traditions that you should take into consideration.

Another important element of your research should be the accessibility of local expertise to support your operations. Search for partners that can complement your business model in areas such as sales, operations, supply chain, legal, accounting and distribution. Also investigate the availability of local talent to manage and run your operations. Allowing for a fast and dynamic local decision-making process is vital for a successful expansion.

Then you should examine the competitive environment using the “SWOT” analysis technique. At this time, investigate all public information available about your top competitors, and get a clear knowledge of their Strengths and Weaknesses. Find out the barriers for entrants, be aware of your limitations as a new player, and know potential cultural pre-concepts that may affect you as a foreign brand. With this information in hand you will be able to compare and elaborate on your Opportunities and Threats. You want this section to be very objective, with clear bullet point lists.


Setting the basis
The next step is to quantify your targets. This should include your transaction volume and revenue targets; most multinational companies use the US dollar as the official currency for revenue reports. Due to exchange rate fluctuations, it is recommended to track results in both local currency and the US dollar. Create multiple columns with targets for the year, and also broken down by quarter. On a separate chart, break it down further by distribution channel such as intermediaries, in store, online, etc. Detailed reports will help you understand market seasonality and channels.

After conducting thorough research and setting your targets, you are ready to develop your key marketing objectives. Use this opportunity to figure out the macro course of actions that will enable your company to reach its numeric targets. Be realistic; think through objectives that are both aggressive and achievable. Some important objectives at this stage usually involve branding, product development and distribution channel mix. List a minimum of three but no more than six or seven key marketing objectives for the year. Consider hiring your local manager before or during this stage; the involvement of this professional in the planning process can be very valuable for the success of your international expansion.

Next, work on the strategies and activities in support, which are the means to realize your objectives. Start with the ‘communications message’, the sentiment you want associated with your brand. Use in-country assistance to consolidate a single powerful message that should be reflected in all points of contact with customers such as brochures, advertising, website, stores, press releases, etc. Sometimes a message that is successfully communicated at home is translatable, but in most cases it will require adjustments to the native culture, which is why the use of local assistance is vital.

Then, develop the key marketing strategies, supported by tactics and programs to execute them. In essence, strategy is how resources are distributed and utilized to achieve your key objectives. Tactics and programs are important to make the strategies action-oriented.

As you work through your six or seven strategies, focus on delivering distinctive value to your customers through your programs. You don’t have to limit the number of programs and tactics under each strategy. Keep them focused, with clear implementation facts and time schedules. All should be visually organized, so your team can envision how the tactics and programs relate to each strategy, and how all strategies will contribute to the overall objectives. Bear in mind the resources and marketing funds available for the year.

Finish your plan with a detailed budget chart, breaking it down by activities and costs, in both currencies. In the future, a year-over-year comparison will be helpful to evaluate the results and calculate return on investment.

A marketing plan is not a static document. Revisions should be made at least quarterly, as your team becomes more knowledgeable about the new market. In addition to the numeric targets, it is useful to establish parameters to measure the effectiveness of your strategies, tactics and programs. Determine what to evaluate, and establish standards of performance, but be careful with misleading comparisons between different markets. This exercise will allow you to take corrective action, adjusting your marketing strategies to be more competitive during the year.

These are the basics of effective international marketing planning. Once implementation is in place, have your mind set for future expansions, developing a business model that can be recreated in other countries, with proper adjustments. And finally, be sure to involve your team throughout the process, and make allowances for cultural distinction in management style!

© Lima Lerch Consulting 2006-2008. All Rights Reserved.


ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Renata B.L.Lerch, founder and managing director of Lima Lerch Consulting, has worked with strategic marketing for over 16 years. Before starting Lima Lerch Consulting, she managed marketing and business development in large multinationals, covering the US, European and Latin American markets. She holds 2 MBAs.

Lima Lerch Consulting (http://www.limalerchconsulting.com/) provides leading marketing consulting services to companies in the US and Latin America.

Contact us at customerservice@limalerchconsulting.com, or logon to limalerchconsulting.com.
Renata’s direct e-mail address is renata@limalerchconsulting.com