Time to Start your 2019 Plan
2019 is in full swing and that means it’s time to formulate for marketing plan for the year. We’ve completed ours, have you?
How to Create a Marketing Plan for Your Growing Business
Set Your Intention
What is your goal in 2019? Make it specific, not just “Make more money!” but quantify it. Set a realistic but high-reaching goal and allow yourself to be reinvigorated in your business in the process. After all, there was a reason you wanted to make this business your life—don’t dread it! Embrace it and be excited! Most small business owners goals are financial, and that’s ok, as long as you plan a roadmap that can get you there.
Create the Roadmap
What is the best thing about a map? You don’t get lost. You are not aimlessly wandering, you are progressing on a chosen path to get to a specific destination. Creating a marketing plan works the same way.
Identify where you’re starting.
Without a starting point, it will be impossible at the end of the year to decide whether you made good advertising choices, spent your money wisely, got a good return on your investment, or even if you actually increased your bottom line. In order to get where you’re going, you need to be realistic about where you’re starting. Let’s use an example, a small lawn care company:
GOAL: Increase income by 25% so this can be my full-time job instead of a side job.
STARTING POINT: 25 regular clients, monthly revenue of $2500, expenses of $400 per month, and no advertising budget. Part-time, working about 10 hours per week.
With the starting point identified, we know exactly how much this growing business needs to grow in 2019.
2. Locate checkpoints along the way, mile-markers, if you will.
What are the smaller goals you need to have to attain the larger goal? I’d suggest picking no more than 5. Again, to our example:
Increase number of clients.
Increase per-customer income by expanding services with current clients.
Determine a marketing budget and execute a couple key advertisements.
Encourage clients to refer.
3. Set your eyes upon the destination and know you’re going to get there.
The next step is breaking down the HOWS of this equation. HOW do we increase number of clients? How do we get people to sign up for more services? Where are the best places to advertise? How can I encourage my current clients to talk about my services more? Let’s look again at our lawn care company’s first step to success:
Increase number of clients.
Send mailers to where I already have a lot of business.
Add small yard signs after I finish a job well done.
Call local businesses that look like their business would be helped by my services.
Increase my network.
You see where we’re going with this. Only you can answer the above questions for your business, but make no mistake, the HOWS are where the magic happens. After you’ve built out your outline, assign deadlines to all tasks and put them in your calendar. Hold yourself accountable for following your plan.
Drive it!
Once your map is outlined and your path forward is clear, then your job is easy: Just drive it! Take the roads you’ve planned, pass through the checkpoints you outlined, and you’ll get to your destination. And if you are finding it difficult to find the time to execute the plan….
We can help.
342MAD Solutions offers fresh and creative marketing solutions to get you to your 2019 goals and destinations. We can…
Work with you to create a marketing plan for the year.
Create a website for your growing business.
Help you stay on top of areas in which you are not comfortable, like social media perhaps.
Help you stay current in places you know you need, but just don’t have time for, like blog writing.
Help you with advertising by writing press releases and creating ads for your business online.
Enhance your branding by logo creation, graphic design, and the creation of cohesive marketing pieces for your business.
Teach YOU how to do some of these things yourself, helping you keep your ongoing expenses down.
And so much more!
If we can aid you on the path to your goals this year, give us a call today at 941.777.5522, email us at fresh@342mad.com, or simply comment below.
