Always Have a Marketing Plan for Your Business | Seven Oaks ...

Always have a marketing plan for your business. You can change the plan, adapt and update the plan, but without a plan, you?ve got no direction, no road map.

When you?re running a small business, it?s easy to set marketing tasks aside for that magical day ?when you have time?. ?The problem with leaving marketing activities for those days when you have time is that as any small business owner will tell you ? there?s never enough time. One day you?re going to realize that sales are down, because fewer customers are calling, or purchasing from your website, or however you measure success. And at that moment you?ll remember that you meant to send out those direct mail postcards ? when you had some time. ?Or you meant to run those ads in the newspaper ? when you had time. ?But the time to tackle those activities has come and gone, and now you?re scrambling to meet your revenue goals so you can pay your bills at the end of the month.

Sound familiar?

It?s all too common, I?m afraid, and the answer, while simple, isn?t always easy to implement. ?The solution to this dilemma is to create and follow a marketing plan.

What does a marketing plan contain? ?A simple marketing plan describes what you?re selling, your goals for the quarter or year, the strategy, and then the tactics, or activities, you?ll undertake to achieve your goals. ?A typical marketing plan for a business runs many pages long and also includes such information as market research, customer demographics, competitive analysis and research, a messaging strategy, budget and timeline.

Once you?ve drafted your plan, it?s time to implement it. ?Schedule time on your calender daily for marketing tasks. Even if it?s only 15 to 30 minutes a day, investing time in your business daily will help it grow.

If you?d like help writing your marketing plan or need someone to write a marketing plan for you, please contact Seven Oaks Consulting. I?ve written dozens of marketing plans throughout my career for new and established products and all sizes of businesses, from start-ups to major non profit organizations. ?For a free estimate, please complete our Contact Form or call Seven Oaks Consulting at 434-574-6253.

Source: http://sevenoaksconsulting.com/2012/11/07/always-have-a-marketing-plan-for-your-business/

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