What To Include In A Marketing Plan

What To Include In A Marketing Plan

Whether you are putting it together yourself or hiring help to complete your marketing plan, there are a few major things you will want to be sure to include. Your marketing plan should be more than just a compilation of ideas or a list of things to do to market your business.

A marketing plan should be thoughtful and strategic and leave out just as much as it includes. After all, you can’t tackle everything all at once, so choose wisely and be thoughtful in your selection. Also, a successful marketing plan will include ideas to implement immediately, as well as in the future.

Here are a few basic things to include in a marketing plan.

Are there several elements involved and not just one way of spreading the word?

When you are first establishing your business, no doubt you are claiming all the basic social media channels: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and maybe even LinkedIn or others.

Many entrepreneurs make the mistake of thinking that if they are marketing via social media that they are marketing. The companies that are successful in doing this as their sole marketing efforts are few and far between — although it does work for some.

A successful marketing plan should have a supplement to digital marketing efforts. Yes, people will see you on social, but Facebook reach for business pages is declining daily without paid ads and you don’t want to rely solely on social to spread the word about what you do.

At Connections Healthcare Strategies, we offer a unique combination of digital marketing and relationship marketing in our services. Because networking increases your chances of success, you will also want to combine your digital marketing efforts with ways of getting out and about in the community generating buzz and word of mouth about your products and/or services.

Is the plan strategic?

The best marketing plan will be proactive instead of reactive. For companies in crisis, by the time you need a marketing plan, it’s too late, although still salvageable. A strategic and well-developed marketing plan will include a combination of layers and layers of marketing that when built over time will cover all bases and take advantage of all marketing opportunities for your business.

Does the plan operate with long-term goals in mind?

While there are a few things you can do to get out marketing your business immediately, quickly and easily, your marketing plan should also operate with long-term goals in mind. If there are additional offerings that you will be adding to your business in the future, start planting the seeds for that and building the foundation for it now. Adding those ideal customers to your base will give you a built-in customer base to market to when you are ready.

Some other things that your marketing plan should address, include:

Building a customer avatar: You can’t reach your target audience if you don’t know who they are, where to find them or what messaging appeals to them. Taking the time to complete a customer avatar exercise will go a long way in the effectiveness of implementing your marketing plan.

Budget: Writing down your budget in your marketing plan will serve several purposes. First, it will help you determine priorities and plan of attack. Secondly, it will help you focus on what will be the most effective tactics for promoting your business.

Main messaging: Your marketing plan is the place to clearly and concisely write down your main messaging. This should be stated in a way that speaks to your target audience.
At Connections Healthcare Strategies, we will support you in both your short-term and long-term goals for developing your healthcare practice or small business. We can take a look at your current marketing efforts and determine strengths, weaknesses and opportunities when you schedule a strategy session with us. Get started today.